Super Soul Sunday

Pastor Eric Burton - February 9, 2025

Key Verse Today: Matthew 16:26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

Sycamore quality: church should be enjoyable.

It's Super Bowl Sunday!  Apollo 11 Moon landing and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show are considered the most watched event.

Today we're going to have some fun with a N. American tradition while presenting a biblical truth. 

Because of the NFL's copyright restriction on the use "Super Bowl" others have deemed today as Super Sunday!

I'm not a big proponent of gimmicky sermons but culture is worth using when it can bring a spiritual insight.  Jesus often did this through his teaching.  So what if today we had a Super Soul Sunday. 

Today our soul is the prize and there will be a winner and loser, you decide.
   
The first soul we read about in the Bible is Adam's.
 
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The life in Adam was different than the life in every other creation.
Adam was made from the same earth but didn't have the same source of life. There may be similarities between you and another species  because God used the same material.  But when he gave life He put something different in Adam and every human being that made us a living soul.  His Breath.  

We're made of the same earth but what's in me is different.  

The breath of God gave Adam the ability to do a purpose rich work on earth transcending robotic instinct.  The breath of God ignites our ability to connect with our purpose and our world.    

The soul is the immortal part of our being. We know we have one but don't know how to listen to it. 
We know we have one but don't know how to nourish it.
We know we have one but don't know if it's healthy.  
We know we have one but don't know it's value.  
We know we have one but fail to realize it's going to live forever somewhere.

It's difficult to put your finger on soul.  It's the combination of heaven and earth. When eternal was mixed with temporal. It's feeling and facts. Soul will make you remember your alive. 
This is what is up for grabs today. 
John 10:9-10 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Soul is when you know the rules and then bend them.
You know soul when you hear
When you hear it you feel it
When you feel it you express it
When you express it you see it

We need more soul in the church
More soul in our prayers, our worship, our preaching, our evangelizing, our faith

In Matthew Jesus asks is there anything worth more than your soul?
He says, what does it profit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul.  In order for there to be a profit what I'm getting has to be more than what I'm giving, that's good economics? Is there anything more valuable than your soul. 
Some people have gained earthly riches and notoriety at the expense of what makes them different. 
Moses praise to God that he wouldn't take His presence from them because that's what made them different than everyone else.  Don't lose what makes you, you. Don't lose your identity and creativity.  The beat in your heart was gone.  Your joy and passion. 
We won't come out profitable when we put pleasure over value, gratification over value, quantity over value. Opinion over value. 

Ephesians 2:5 We were dead in our trespasses (sin) 
Much what kills us is trespass.  We went where we weren't supposed.  We violated a boundary God set up. 
 
God breathed into Adam and he became a living soul. We were dead in our trespasses and sins but God wants to breath life back into you. 
Jesus' breath is what gave the disciples the Holy Ghost
It's the same breath that came from heaven like a mighty rushing wind on the day of Pentecost.
It's the breath of God that makes us alive!

God gave us a playbook for the soul to be saved.
Run the play. 

There's this interview with Drew Brees about the QB calls. And Stephen Colbert wanted to know how you decode this long connection of phrases to make sense. 
The coach wants you to run the play because it works. But so often we don't want to follow the instructions. 

God's play for saving your soul starts with 

1. Believing.  
Mark 16:16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.
2. Repent
Luke 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
3. Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
4. Because all have sinned
Romans 3:23
5. Be filled with the Holy Spirit; the breath of God.  
Acts 2:38
Ephesians 1:13

What If Jesus were a Quarterback?

Your second half can be a comeback. 
If it feels like the first half of your life, no matter your age, was a mess there’s still time to come back! 

Conversion
Who's the best at 4th down conversions?
 
Luke 19:10 Jesus  came to seek and to save that which was lost. 
This is the story of Zacchaeus.  He had gained the world and lost his soul. He spent half his life doing the wrong thing.  But Jesus called a play.  Zacchaeus ran it and the second half of his life was better than the first.  

The first half of your life may be a mess but Jesus can turn it around.