I think most of you would agree that we live in a sports-oriented culture. Even the average athlete makes more money than the President of the United States, and most college coaches make more money than the professors who teach at our universities. Yes, every Saturday and Sunday there are athletic events that have the capacity to attract millions of folks to stadiums, golf courses, and race tracks.

These athletic events also have a way of attracting the headlines of the morning newspapers even when we are in the midst of the Middle East peace talks and the crises in Bosnia and South Africa. Sporting and athletic events have existed long in the annals of history.

In comparison at this point, our world today is very little different from the world of Jesus'' day, Paul''s day or the Roman…