Pennant season begins
by PASTOR DICK RILEY
Rockford United Methodist Church
The pennant races are on! As professional baseball moves through the month of September, many teams, including the Detroit Tigers, are fighting for an opportunity to play in the World Series, and they have already begun working harder in order to secure a position in the post-season play. Many players on a pennant-contending team seem to play with more intensity. The front office will now begin bringing up fresh players from the minor leagues and even trade for some talent to give their team an extra edge in the pennant drive. Everyone seems more determined to finish the season on a high note. Excitement fills the air as fans watch their team in hot pursuit of a championship pennant.
In many ways, September is also the time when the church enters its own pennant race, striving to achieve the goals it set out for itself at the beginning of the year. It is, therefore, a time when we remember the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 3:14).
Remembering those words, September, within the life of the church, is a time when the leadership, as well as the rest of the people within the church, start doing things with more intensity—with more determination. It’s a time when the worship services, the educational classes and opportunities, the outreach programs, and the fellowship times are fine-tuned to make sure that the year finishes on a high note as we “press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Want to be a part of this pennant race, of this championship year? Then go and join with the people at the church of your choice, and see what it feels like to be part of an eternal winning team!
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