Carousel: Week 2, January 13, 2019

There’s one sound that no relay runner ever wants to hear—it’s the sound of a dropped relay baton clanking on the track.

 

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, both the United States men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams dropped their batons—and heard that dreaded sound. 

 

Both squads were heavy favorites.  Both were leading their races and headed for certain victory.  But both dropped the batons as they headed into their fourth and final leg.  Their long-held hopes of Olympic glory were dashed.

 

On the surface, relaying a baton does not seem hard.  Batons are about a foot in length, lightweight, and cylindrical.  They go by a simple nickname: the “stick.”  But history has shown that it’s not as easy to make the pass successfully as you might think.  It requires dedicated training and a laser focus. 

 

To win, the team has to pass the baton well.  Repeatedly.  It doesn’t matter how fast or fearless or experienced the runners are.  If they fail to “stick the passing of the stick,” they are disqualified.

 

Similarly, the kingdom of God goes forward—it “wins,” if you will—as one generation passes the stick of faith to the next. 

 

This Sunday we will learn how to take and pass the baton of faith.  Join us at Istrouma!

 

Carousel: The Broken Heroes of Judges

“Pass the Baton Well to Win”

Judges 2:7-16

 

1. A loyal generation (Judges 2:7-9)
   1. Marked by an influential faith (2:7)
   2. Marked by an individual faith (2:8)
2. A lost generation (Judges 2:10-15)
   1. Marked by their ignorance(2:10)
   2. Marked by their iniquity(2:11-15a)
3. A loved generation (Judges 2:15b-16)
   1. God saw their distress(2:15b)
   2. God secured their deliverance(2:16)