Rise Up

It’s funny how the Atlanta Falcons have suddenly turned into America’s team for this Super Bowl. With Tom Brady and the evil empire of the New England Patriots as Sunday’s odds-on favorite, most of America is crossing its collective fingers for Matt Ryan and the Dirty Birds to rise up and destroy Darth Vader… um, Bill Belichick.

However, just over a year ago, not many were giving Ryan and Julio Jones much of a chance. They couldn’t go deep into the playoffs, and a Ryan-Jones combination just wasn’t enough.

What do you do when your back’s up against a fickle NFL wall? You rise up and go back to basics. Sports writer Dusty Haralson explains the basics: “The old-school way of winning in football consists of a tough and hard-hitting style of play. This means a tough defensive front seven, and a pound-the-rock mentality, powered by a solid running game. It’s a physical brand of football, an art that has been lost due to the emergence of the west coast offense, spread option schemes, and the hurry-up.”

The Falcons went back to these very basics, and now they’re one game away from being Super Bowl champions.

What do YOU do when you’re backed up against a marriage wall, financial wall, health wall, spiritual wall, or a job wall? You rise up and go back to basics.

In the movie Hoosiers, remember what Coach Norman Dale did for his Hickory High Husker basketball team when they ended up in the state championship? This little band of cornfield dwellers found themselves in Hinkle Field House to play in the 1954 high school basketball championship in Indianapolis. The Husker team was aghast at the size of the championship arena. Coach Dale measured the floor and the height of the rim. It was the same as their little gym back in Hickory. Coach Dale got his team to rise up and go back to the basics.

Joshua was thrust into a seemingly overwhelming leadership role in the Old Testament. How could he ever lead like Moses led? Joshua had to rise up and go back to the basics.

We’re going to take a look at the basics on Sunday. Our text is Joshua 1:1-9.

CCC is going full throttle into a season of great change. There’s only a “3-Mile Difference” in where we’re moving, but it can feel like it’s across the ocean. What should we do in this challenging season? Rise up and go back to the basics. It works very well. It’s Biblical. And if you doubt, just pause and give an affirming nod when you see Matt Ryan hoisting the Super Bowl trophy as the game’s MVP. (Just sayin’…)

On Sunday, let’s rise up… at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. I’ll be speaking in my Matt Ryan jersey. You should wear your Falcons red and black, too! Let’s go back to the basics. You need this, and so does Cumberland Community Church.

Blessings,

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