Monday, October 13, 2008
Winter
Winter is almost upon us. It's kind of a bitter sweet time for us, while it's nice to get a rest, it's not much fun not seeing kids play ball. Keep checking back, baseball season will be here soon.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
All-Stars Flag Football
Believe it or not, football season is almost here!! We at All-Stars Sports are excited to announce that registration for All-Stars Flag Football is now open!! The cost is $70 for the first player. There are multiple player discounts for families registering players. Come join us for an exciting fall of football!!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Registrations for All-Stars Baseball
Registration for All-Stars Baseball is moving along at a record pace!! We are excited by the number of new players who have signed up. There are still spaces available in all age groups, but they are filling fast, so don't wait!!
The upcoming registration dates are Saturday, June 7 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the ball fields. Thursday June, 12 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 14 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
It's going to be another exciting summer and we are looking forward to it!!
The upcoming registration dates are Saturday, June 7 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the ball fields. Thursday June, 12 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 14 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
It's going to be another exciting summer and we are looking forward to it!!
Committed to Finish
I was first drawn to First Baptist Channahon by their vision. The purchase of the land was one of the issues presented at the first business meeting I attended. I listened that day as the vision for the property was laid out, a vision that included a school, ball fields and gymnasiums. I watched as the church membership voted to move forward.
Ever since that day, God has been at work. Sometimes God has blessed the church directly, sometimes, he’s blessed those who’ve supported the vision God has for this community. For example, when the sisters who owned the property we purchased decided to sell the property to us, they cut more than $100,000 dollars off the purchase price.
As a result, they actually made more money than they would have at the full price due to the savings in capital gains taxes they realized. God blessed First Baptist Church, and at the same time He blessed these sisters.
It’s not been an easy journey either. The forces of evil have mobilized an effort to work against God’s plan. Those forces have presented themselves in many different forms, including Satan worshipers who were so bold as to approach Pastor Randy as he stepped down from the stage following the dedication ceremony.
He was told that our new property had been the place of their worship and sacrifice and that they weren’t going to stop. To which Pastor basically replied, “I’m not going to stop you from doing anything, but my God will”.
We had work days and the whole church it seemed came out to help clear trees, cut grass and clean things up. Drawings were developed that laid out where we would build the building, the pavilion and the ball fields.
Then Landmark Landscape came in and began building the baseball fields. I can still remember the first afternoon our church went out and played softball. We were so excited; we couldn’t wait to play on those new fields. So out we went to play, no fences, nothing set up, just a November afternoon playing softball on our new fields. What an exciting time that was!!
But the plans were never to build facilities for just our purposes. From the beginning the plan was to provide a place for our community and the communities around us to worship and play together.
As the Sports Ministry Director for First Baptist Channahon I’ve enjoyed a front row seat as we’ve watched God open all sorts of opportunities and I’ve watched as God has changed people’s lives.
I could share my thoughts all night, but I thought it might mean more tonight to hear the words from one of the parents in our baseball league.
Quote; “For many years I longed for the opportunity to see my twin boys, now age 11, to be able to play baseball and perhaps flag football in a league that was “different” from the ones I usually hear about. I never wanted them to have to participate in leagues that had coaches who stressed winning as the most important thing, or that had parents screaming at their kids, or those of the opposing team, whenever they made a mistake. My prayers were answered last year when I saw information about a new league that would be starting under the direction of FBC. My first conversation with the leadership of this new league was truly an answer to prayer as their vision for the new baseball league sounded exactly like what my wife and sons and I have been waiting for. Specifically, it was to be an instructional league that stressed teaching the fundamentals and good sportsmanship and to build the confidence of kids who thought they were not good enough to play organized sports in spring leagues. It was and still is called All-Stars Baseball. The goal was to see each player build skills and confidence that would not only make them better players, but better citizens too. We were told at the first practice that a short devotional lesson from the Bible would be presented at each game and that it would be a mandatory part of participation in the league as this league wasn’t simply about the sports, but also was about emphasizing the Christian faith in action. “ End Quote
There have been many times that we’ve had to practice faith in action. As a ministry we’ve stood behind Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7 as our motivating force. In 2 Timothy 4:7 the Apostle Paul tells Peter that “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I kept the faith”. Our faithfulness has paid off many times over.
The property God has blessed us with has already blessed many people and has already changed the lives of families. And the facilities aren’t even done yet. Imagine the possibilities once the building is complete!!
So tonight, as we stand on the threshold of our promised land, let me ask you something. Do you hear what I hear? Listen closely; I think you can hear it.
There it is, I hear the sound of basketballs being dribbled in our gym. I hear cheerleaders leading cheers as FOFCA players compete. I hear the thump of a strong overhand volleyball serve.
I hear the crack of baseball and softball bats as boys and girls play baseball and softball. I hear the footsteps of young men running around bases playing in an adult softball league and I hear the “hut hut” call of a quarterback playing in a flag football league. Don’t you hear it?
I hear the crackle of shoulder pads and helmets as FOFCA kicks off the first home game of their first football season. I hear the drum cadence of the FOFCA marching band as they march onto the football field for their first halftime performance. Don’t you hear it too?
Do you see what I see? Look closer.
I see children getting a chance to compete athletically, a chance they would not get anywhere else. I see the smile of a child who just got their first hit in baseball, or who just re-discovered how much they love to play sports. I see people with disabilities competing, smiling, their families having fun together. Can you see it now?
Maybe you can see children and their parents huddled around as a speaker shares the love of Jesus Christ with them before a ball game. Maybe you can see the man, or woman, or child who on bended knee is asking Jesus to be their savior in a dusty dugout.
I see families who have come to our property hundreds of times for ball practices and games, pulling in on a Sunday morning, coming to worship. Can’t you see those cars?
I see families who will never be the same because God had a chance to change their lives. Families whose lives will never be the same, because of people like you.
People like you who saw the vision, bought into the vision, gave to the vision and committed to see the vision come to life. People who committed to finish!!
The vision God laid out before us years ago has begun to spring to life. Would you join me tonight in promising to come to the end of this journey and to be able to say; “I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith, I stayed committed to finish.”
Can you see it?! Can you hear it?! Will you join us in committing to finish it!?
www.fbcchannahon.org
Ever since that day, God has been at work. Sometimes God has blessed the church directly, sometimes, he’s blessed those who’ve supported the vision God has for this community. For example, when the sisters who owned the property we purchased decided to sell the property to us, they cut more than $100,000 dollars off the purchase price.
As a result, they actually made more money than they would have at the full price due to the savings in capital gains taxes they realized. God blessed First Baptist Church, and at the same time He blessed these sisters.
It’s not been an easy journey either. The forces of evil have mobilized an effort to work against God’s plan. Those forces have presented themselves in many different forms, including Satan worshipers who were so bold as to approach Pastor Randy as he stepped down from the stage following the dedication ceremony.
He was told that our new property had been the place of their worship and sacrifice and that they weren’t going to stop. To which Pastor basically replied, “I’m not going to stop you from doing anything, but my God will”.
We had work days and the whole church it seemed came out to help clear trees, cut grass and clean things up. Drawings were developed that laid out where we would build the building, the pavilion and the ball fields.
Then Landmark Landscape came in and began building the baseball fields. I can still remember the first afternoon our church went out and played softball. We were so excited; we couldn’t wait to play on those new fields. So out we went to play, no fences, nothing set up, just a November afternoon playing softball on our new fields. What an exciting time that was!!
But the plans were never to build facilities for just our purposes. From the beginning the plan was to provide a place for our community and the communities around us to worship and play together.
As the Sports Ministry Director for First Baptist Channahon I’ve enjoyed a front row seat as we’ve watched God open all sorts of opportunities and I’ve watched as God has changed people’s lives.
I could share my thoughts all night, but I thought it might mean more tonight to hear the words from one of the parents in our baseball league.
Quote; “For many years I longed for the opportunity to see my twin boys, now age 11, to be able to play baseball and perhaps flag football in a league that was “different” from the ones I usually hear about. I never wanted them to have to participate in leagues that had coaches who stressed winning as the most important thing, or that had parents screaming at their kids, or those of the opposing team, whenever they made a mistake. My prayers were answered last year when I saw information about a new league that would be starting under the direction of FBC. My first conversation with the leadership of this new league was truly an answer to prayer as their vision for the new baseball league sounded exactly like what my wife and sons and I have been waiting for. Specifically, it was to be an instructional league that stressed teaching the fundamentals and good sportsmanship and to build the confidence of kids who thought they were not good enough to play organized sports in spring leagues. It was and still is called All-Stars Baseball. The goal was to see each player build skills and confidence that would not only make them better players, but better citizens too. We were told at the first practice that a short devotional lesson from the Bible would be presented at each game and that it would be a mandatory part of participation in the league as this league wasn’t simply about the sports, but also was about emphasizing the Christian faith in action. “ End Quote
There have been many times that we’ve had to practice faith in action. As a ministry we’ve stood behind Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7 as our motivating force. In 2 Timothy 4:7 the Apostle Paul tells Peter that “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I kept the faith”. Our faithfulness has paid off many times over.
The property God has blessed us with has already blessed many people and has already changed the lives of families. And the facilities aren’t even done yet. Imagine the possibilities once the building is complete!!
So tonight, as we stand on the threshold of our promised land, let me ask you something. Do you hear what I hear? Listen closely; I think you can hear it.
There it is, I hear the sound of basketballs being dribbled in our gym. I hear cheerleaders leading cheers as FOFCA players compete. I hear the thump of a strong overhand volleyball serve.
I hear the crack of baseball and softball bats as boys and girls play baseball and softball. I hear the footsteps of young men running around bases playing in an adult softball league and I hear the “hut hut” call of a quarterback playing in a flag football league. Don’t you hear it?
I hear the crackle of shoulder pads and helmets as FOFCA kicks off the first home game of their first football season. I hear the drum cadence of the FOFCA marching band as they march onto the football field for their first halftime performance. Don’t you hear it too?
Do you see what I see? Look closer.
I see children getting a chance to compete athletically, a chance they would not get anywhere else. I see the smile of a child who just got their first hit in baseball, or who just re-discovered how much they love to play sports. I see people with disabilities competing, smiling, their families having fun together. Can you see it now?
Maybe you can see children and their parents huddled around as a speaker shares the love of Jesus Christ with them before a ball game. Maybe you can see the man, or woman, or child who on bended knee is asking Jesus to be their savior in a dusty dugout.
I see families who have come to our property hundreds of times for ball practices and games, pulling in on a Sunday morning, coming to worship. Can’t you see those cars?
I see families who will never be the same because God had a chance to change their lives. Families whose lives will never be the same, because of people like you.
People like you who saw the vision, bought into the vision, gave to the vision and committed to see the vision come to life. People who committed to finish!!
The vision God laid out before us years ago has begun to spring to life. Would you join me tonight in promising to come to the end of this journey and to be able to say; “I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith, I stayed committed to finish.”
Can you see it?! Can you hear it?! Will you join us in committing to finish it!?
www.fbcchannahon.org
17 Inches
Published by the FCA daily e-mail devotion.
Brokenness"Blessed are You, God, who comforts them in their brokenness so that they may comfort others..."
-- 2 corinthians 1:3-5
17 Inches
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
READY: "But He will say, 'I tell you, I don't know you or where you're from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!'" -Luke 13:27
SET: As a baseball pitcher and later as a coach, I would find that there would be times when I thought a pitch was close enough to be a strike. When I would question the call, I would always hate to hear the response, "It was just a bit outside." A baseball homeplate is 17 inches wide. Sometimes, as a pitcher, that 17-inch piece of rubber seems to be more like 6 or 7 instead. You know what else is 17 inches? It's roughly the distance from your head to your heart. It's interesting. . .From a spiritual standpoint, many people know about Jesus in their heads. Many can quote Scripture and know all of the Bible stories. Some might even know more about the Bible than their Christian friends. But has all of that knowledge made its way from their head to their heart? The Bible tells us that someday we are going to stand before a holy God and be judged for what we did with our lives. And when that time comes, the last words you are going to want to hear are, "You were just a bit outside." If you've never taken Christ from your head to your heart, stop waiting. Time is precious and there are no guarantees about tomorrow. Don't let 17 inches separate you from an eternal life with Jesus. When it comes to entry into Heaven, you're either going to be in or you're going to be out.
GO:1. Have you ever wanted to be "in"? 2. Where will you spend eternity? 3. Are you ready to walk the narrow road into Heaven? Will you accept Christ as your Savior and surrender your life to Him?
WORKOUT:
Matthew 7:13-14
Matthew 7:21-23
Romans 10:9-10
Brokenness"Blessed are You, God, who comforts them in their brokenness so that they may comfort others..."
-- 2 corinthians 1:3-5
17 Inches
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
READY: "But He will say, 'I tell you, I don't know you or where you're from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!'" -Luke 13:27
SET: As a baseball pitcher and later as a coach, I would find that there would be times when I thought a pitch was close enough to be a strike. When I would question the call, I would always hate to hear the response, "It was just a bit outside." A baseball homeplate is 17 inches wide. Sometimes, as a pitcher, that 17-inch piece of rubber seems to be more like 6 or 7 instead. You know what else is 17 inches? It's roughly the distance from your head to your heart. It's interesting. . .From a spiritual standpoint, many people know about Jesus in their heads. Many can quote Scripture and know all of the Bible stories. Some might even know more about the Bible than their Christian friends. But has all of that knowledge made its way from their head to their heart? The Bible tells us that someday we are going to stand before a holy God and be judged for what we did with our lives. And when that time comes, the last words you are going to want to hear are, "You were just a bit outside." If you've never taken Christ from your head to your heart, stop waiting. Time is precious and there are no guarantees about tomorrow. Don't let 17 inches separate you from an eternal life with Jesus. When it comes to entry into Heaven, you're either going to be in or you're going to be out.
GO:1. Have you ever wanted to be "in"? 2. Where will you spend eternity? 3. Are you ready to walk the narrow road into Heaven? Will you accept Christ as your Savior and surrender your life to Him?
WORKOUT:
Matthew 7:13-14
Matthew 7:21-23
Romans 10:9-10
March 5, 2007
We talked about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas yesterday. Some thoughts that came to mind as we discussed it;
1) in Matthew 26:52-54 we see Jesus scold Peter for cutting off Malchus' ear. Then in Matthew 26:56 we see the disciples desert Jesus. At first glance we may think of them as running from what was about to happen, but maybe;
a) they realized that all Jesus had told them about was coming true, for the first time
b) they understood that Jesus was really going to die and wasn't going to fight it
How incredible it is. Jesus willingly died, for me, for you, for your friends, your neighbors. And He did it knowing all that had happened and was going to happen. Selfless love? That's the definition of it. Webster should just put Jesus' picture in the dictionary for selfless.
1) in Matthew 26:52-54 we see Jesus scold Peter for cutting off Malchus' ear. Then in Matthew 26:56 we see the disciples desert Jesus. At first glance we may think of them as running from what was about to happen, but maybe;
a) they realized that all Jesus had told them about was coming true, for the first time
b) they understood that Jesus was really going to die and wasn't going to fight it
How incredible it is. Jesus willingly died, for me, for you, for your friends, your neighbors. And He did it knowing all that had happened and was going to happen. Selfless love? That's the definition of it. Webster should just put Jesus' picture in the dictionary for selfless.
February 21, 2007
Often we in today's world wonder if there really is a god? I hear people ask this question from time to time. If there is a god, does he still work miracles? Does he care about me?
There is a god, there's only one. His son Jesus came to save us, He died on a cross for us.
Does God still work miracles? Read on and answer for yourself.
My wife received a call yesterday from a friend whose nephew had fallen several feet while skiing. Initially it was thought to be 25-30 feet, but later learned it was closer to 50 feet. He was air lifted to a hospital. A prayer chain initiated prayers for this young man, only 8 years old.
Less than 24 hours later, he walked out of the hospital. No broken bones, no internal injuries. Multiple doctors looked him over and found nothing wrong, all the tests came back negative. He's fine, I'm sure a little sore, bruised, but nothing is broken, nothing serious is wrong.
Miracle?
1 Chronicles 16:12 (NIV)
1Ch 16:12 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced
There is a god, there's only one. His son Jesus came to save us, He died on a cross for us.
Does God still work miracles? Read on and answer for yourself.
My wife received a call yesterday from a friend whose nephew had fallen several feet while skiing. Initially it was thought to be 25-30 feet, but later learned it was closer to 50 feet. He was air lifted to a hospital. A prayer chain initiated prayers for this young man, only 8 years old.
Less than 24 hours later, he walked out of the hospital. No broken bones, no internal injuries. Multiple doctors looked him over and found nothing wrong, all the tests came back negative. He's fine, I'm sure a little sore, bruised, but nothing is broken, nothing serious is wrong.
Miracle?
1 Chronicles 16:12 (NIV)
1Ch 16:12 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced
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