January 4-Hall of Fame

Scripture Lesson: Hebrews 11:1-2

On this date in 1942, Rogers Hornsby is the 14th player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hornsby won the Triple Crown twice and his .424 average in 1924 was the highest average in the National League in the 20th century. In his 23 year playing career Hornsby played for the Cardinals, Cubs, Braves, Giants, and Browns with a career batting average of .358. When asked what he did in the winter when there was no baseball Hornsby said, “ I sit around and wait for spring.”

Chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews can be referred to as God’s Hall of Fame. This chapter talks about some of the greats in Old Testament history. Each of these had one important thing in common, faith. I love the definition of faith found in our Scripture lesson today. Faith is, “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” To be in God’s Hall of Fame we need to have that kind of faith, a faith that sets us above the ordinary. The Baseball Hall of Fame is for those who have distinguished themselves by playing the game to a level that is above the ordinary. We are called to have a faith that believes what we cannot see and a faith that is certain of the promises of God. It is easy to have a Hall of Fame faith when things are going great. The real test of our faith comes in the difficult times of life.

1. Is our faith strong enough to be in God’s Hall of Fame? Why or Why not?
2. How can we live a Hall of Fame faith?
3. How can that hall of Fame faith be shown on the baseball field?

We need to realize that the great men and women of the Bible are just like us, ordinary people. The difference is their faith enabled them to do extraordinary things for God. That same kind of faith can be ours just by believing!