ExpressYourself4Him

Video of the Day: Scene from the 2016 film “Greater”

(Disclaimer-Today’s clip contains a curse word by a coach that is corrected by the player)

Bible Verse of the Day:

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize, 1 Corinthians 9:25-27.

Biblical Connection:

Greater is based upon the true story of an overweight Brandon Burlsworth who decides to try out as a walk on for the Arkansas football team. While Brandon played by Christopher Severio has the physical size, the coach in today’s scene is honest about Brandon’s condition. As a new year begins, human beings accumulate baggage over the course of their lives. This baggage comes in the form of addictions, bad habits, cravings and desires natural to man. Saying that you want to change in 2025 is one thing, but actually making the effort and sacrifices to do so is up to you. May Brandon’s inspirational transformation give you hope that you too can change for the better this year.

Recent archeological digs in and around Corinth have uncovered first century taverns. Since Corinth was host to the Isthmian Games every two years, a non-Olympic year event, the apostle Paul appeals to avid sports fans in today’s featured passage. Although the athletic Paul describes are runners, he points out the strenuous discipline necessary to qualify for these games. As a former high school cross-country runner and swimmer, I was forced to eat healthy food, work out in the gym and train in the offseason so that I would continue to improve. This same training applies to the spiritual realm, 1 Timothy 4:8. If you want to draw closer to Jesus in 2025, you need to reach higher by hiding God’s Word, the Bible, in your heart.

Closing Song:

Time doesn’t slow down as you seek to change. Rather, most of us experience a jam-packed schedule, living in overdrive, working hard to bring about transformation like Brandon.

by Jay Mankus.

Video of the Day: Scene from the 2004 film “Friday Night Lights”

Bible Verse of the Day:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Biblical Connection:

Billy Bob Thorton plays Coach Gary Gaines in the film Friday Night Nights that inspired a television series. As Coach Gaines gives his final halftime speech of the season, he covers several topics. While the context is about being perfect, Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:48, Coach Gaines touches on the Golden Rule. Although Hollywood movies and series tend to be theologically inaccurate, the overriding message in today’s clip is that football is a game that brings people together.

The competitive aspect of football ends in high school for most athletes. Yet, the relationships formed continue well beyond this game thanks to events like Homecoming, tailgating and weekend get togethers. When competitors, friends and teammates love their neighbors as they want to be treated, this is the civility that God desires for our culture. Jesus speaks about going the extra mile in Matthew 5:41-42, doing more than what is expected. When a culture starts to encourage their citizens to emulate good Samaritans, Luke 10:25-37, this is the ideal social climate that we all crave, hope for and pray to experience during our lifetime.

Closing Song:

An interactive blog to engage our culture in 2025 by Jay Mankus.

Video of the Day: Scene from the 1994 film “Little Giants”

Bible Verse of the Day:

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God, 1 Samuel 17:33-36.

Biblical Connection:

Rick Moranis plays Coach Danny O’Shea. presiding over the Bad News Bears version of a pee wee football team. After another humiliating loss, Coach gives his players a glimpse of hope in the form of the one time in life he was successful during an athletic competition. As each player recounts a similar experience, hope is conceived in the mind of each of these players.

When David placed his hope in God rather than the goliath odds that stood against him, a quiet confidence formed. Despite King Saul’s attempt to talk him out of this fight, David recounted how the Lord had prepared him for this specific battle. While all the soldiers in the Israeli army fled Goliath’s daily challenge, David stood tall with God on his side. May David’s miraculous victory over a giant fill you with hope that God will help you defeat the challenges you’ll be facing in 2025.

Closing Song:

An interactive blog to engage our culture in 2025 by Jay Mankus.