Stand Alone Message "Righteous Play" September 1, 2024

The following is a production of Grace Community Church.

Check us out at graceclarksville.com.

Good morning, Grace family.

Our scripture today is Ephesians chapter 5, verses 1 through 16.

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you.

Such sins have no place among God's people.

Obscene stories, foolish talks, and coarse jokes, these are not for you.

Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.

You can be sure that no evil...

immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God.

For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

Do not be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins,

for the anger of God will fall on all those who disobey him.

Do not participate in the things these people do.

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.

So live as people of light.

This light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness.

Instead, expose them.

It is shameful even to talk about these things that ungodly people do in secret.

But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them.

For the light makes everything visible.

This is why it is said,

Awake, O sleeper!

Rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.

So be careful how you live.

Do not live like fools, but like those who are wise.

Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

Good morning, Grace.

We're so glad that you're here with us this morning on this Labor Day weekend.

And let's be honest, you're here right now because you don't have a friend that owns a boat.

Or, or,

maybe you don't have a friend that owns a boat.

Or, or, maybe you don't have a friend that owns a boat.

Or, or, maybe you are just that godly and you're like, we've got to go to church.

It's Sunday, but I think it's probably the latter for most of you in the room.

But regardless of why you're here, we're glad that you are here.

And just like Christy was saying this morning, we're in between our two series.

We just finished the book of Nehemiah.

We're about to start the book of Romans.

So I'm kind of your commercial break in between these two series.

And today, what I want us to do is kind of focus on the book of Romans.

And I want to focus on something that we don't really talk about much at all at church.

And it's actually kind of sad because it's one of the things that should be the thing that most people see about us.

And to get into that, I want us to do something a little bit different this morning.

And already some of you are like, why did I come here?

Today, I want us to start our service.

I'm going to put my student pastor hat on for a minute from when I was a student.

One of the things that we would do to start any of our worship services with middle and high school students is we would start with a game.

And so I want to start this morning with a game.

Is that okay?

Can we do that?

Already, you're dreading it.

Don't worry.

Stick with me.

It has a biblical principle, I promise.

So in just a minute, you're going to pick a partner.

Okay?

So already be thinking of who you're not planning to pick that's sitting near you.

I want to encourage you, maybe pick someone that you haven't talked to before.

Okay?

Way to make friends.

And what we're going to play is a game.

It's a game that has existed since the dawn of man called rock, paper, scissors.

Okay?

And the reason we're going to play this game is because Peter is the rock of the church, right?

No.

We're going to play this game because it's pretty simple.

I think a lot of us know how to play it.

If not, let me explain it to you for a minute.

And I need you to participate with me on this.

All right.

So there are three options you're about to have to choose from.

And each of them have benefits and deficiencies.

Okay?

So stick with me.

So first, you have your rock.

Can you show me the rock?

There you go.

You've got rock.

And then you've got paper.

Very good.

And then you've got scissors.

Very good.

You've got it down.

All right.

So let me tell you the benefits of rock.

Rock defeats scissors.

Don't ask me why.

This is the way God intended it in the Word of God.

So rock defeats scissors.

But here's the thing.

Paper covers rock.

But here's the problem with paper.

It's cut by scissors.

Okay?

So each of these options have a benefit.

They also have a deficiency.

So it's just based on if you picked the right thing versus the person that's next to you.

If you both pick the same thing, you both lose.

If you change your option at the last minute, you lose in so many ways because you're also a cheater and no one likes you.

But if you win, eternal glory.

All right?

So here's what I want you to do so that there's no cheating.

I'm going to lead us.

And what we're going to do is we're going to say rock.

Paper.

Scissors.

And then when I say shoot, you put out your option.

Okay?

So go ahead.

Turn to someone near you.

Let them be your partner.

Introduce yourself to them.

Even if they know you.

Maybe they've been saying your name wrong for years.

All right?

You and me.

Yep.

All right.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

Rock.

Paper.

Scissors.

Shoot.

Ah!

All right.

Go ahead and face back up here for a minute.

If you won, hold up the victory fist.

Yeah?

Good job.

Mathematically, I think there were too many winners in this room.

But I'll take it.

Whatever.

All right.

What's the point of that?

It's Labor Day weekend.

We get to do something fun.

See you guys next week.

No.

There is a point to this.

Here's the thing.

When I mentioned that we were about to do something a little bit different,

and even more specifically, when I probably mentioned that we were about to play a game,

your heart went into your stomach, right?

You're like, no.

Why?

I thought I could just sit here and listen.

Why are we doing anything participatory?

But if I were to do this exact same thing in our kindergarten through fifth grade environment,

or if I were to do this in our preschool environment, which, boy, that would be an experience.

But here's the thing.

In either of those kids' ministry areas, there would be excitement.

There would be joy.

The byproduct of what eventually happened in this room would be the immediate response of the kids in the kids' ministry environment.

And why is that?

Because children have a heart that is ready to play.

Children know how to play.

Children are ready at any given moment.

Children are ready at any given moment to play.

And if you are a parent in this room, or a teacher, or if you know, or maybe even are a child psychologist or psychiatrist,

or if you've ever even just seen a kid, you know that there is something really beneficial that takes place when kids play.

That there's actual developmental benefits to children that play.

They develop more physically, mentally, and emotionally.

They learn very basic, important skills like sharing, cooperation, imagination, creativity, curiosity.

They're developing their own stamina as they run around and as they play.

Very important things take place when a kid is playing.

But here's the thing I wasn't ready for as a parent.

I was ready for all the playing.

I knew that would be, and I was honestly very excited about that element.

But I didn't understand the spirit.

I didn't understand the spiritual development that takes place during play.

Because I've seen this play out even in my own son's life.

He's three and a half years old.

Our house is defined by play right now.

And I love it, but I wasn't ready and anticipating how much it was going to start developing him spiritually.

Because play has a way of doing this.

One of the things that I've noticed with him is it gives him a mindfulness of God through play.

He has a mindfulness of God.

Because he has this godly curiosity.

He asks me questions while we're playing.

God, or dad, nope.

You're like, there's some real unhealthy practices happening at the Riggins household.

Yes, my child.

No.

I'll see you guys next week.

That's why I don't preach every Sunday.

He says, dad, why did God make the grass green?

Hey, dad, why is it raining right now?

He asks me these questions about God.

Hey, dad.

Why didn't God make the trees so tall?

Because he has a mindfulness of God.

He's curious about God when we play.

The other thing that I've noticed with him is that he is practicing the spiritual development of praise and thanksgiving.

Because at the end of the day, one of the things that we'll do is we'll pray.

And we really encourage Bruce to pray on his own.

To actually say things that he's thankful for that God has given him.

And so what he'll do is he'll list through things that he loved about his day.

And guaranteed, he always refers to moments where he got to play.

He knows that this is something good that he needs to thank God for.

And here's one of the other things that I've found.

It's developing him in steps towards righteousness.

To begin to practice righteousness through play.

Because he knows that there are certain rules when we play.

That, hey, we don't leave the playground without telling mom or dad what you're doing when we play.

Hey, when your friend is pretending to be a dragon,

that doesn't mean we act like that.

We actually hit them.

We just pretend.

He learns things.

He's learning what is right and what is wrong,

even in the work of play.

And so here's my question.

If we know that this is something that's happening in our children,

that they are developing as better people through play,

and that they're even developing spiritually through play,

then why aren't we, as God's people,

embracing play more regularly in our lives?

Why do we feel like play is a thing that children have the market on,

and that we don't participate anymore once we grow up?

You see, if this is truly something that God uses to spiritually develop us,

to help us to be more imitations of Christ,

then why don't we embrace it?

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus,

and he writes very clearly,

to be imitators of Christ,

to duplicate, to live,

to make every action, thought, feeling that we participate in,

to try to imitate Christ.

He trademarked WWJD before anyone else.

And one of the ways that we imitate Christ

is through how we express our praise to Him through play.

God has given us this opportunity.

And so today what I want to do is I want to,

maybe hopefully, awaken a childlike faith

that has been buried deep inside us for a while.

I want to talk to you this morning about

the gift that is righteous play

that the Lord puts before all of us,

and how the gift of righteous play

can actually lead us and develop us spiritually

to better imitate Christ in our lives.

So let's talk a little bit about play.

First, we need to answer this question,

how do we even know that God values it?

How do we know that this is something

that God even really cares about?

Because if you were to read the Bible from cover to cover,

I've got a little bit of bad news for you.

You're not going to read any reference to football,

baseball, basketball, or even golf.

It's because golf is not a sport.

No, I'm just kidding.

I'm just kidding.

Some of you are like, too far.

No, it talks about walking around in the wilderness.

And so some of you are like, well, that's my golf life.

Like, it does talk about that.

But it doesn't actually refer to most activities

that we participate in play.

It doesn't talk about hide and seek,

unless you want to view that as Jesus dying

and then coming back from the dead

and showing up to his disciples.

It doesn't talk about ring around the rosy.

It doesn't talk about tag.

It doesn't talk about any of these things

that we normally think about when we think about play.

So how do we know that God values it?

Because we can know the character of God

through his word,

and we can know more about God

even by looking at his creation around us.

So let's first of all look at the creation,

or let's look at the character of God.

And I think the easiest way to begin

to grasp the character of God

is to look at the Son of God,

to look at Jesus.

And when we look at Jesus,

we see someone that embodies

the work of play in his life and his ministry.

In the very first miracle that we see Jesus perform,

he is doing it in a place of play.

He's doing it at this wedding.

There's a wedding that's going on,

and wedding naturally would mean

dancing, singing, laughter, joy, feasting,

and of course, wine.

The fuel of celebration, especially in Jesus' time.

And wine is this fundamental thing

that exists at a wedding.

It is a sign of status.

It is a sign of joy.

It is a sign of gratitude

toward the people that are present.

And Jesus is standing there at this party,

and I don't imagine that he's standing in the corner

going, all right, let's wrap this up.

I imagine he's a participant.

And here's why I think that,

because the wine begins to run out.

And this would have been an immediate end

to a lot of the celebration.

To a lot of the play,

this would have wrapped things up.

But Jesus, instead of going,

all right, gather around for Bible study,

he instead does this miracle.

He turns water into wine.

His first miracle is to show the world

that he cares about celebration,

that he cares about fun,

that he cares about joy,

that he cares about play.

We see it too in the fact that Jesus

would spend time with people at a table,

at a meal with them.

And I don't imagine that these meals

were like UN delegations,

that these were like,

real fun events.

They were family reunions.

They were gatherings of people together,

laughing and having joy

and reclining at the table together.

One of the other examples that we can see

is that children were drawn to Jesus.

That there was something about his character

that they were drawn to.

Children are the ambassadors of play.

And they see and know and feel

when someone around them

has a playful spirit too.

And they were drawn to it.

And they were drawn to Jesus.

This is the character of God.

We can see that God values play

just simply through his character.

But here's the other way that we can see it.

We can see it in the world around us.

That the world that he has created for us,

we see that he has this characteristic

of value towards play.

You see, the theological term for this

of understanding God through his creation

is this thing called general revelation.

And general revelation simply means

that if we did not have the power

of God,

that if we did not have the Bible,

that if we did not know how to read it

or we didn't have access to it,

that in the world, in creation,

we still have some general knowledge

that we can understand about God.

Things like his magnificence,

his magnitude,

his beauty,

his love,

his care.

We see these things in creation.

When you see a mountain,

you cannot look at that

and not tell me that we do not serve a God

that is great and beautiful.

That is great and big and mighty.

When you look at a sunset,

you can't tell me that we do not have

a creative God that values beauty.

When you see a dog chasing its own tail,

you cannot tell me that God does not care

about us experiencing good, fun things in life.

We can know that God values righteous play

because of his character

and because of the creation,

the nature that we live in,

each and every day.

But here's the thing,

and Paul even talks about this

in verses three through four.

He says,

let there be no sexual immorality,

impurity, or greed among you.

Such sins have no place among God's people.

Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes,

these are not for you.

Paul talks about these things,

these sinful things,

because here's the thing he knows,

we know, we're all aware of

about ourselves and humankind.

We're really good at corrupting good things.

We're really good about corrupting good things.

And we're really good at even taking something like play

and making it an idolatry.

We can take something like play

and corrupt what God intended for it.

And how do we know if we are experiencing corrupted play?

Well, it's usually self-serving.

It's usually self-serving,

it's usually focused,

on making yourself feel better.

It's isolating.

It's something that would not be honoring God.

It's something that wouldn't even consider God.

How do we know if it's corrupted play?

Can I tell you one of the ways that I know

we're really good at corrupting things

that are meant to be good?

Go to any Little League game

in the United States at any time.

It is one of those heartbreaking things for me,

because you will have a parent

that just takes,

takes it way too seriously,

and is yelling at their child,

making them cry,

yelling at a coach,

yelling at an umpire.

Do you know how else I know

that we're really bad about

allowing the play that God has for us

to play out in our own lives?

Because we struggle so much

to interact with one another,

to spend time with each other,

to do something new

or a little bit,

uh,

to be uncertain in our own lives.

We're much more comfortable isolating ourselves,

closing ourselves off,

standing in a line,

looking down at our phone,

putting an iPad in front of a child,

anything we can do to try to stick away

from being interactive with one another.

We're really good at corrupting things

that God intended for good.

That's why play even needs parameters.

We've gotta have some parameters.

That's why there are rules in sports.

That's why, uh,

the parameters of play actually make it more enjoyable.

If you don't believe me,

play hide and seek with a kid

and don't make a rule of how long you're allowed to hide.

Then it turns into who has 911 on speed dial.

We need parameters for play.

And it's even an illustration or a reflection for us

of what the kingdom of God looks like

because here's the thing about the kingdom of God.

To live in the kingdom of God is to live freely in,

in the redemption and goodness and grace

and mercy of Jesus Christ.

While also walking at the same time

in the boundaries of the law that God has given us.

Because when we walk in the boundaries of the law,

it helps us to fully experience God's goodness

and creation without corrupting it.

The law of God helps us to fully embrace our relationship

in our life with God without corrupting it.

It sets the parameters.

So yes, there is play that is not righteous,

that is corrupt, but righteous play is different

because here's how I would define it.

Righteous play is the expression of praise to God

through the act of fun, imagination, and cooperation.

Another way to say it,

righteous play is the expression of praise to the Lord

that draws us closer to him.

Righteous play should draw us

closer to God, closer to his people,

not further from him or further from his people.

And why do we need this?

Why is this something that God values?

Why is this something that is important for our own lives?

Well, really plainly because life is hard.

Life is really hard.

Full of anxieties and frustrations and sadness

and stresses that are surmounting.

I totally get it.

The personification of life being hard this week.

I was driving to the church.

I had forgotten something and so I'm on a mission from God.

I'm here to do God's will.

I'm trying to go back to the church

to get something for church.

And so as I'm driving back,

it's a little bit later in the day.

And so there are more people on the road,

but very surprisingly, especially for Clarksville,

there wasn't a lot of traffic.

We weren't even driving at a slower pace.

Everything was kind of moving very smoothly.

But as I got to near the end of Rossview

where the Wendy's is and you can turn on to Rollo,

I start to hear a horn, like a car horn,

which is not surprising at all.

It's as common as like a bird singing in the spring

when you're in Clarksville.

Like horns are just blaring all the time.

But this one was different.

This one wasn't just like a ,

it was like constant.

There was no stopping it.

It was just this consistent horn being honked.

And so I was like, okay, you want our attention.

So I started looking to see what's going on.

And in the left lane, and again, let me be clear,

traffic is moving.

We're not going slower.

We're not stuck.

Everyone's still flowing in traffic.

I see this truck where the man is holding his hand

down on his horn, blaring it.

Face is completely stoic, completely neutral.

He's not sad, he's not angry, he's not happy,

just blaring the horn.

And then his hand is sticking out of his window.

And he is doing a gesture that says,

I'm very angry when you're driving.

And he is just living that life.

It's not towards one person, it's

toward literally everyone that's driving past in traffic.

And I was like, my goodness, this is a mood right now.

Like, it was the most extreme example

of what life can do to us if we don't

have righteous play in it.

Righteous play has a way of helping us see,

see that this life is temporal.

I am not in any way discounting the difficulty, the hardness,

the complexity that is life.

Trust me, I know.

There are so many days where I want to just scream or yell out

of frustration because of things going on in our world,

because of the injustices in traffic,

because of things not going the way I wanted.

For disappointments.

There are days I want to cry because things

are so hard.

so broken and so heavy and so difficult. And here's what righteous play does. It doesn't do

what sinful play does, where a sinful play would try to actually just ignore or mute or downplay

the hurt that is prevalent in life. Righteous play doesn't do that. It doesn't ignore the hurt of

life, but it instead refocuses our life back onto the one who gives it to us, onto the Lord who

gives us good things. It focuses our attention back onto the truth that this is not our home

and that our home is the place of uninhibited play, that the kingdom of God is a kingdom that

is meant to be of play, of goodness, of joy, of laughter, of praise, of singing out, of dancing,

of celebration to who God is.

And when we experience righteous play, it begins to turn our eyes back to Jesus. In the simplest

way, here's what I would say righteous play does to us in the difficulty of life. It gives us hope.

It gives us hope again. We need this. And this is just one of those ways, one of those avenues

beginning to help us begin to be imitators of Christ.

Righteous play allows us to imitate, even in the most basic sense, the hope that exists

in Christ. We need righteous play. It opens us to the work of God.

So with our remaining time, can I talk to you about how does righteous play practically begin

to help us be imitators of Christ?

practically begin to help us imitate Christ more in our life? Well, first, righteous play

is a sacrificial work. To experience righteous play, you have to be willing to sacrifice

your time, your comfort, your energy, your attention, your agenda, sometimes even your finances.

Righteous play requires a sacrifice, and Paul writes about how important this is

in verse 2 of his letter to the Ephesians. He says,

live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered

himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. I see that sacrifice is so necessary with

righteous play because even as a dad, it is very common for my son to come up to me or to my wife

and say, hey, will you play for me? I say, I'm going to play for you. I'm going to play for you.

play with me? And it's always when you're busy, right? It's always when you're doing something,

when your hands are full, when you've got all the grocery bags, or you're hanging something up on

the wall. He always comes to us with that. His favorite is to sometimes do that at three in the

morning. You know, when everyone wants to play. I will be laying in bed, asleep, experiencing the

blessing of rest from God, when I have this presence that something is there, and I open my

eyes, and my sweet son's face is this close to me. He says, Daddy, can we play? I'm like, yes,

I'm gonna play, pretend that I'm sleeping, and you're gonna go do the same. No, so often, honestly,

when I'm asked, when he asks me, Daddy, will you play with me? I feel like I can't.

I'm busy, son. I can't right now. Sorry. And here's the thing. It's a conviction for me. Yeah,

there are some times I really can't stop to play, but the thing is that play is meant to be present

oriented. It's present oriented. It's something we do in the moment, but here's the thing.

The result of it is future preparing. Righteous play is present oriented. We have to be willing

to sacrifice in the present, but here's the thing. When we sacrifice,

in the present, it sets up our heart. It prepares our life for a future oriented self that is more

mindful and aware of God's presence. When we sacrifice our time, when we sacrifice our comfort

to even experience life with somebody else, here's what we're saying to them.

When we sacrifice our time to be with someone else and to play with them,

here's what we're saying. You are valuable to me. You are valuable to me. And that God,

I'm going to play with you. I'm going to play with you. I'm going to play with you. I'm going to play with you.

I'm going to utilize the time that you have given me in a way that honors you through celebration,

the work of play, because it is a work. If you don't believe me, then go play basketball in a

gym with no AC in the middle of the summer. It is work, but it is something that brings joy to our

lives. Paul described sacrifice as a pleasing aroma to God. I think about it this way.

Like when you come down for dinner and before you've even taken that first bite, you smell it

and your stomach is ready for it. Your mind is focused on it. The same starts to happen when we

participate in righteous play. It prepares our hearts and minds for our future home with Christ,

but it requires sacrifice. It is a denial of self. And one of the things about righteous play,

it is rarely done alone. It is a communal act. It is a communal sacrifice. Over the last few

weeks, Drew and I have, which if you don't know, we're actually the same person because everyone

always thinks that we're the same. So tell Drew he did a great job with today's sermon before you

leave. But Drew and I have started getting some guys together in our church and we play pickle

ball at a really ungodly hour in the morning, three o'clock in the morning. No, but at a

really ungodly hour in the morning. And we play pickleball at a really ungodly hour in the morning.

Really early time, before work so that we can play a little bit before we go to work.

And we have really tried to strong arm a lot of guys into coming and playing pickleball with us.

Because here's the thing, it's a sport, it even feels ridiculous to call it that, but it is.

It is a sport that at name alone is as goofy as probably how you feel like it is. But here's the

thing. I've seen it week and week out with guys coming in for the first time. There's this look

of deep judgment and apprehension and regret and frustration about being up this early to play

a sport that has the word pickle in it. But within 10 minutes, I see the childlike excitement come

out of them. I see them in a new light. I see them in a way that they probably haven't even

seen themselves since they were little kids. I see the child of God coming out of them.

And here's the thing, while we're playing together, I'm not worried about their politics.

I'm not worried about how much money they make. I'm not worried about what they think about me,

unless I'm just playing really badly. You see, we're at an equal playing field when we play

together. We just see them as God's people, as children of God. And from this place, I draw near

to them. We share something together.

But it's only possible through the sacrifice that comes through righteous play.

So we've got to be willing to sacrifice. We also, here's the thing that happens with righteous play,

it practices for us the spiritual tools of praise and gratitude. We begin to practice praise and

gratitude when we experience righteous play. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 8 through 9, Paul says,

for once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.

So live as people of light, for this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Why does Paul tell us that as Christians, we are somehow bringing out a light, that you have a

light from the Lord? Why does he use this? Because a light is seen by others. And the thing that

should be true of every single Christian is that there should be none in this world,

that are more joyful, more willing to celebrate, more willing to laugh, more willing to have fun,

more willing to play than the Christian. Because we have something to play for.

We have something to celebrate. We have something to be joyful about.

More than anyone else, we know where our joy comes from. We know where celebration is meant

to be had. Biblical churches are churches that express the fruits of play in every,

every single thing they do. That's why we are a church that cares about celebrating baptism.

That's why we are a church that celebrate when people come into groups to be able to have a

meal together or laugh together. And yes, dive into God's word together, but do that in a way

of community that brings us together in joy. We are a church that invests in camps so that

students can gather away from Clarksville for a little bit and jump around in this musty room,

out in the woods and say, yes, Jesus is worth this type of celebration.

We are a church that cares about this because biblical churches should

care about this. And it is a witness to everyone around us. Charles Spurgeon talked about the

importance of our light and how it can impact those who don't even know God. He talked about

it this way. He said, as we do imitate God, we become representatives of God.

Especially before those who have shut God out of their life. What are we sent into the world for?

Is it not that we may keep men in mind of God, whom they are the most anxious to forget?

If we are imitators of God, as dear children, they will be compelled to recollect that there

is a God, for they will see his character reflected in ours. I have heard of an atheist who

said he could get over every argument except the example of his godly mother. He could never

answer that. Righteous play is a witness to all of those around us. It is a light

for others to see how God is working and moving in our lives. And here's the last thing it is.

It is a spiritual tool for shaping our spiritual character.

Righteous play is a spiritual tool for shaping our spiritual character.

Because righteousness is a tool for shaping our spiritual character.

play, as Paul calls us to do, is making the best use of our time, because it develops us.

Play is not a waste of time, just like spending time with a loved one is not a waste of time.

Play is not a waste of time in the same way that when we spend time working through sacrifice,

praise, fellowship, and growing in our faith is not a waste of time.

But one of the unique things that righteous play develops, a spiritual tool that we've

probably never even thought of as a spiritual tool, are the tools of curiosity and imagination.

Curiosity is a spiritual tool because, like I said at the beginning, it makes us more mindful of God.

It gives us things to draw near to God, questions that we have for Him,

ways that we deepen our faith by being able to open our hands and say,

I don't have all the answers.

If you're not curious about God, you have got to begin to draw near to Him in play,

to look at His creation, to ask questions of why He does this. Why did He make this

the way that He did? But the spiritual tool as well of imagination is vital.

Paul himself calls us to be imitators of Christ. That word imitate means to act like, to play like,

to pretend to be like Christ. And here's what happens when we do that.

When you imagine your life differently, you begin to establish steps towards living your life

differently. For the addict, there is a powerful tool in imagining a life of sobriety

that picture the steps necessary to do so and begin to take those steps. For the betrayed and

hurt person, there is healing. There is a powerful tool in imagining a life of sobriety that picture the steps necessary to do so and begin to take those steps.

There is healing in the imagining of what life could look like if we forgive.

For the person doubting God, there is a nearness that comes from imagining the Lord right by your

side. Righteous play offers this. I want to end this morning with a passage from C.S. Lewis, but

I'm not Adam, so I'm not going to use necessarily a deep theological one.

Instead, what I would like to do is tap into the thing that C.S. Lewis is most commonly known for,

what he's famous for. A book series that he wrote where he practiced his imagination and creativity

and curiosity, where he played through his words of creating this fictional world called Narnia.

And in this fictional world called Narnia, there's this godly type creature named Aslan.

And in the third book, there's this godly type creature called Aslan. And in the third book,

in this series, there's a young girl named Lucy and a young boy named Edmund who have been to Narnia

now twice, but Aslan, at the end of this book, looks at them and tells them that they will no

longer be able to come back to Narnia. And here's their interaction. It isn't Narnia, you know,

sobbed Lucy. It's you. We shan't meet you there in the real world. And how can we live never meeting

you? You shall meet me, dear one, said Aslan.

Are you there too, sir, said Edmund? I am, said Aslan. But there I have another name.

You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason that you were brought to Narnia,

that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.

Through righteous play, we put in the practice of imitating Christ.

We sacrifice, we praise and thank him, and we develop the spiritual tools of curiosity

and imagination. In righteous play, let us begin to know God a little bit better

so that we can know him at our best in the real world. So this week, I want to encourage you,

play. When your child comes to you and says, hey,

will you play with me? The answer is yes. When a friend reaches out and says, hey,

do you want to go do this together? Do you want to go on a walk? Or do you want to go

play pickleball? I swear this wasn't a guilt trip for those of you who have said no to me on

pickleball. Be willing to play. Put into practice the imitation of Christ through righteous play.

Let us pray. Lord, thank you for the gift of your goodness.

The gift of your grace.

The gift of play that we so often neglect and overlook as childish or something we've grown out

of. Instead, Lord, birth for us a childlike faith, a childlike excitement to play again.

Let us draw near to your people and draw near to you in sacrifice, praise, and thanksgiving,

in a curiosity and imagination for you. We love you, Lord. It's in your name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, guys. We'll see you next week.

Thanks for listening. For more about Grace Community Church, check out graceclarksville.com.