Ty Cobb was born in Narrows, Georgia, in 1886. He spent twenty-two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six of which as player/manager. He played in 3,033 games. For twelve years he led the American League in batting with a .367 average. He retained many major league records for nearly a half-century, including most career hits. In the opinion of the vast majority of observers, having Ty Cobb on your team was an unparalleled boon. And yet, according to the Detroit Free Press, “His legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament, racism, and an aggressive playing style that is ‘daring to the point of dementia.’”
But it was on his deathbed that Cobb experienced his most extraordinary feat. For it was there in the final days of his life that Ty Cobb came face-to-face with the singular saving power of Jesus Christ. In his entire lifetime Cobb knew no moment of greater clarity than when he acknowledged Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord for the first time. Immediately he turned to a friend who was standing at his bedside and said, “Go tell the boys I’m sorry it was in the last part of the ninth that I came to know Christ. I wish it had taken place in the top of the first!”
This week we come to the end of our 25-week series on The Transformed Life. On Sunday, September 11, 2011, we began with a sermon entitled, “The Big Story.” The text that day was Romans 1:8-17 where Paul plainly points out that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than most people think, including Christians. (You may wish to go back and listen to that message on Hebron’s podcast at hebrononline.org.) For Paul is clear throughout his writings that one who is found in Christ is not only saved from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin as well. One is not only saved from the coming wrath of God, one is saved from the power of sin that derails one from being all that God intends. For the Christian, the principle question is not, “Are you saved?” but, “Why are you saved?” And the answer is – to be transformed – to be conformed to the image of Christ.
Throughout this series we have seen how Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can heal us from all the brokenness that sin has wrought. We’ve seen how He heals us from our brokenness with God, ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. We’ve seen how the Holy Spirit redefines the lives of those He is transforming by enabling them to live differently – with a different kind of love, hope, forgiving attitude, power, courage, and sense of community. And it’s this final area of change that’s in focus this Sunday – Father’s Day.
The message is entitled, “Welcoming Together” and it’s an exposition of Jesus’ model of discipleship detailed in John 1. The thesis of the message is that just as Jesus repeatedly demonstrates how one is welcomed into the family of faith, so ought we in the same way welcome others in. In fact, the simple truth of the Gospel is that He welcomes us so that we might welcome others. Consider all of the parables of Jesus that deal with welcoming others to the banquet table. Consider the very next chapter of John where Jesus proves that He is able to provide life, and health, and joy in a way that the law was never intended to provide. Jesus is all about welcoming others to the family!
Throughout the New Testament we repeatedly see how dining around a table is a vivid metaphoric reminder of what the people of God are meant to do and be. Indeed, what better picture of transformation is there than an ever-increasing family gathering around a table to feed one another. That’s what the community of faith is all about – feeding one another on the Bread of Life.
At the heart of Ty Cobb’s lament is the awareness that he missed out on the supernatural reality of Christian community throughout his life. On his deathbed he came to see the wasted years in which his God-given talents were buried, rather than used for the glory of the Giver. While coming to know and acknowledge Christ on his deathbed was the greatest of all blessings, his lateness to the party precluded him from enjoying the incalculable blessing of welcoming others.
The ancients used to say that where heaven intersects earth God always plants a family of God that is nothing short of the temple of God. Think of it. The church is the dwelling place of God. It’s the family of faith where every need is met and every gift of God is used to build up the Kingdom of God.
The sad truth is that there are so many gatherings called churches today where godly community and a Christ-like welcome are absent. Would to God that we grow further and further away from such a charge!
In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:
1. Someone has said, “The church at its best is a taste of the Kingdom of God.” What do you think is meant by that?
2. If all of life illustrates biblical truth, can you think of any examples of what the church should be like?
3. A recent survey of Protestant churchgoers was conducted asking, “If a person is sincerely seeking God, can he/she obtain eternal life through other religions?” What percentage do you think said “no”? What percentage of Protestant pastors said “no”?
4. What does John the Baptist mean when he sees Jesus and says, “Behold the Lamb of God!”?
5. Why does Jesus ask the disciples of John that question in verse 38?
6. Can you think of other cases where Jesus asks such a question?
7. What is meant by the response? (verse 38b)
8. What other word can be substituted for the word “staying”? Hint: It’s mēno in Greek. (See John 15 where it’s used twelve times.)
9. What is John’s purpose in including the hour of the day in verse 39?
10. What does Jesus mean in verse 51 when He tells Nathanael he’ll see heaven opened?
11. Do you think there’s any correspondence between what Jesus tells Nathanael in verse 51 and what He tells the disciples of John in verse 39?
12. Why does the Gospel of John begin and end with a meal? What does that tell us about what the church ought to be?
See you on Father’s Day!
