FROM THE PULPIT: FUNDAMENTALS -- A WINNING COMBINATION

It has been a good football season in Jackson. The Indians finished with a 9-2 record, and gave us lots of good moments, thrills, and memories in spite of a season ending loss in the first round of the playoffs. And the Rams are finally giving St. Louis-area fans something to cheer about.

In order to have a good football team, players must be good at the fundamentals. They must run, pass, catch, block and tackle, and do them well. Many times when a team is slumping, a coach will return to working on the fundamentals. Even in the pros, Vince Lombardi's championship teams were well known for their relentlessly flawless execution of the fundamentals.

In our spiritual life, too, fundamentals are most important. We have recently celebrated All Saints Day. Even the most famous of them (people such as St. Francis, St. Paul, St. Teresa) were generally people who observed and practiced the fundamentals.

And what are the spiritual fundamentals? These are the things Jesus taught, of course. We can find them summed up in a clear and simple way in Acts chapter 2. The disciples were instructed by Jesus to "make disciples." The activities of the early church immediately following the mass conversions at Pentecost illustrate these fundamentals."They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. ..they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:42,45.

We find the "apostles' teaching" in the Holy Bible. "Men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21) "Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it." (Luke 11:28.

We devote ourselves to the fellowship by regular attendance with other believers at church, Bible classes, prayer meetings and the like. We are called the "body of Christ" (1 Cor.

12) and like a physical body, we need each other to be complete and healthy, as well as obedient. "Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8) "Bring an offering and come into His courts." (Psalm 9 6 : 8 )The breaking of bread is not merely sharing meals (which in itself would be a major improvement for many families) but a participation in the sacrament of Holy Communion. It is there we share in the Lord's body and blood most intimately as we also remember his sacrificial death on Calvary's cross. "Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19.

Prayer may take many forms- thanksgiving, requests, confession, intercession, pouring out our hearts, speaking, listening, and more- but the key point remains, "Just Do It." Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances ... (I Thess. 5:16-18.

Give generously. One obvious test of the depth of our spirituality is our giving. Where your treasure is; there is your heart also." (Matt.

6:21) Do we give generously? Do we give cheerfully? "God loves a cheerful giver," and "It is better to give than to receive," are not just nice sayings, they are Holy Scripture. (See 2 Corinthians 9, Acts 20) We cannot be in full obedience to God without giving generously.

The fundamentals: "Now that you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." (John 13:17)