National Sports Sunday 2020 God Loves the Community

National Sports Sunday 2020 God Loves the Community we call Sport Dealing with Transition Times Reading: Joshua 1. 1 -6

Joshua 1. 1 -9 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. ”

Introduction As we recognise and celebrate National Sports Sunday 2020, we have to acknowledge that we are very different times, in fact at the time of preparing this outline, no sport is taking place anywhere in the UK. Aside from running for exercise, the sports fields, tracks, courts, gyms, pools, courses are all closed. Some sporting bodies are considering how to reintroduce training and ultimately return to competition. International sporting events have been cancelled or postponed. The outcome of leagues have been decided by committees, events have been suspended, players have been furloughed along with many staff. People are rightly concerned about their jobs and their future across all sport. From elite sport to school sports the hopes and aspirations of so many have been effectively put on hold and this is having quite a profound impact on so many. Watching sport, taking part locally, competing regionally, nationally and internationally has a massive impact on the national sense of well being and influences the lives of millions. From your club shirt with your favourite players name written across the back to the hundreds of thousands of parents and grandparents, coaches and volunteers helping young people. God loves this community, God loves people, God loves Sport

Transition Times Transition times are a feature of everyday life. Starting school, finding a job, getting married, managing retirement. Sometimes they are smoothly executed, sometimes they can be anxious times – waiting for a medical test result or waiting for the exam results. (use a personal or topical illustration to highlight transition) Key Point: Change is all around us and how we adapt to the challenge of change and transition can determine what happens going forward. Key Question: How can we find a way through this present transition period and support sport in our community? How can we practically demonstrate that God loves sport because he loves people? In our reading from Joshua 1. The nation of Israel was waiting in a transition moment. Key Point: Their previous experience was about to dramatically change and even though they could imagine a future, they didn’t know exactly what it was going to look like of how they would move into that new future.

The Challenge of Transition From the passage we can identify a number of things that were no longer going to be the same and that would no longer serve them as they prepared to move into a new future: • The person who had led them to the brink of achieving their goal was no longer around (the manager had changed to use a sporting analogy) • The experienced people they had leaned on when they first started the journey were not there to advise or help them in this new future (this was a new team, a new squad) • They had heard an idea of what the new future might look like, but there had been conflicting reports (some poor, some good – perhaps they were confused as to what it was going to be like) • They now faced a different kind of struggle to the one they had experienced for 4 decades, they would have to fight for this next phase, this new future • They had to face up to the reality that despite the circumstances, the unknown, the challenge, this was their watch, their turn, their challenge (and to use a sporting analogy, it was going to be their shift and they would have to put in a good one)

The Revelation in Transition Sometimes we feel like we are stuck in a kind of limbo or in between stage, not knowing if we should go back to what we knew or meet the challenge of what lies ahead. Key Point: We can use transition times to keep looking back to the good old days or keep replaying past mistakes OR we can think about the challenges and opportunities that are waiting for us on the other side of transition. Key Question: Can we find a way of focussing on the future to see our way through transition? Our passage from Joshua 1 reveals 3 core themes that can helping us get through transition into a new and challenging future 1. 2. 3. There is a message that inspires hope There is a challenge to drives action There is a promise that brings reassurance

Hope, Faith and Love Key Point: Affirmation is a very powerful thing. A word of encouragement from an older person to a younger person or from an experienced person to someone learning their craft can be such a hope booster. Do you think I can do it? Self doubt is a big progress blocker – but affirmation builds hope. (you could find an illustration to use here of how affirmation has helped you) A) The message that inspires hope is a message of affirmation from God to Joshua – be strong and be courageous. You can do this Joshua. God reminds Joshua several times. (using a sporting analogy Nelson Mandela spoke to the Springboks and wore Fracois Pienanrs number on a Springbok shirt before they went out to win the Rugby World Cup in 1995 in South Africa) Key Point: finding something that is a challenge during a transition stage can be the key to unlocking the future – here faith was needed to cover as much ground as possible. B) There is a Faith stretch found in the challenge that drives action, when God tells Joshua in v 3 “I will give you every place where you set your foot” (using a sporting analogy – If you put the hard yards in, you will take ground) Key Point: its so easy to make and break promises in all kinds of situations (you might illustrate this with an example) BUT Gods promise can be relied on. God was with Joshua as he was with Moses and history demonstrates how effective Joshua was in the new future, the new reality after the transition had passed. C) There is a promise that brings reassurance in v 5 when God says these incredible words to Joshua – “I will never leave you or forsake you” These words I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU are so powerful in these times when everything seems to be on hold or has simply stopped or disappeared.

What got us to this point may not be what is needed to get us into a new future. That was self evident to the nation of Israel. Our communities and the community within called Sport is facing a similar challenge. As the church we have a message of hope, we have a challenge for the future and we have an inspirational promise from God that can provide reassurance. I will never leave you or forsake you. You are not forgotten, you are not abandoned. Why does God say this – because he loves people, he loves community, he loves the community called sport, he loves sport. How can we put take this message of hope into community in a practical way?

Supporting Sport In these different times how can we the local church continue to support our local sports clubs and sportsmen and sportswomen? Here are some practical ways in which we can do that now and as we move through this transition time into what will emerge as a new normal • • Speak – often we can assume that someone else is speaking to people, the reality is frequently the opposite. People really appreciate encouragement. Offer support, contact your local club and ask them how they are doing, is there anything you can do to help to support the players, coaches, staff and families during this time. A text can mean a lot, a note can be powerful. Perhaps the children and young people could write and send messages to the club Understanding – compassion and empathy are powerful allies and can go a long way in helping to show people that we understand even if we haven’t experienced the exact circumstances, our relationship with the God of all comfort can be a massive help to people experiencing all kinds of emotions, especially those grieving loss Pray – we can pray behind closed doors and even explicitly in our services, why not make contact with the club and ask what they would like you to pray about or who needs prayer. IT might be possible to pray in person or over a call or via a text. People really appreciate the connection through prayer Plan – to do something with your local club, set up an online quiz night, offer mentoring or help in education or training, start thinking now what you could do to support your local club when this transition ends Organise – how you as a church will interact with your local club or clubs, often we see sport as competition, particularly because a lot of youth sport in the UK is on Sunday – but we send teams into hospitals, prisons, schools and other areas, why not send a team to your local club Reach out – people appreciate connection – the one thing this season has showed us is that people want a sense of community. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking to professional sports people or a young person in a school or local team who has aspirations. Manage your contact through the chaplain or through the pastoral team and offer help and support Time – the most precious commodity that each of us has. Down time is a good time to recharge, but its also a time to become introspective, especially if hopes, plans, aspirations or goals have been set aside through this period, through injury or through retirement – these things are true for all of us. So investing time to help someone in the community called Sport is a true measure of how we value that community.