Are You Among the Profesionals or the Persecuted?

As a resident of Nebraska one can always tell when Husker football season is approaching.  Excitement, expectation and enthusiasm invade every form of media and most individual conversations.  I have encountered few things that equal the fervor of a true Husker fan. 

I suspect the early Christians possessed a similar attitude toward their newly formed team – the church!  They were devoted fans who gave themselves to learning the game, hanging with other fans, tailgating and worshiping coach Jesus.

But that was a long time ago.  Centuries of experience have caused many of those early characteristics to morph into a distorted and diluted spiritual professionalism.  The first erosion attempts took place as the professionally motivated Sanhedrin attempted to squelch the spirit of Peter and John.  However, these two refused to allow even the slightest erosion to begin.  How did they do it?  Can we imitate their strategies?  This study will focus on the differences existing between the professionals and the persecuted. It will also challenge today’s believers to rekindle the passion of the original plan and process of the church.   Erosion can be avoided and it can be corrected.  It may be difficult.   However, every Husker fan knows the value of pounding away, hitting the line over and over again until you make your way through the difficultly and achieve victory!