In football, coaches must trust their players not to make the same mistake over and over again. However, God never gives up on us, no matter how many times we make mistakes or commit sins. Remember that sinning is different from a mistake. To sin against the law of God requires intent against the law of God and the original Ten Commandments that God gave Moses.The connection between religion and sports is everywhere in our culture. Athletes and fans alike are known for praising God for all success. But beyond these public displays of religion is a spiritual connection that exits between our faith and our favorite teams. God and Football: Why Men Love the Game takes an in-depth look at this connection to show the spiritual reasoning behind our passions for the game. Playing or watching the game of football is beneficial physically and spiritually. Real-time decisions made during a game simulate decisions that will be made later in life off the field. Yet risk is involved and attached to the activity. Injuries can and do occur during games, just as spiritual injuries occur in our daily lives. While football is a fierce game, it teaches us the importance of following the rules, embracing discipline, committing to a team, and trusting in a higher power. Football helps make men better by reminding us of our mortality as well as teaching us valuable life and spiritual lessons. Find out more about the connection between football and spirituality in God and Football: Why Men Love the Game.

Acclaimed essayist Mark Edmundson reflects on his own rite of passage as a high school football player to get to larger truths about the ways America's Game shapes its men Football teaches young men self-discipline and teamwork. But football celebrates violence. Football is a showcase for athletic beauty and physical excellence. But football damages young bodies and minds, sometimes permanently. Football inspires confidence and direction. But football instills cockiness, a false sense of superiority. The athlete is a noble figure with a proud lineage. The jock is America at its worst. When Mark Edmundson’s son began to play organized football, and proved to be very good at it, Edmundson had to come to terms with just what he thought about the game. Doing so took him back to his own childhood, when as a shy, soft boy growing up in a blue-collar Boston suburb in the sixties, he went out for the high school football team. Why Football Matters is the story of what happened to Edmundson when he tried to make himself into a football player. What does it mean to be a football player? At first Edmundson was hapless on the field. He was an inept player and a bad teammate. But over time, he got over his fears and he got tougher. He learned to be a better player and came to feel a part of the team, during games but also on all sorts of escapades, not all of them savory. By playing football, Edmundson became what he and his father hoped he’d be, a tougher, stronger young man, better prepared for life. But is football-instilled toughness always a good thing? Do the character, courage, and loyalty football instills have a dark side? Football, Edmundson found, can be full of bounties. But it can also lead you into brutality and thoughtlessness. So how do you get what’s best from the game and leave the worst behind? Why Football Matters is moving, funny, vivid, and filled with the authentic anxiety and exhilaration of youth. Edmundson doesn’t regret playing football for a minute, and cherishes the experience. His triumph is to be able to see it in full, as something to celebrate, but also something to handle with care. For anyone who has ever played on a football team, is the parent of a player, or simply is reflective about its outsized influence on America, Why Football Matters is both a mirror and a lamp.

Most of us have the instinct that a church won't automatically develop a culture of love for God, his people, and his world. This book puts words to that instinct.Chapter 1 outlines the kinds of loving fellowship, discipleship, and mission we hope for in a church. Chapter 2 explores why these expressions of love generally don't 'just happen', and why some common approaches to church -- including Sunday gatherings and Bible studies -- don't necessarily foster a loving community. And chapter 3 makes some concrete suggestions for how better to promote love in church.

The world needs real men, real bad. And there are all sorts of conflicting ideas and messages about what a "real man" is (and is not). Is a real man one who hunts, loves sports, grills meat, fixes cars, and climbs mountains? Sure, sometimes. But that's not really the point of being a man and it's not the purpose for which men were made. Into our cultural confusion, Brant Hansen paints a refreshingly specific, compelling picture of what men are made to be: "Keepers of the Garden." Protectors and defenders. He calls for men of all interests and backgrounds (including "avid indoorsmen" like himself) to be ambitious about the right things and to see themselves as defenders of the vulnerable, with whatever resources they have. Using short chapters loaded with must-have wisdom and Brant's signature humor, The Men We Need explains the essence of masculinity in a fresh, thoughtful, and entertaining way that will inspire any man who dares to read it.

In July 1998, GOD approached a man, to assist GOD and channel his will into the written word. This book is the result of that conversation. GOD is responsible for the flow, topics and discussions. The man simply wrote what GOD spoke and what thoughts he received. "GOD is speaking - Are you listening? My Story" is GOD'S full disclosure to his human family, including his laws of Life and Death. He speaks to Steve as a friend. That is, a friend of GOD'S, chosen by GOD. The fact that anyone would be allowed to hear his voice is astonishing. In this day and age of miracles, is it so far fetched not to believe? He speaks to Steve of his world...Heaven. He speaks of his Love for his human family. GOD tells it like he sees it. No soft touch, no political correctness, just the plain truth, GOD'S Truth.July 5th 1998 4:00 P.M.I AM the GOD of ALL. The reason for this writing is that the stories I AM about to unfold to you, through my friend Steve, are stories to teach, inspire and to create hope. Hope, in that when you greet me in my Heavenly Kingdom, you will have a better understanding, appreciation and moral imperatives, necessary to the alleviation of your guilt. I AM in the world as a spirit of Love, hope, divine inspiration and most of all understanding. I have tried to conquer you, and your fears, by sending messengers to your world, Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jesus the Christ. I have been alive 50 million of your Earth years and the stories I AM about to tell you are just one of many, told countless times in my Kingdom.

I once knew a football coach. He was a driven man who had sacrificed much to climb the ladder of his profession. This coach loved his job; he was energized by competition, inspired by success. His focus was hard and narrow. He traveled far and wide to charm a prized recruit, spent most waking hours assessing his team, evaluating last week’s mistakes, sweating over next week’s game plan. His mind was trained to detect the smallest chink in the enemy’s armor, to exploit any advantage. Most days he was up and out of the house before anybody else was awake. Many nights he came home long after everyone had gone to bed. He was not, however, a one-dimensional man. He was also a devoted Christian, unashamed of the gospel, energized and outspoken about God. He was quick to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ wherever he went. He attended church and, by all appearances, seemed like the real deal, a sincere believer, on fire for Jesus Christ—a humble servant of God. If someone would have followed this coach from dawn to midnight, he would have seen him praying over his office quarters every morning, and heard him, on his lunch-time walk, ask God’s blessing over each staff member and player. He would have beheld a man who talked a lot about God. But in reality, he would have discerned a man intoxicated with coaching, left with no choice but to conclude: “Coach says he’s excited about God, but his actions tell me he’s really excited about football. He says he’s excited about his marriage, but he didn’t even see his wife today. I think he’s really excited about football.” And finally, “Coaching takes so much of this man’s time and energy. Coaching—not God—comes first in his life.” And he would have been right. By now you’ve guessed, the coach is me— or was me. While I wanted balance in my life, there was imbalance. I meant well—I would share the gospel with anyone. I would boldly preach Christ in public, share my love for God. And there is no doubt, in the off-season God got substantially more of my time. But there was a contradiction in my daily walk with God. My heart, while it longed for deeper connection to God, was sold out to my profession, to competition, to whatever it took to win football games. I knew about winning football; I needed to know more about loving “the Lord your God with all of your heart and with your soul and with all your strength.”