Practicing The Fundamentals

    The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi believed that a team should be so well trained in the fundamentals of a play that the team could tell its opponent what play they were going to run and still be successful in executing the play.  If you practice and execute the fundamentals, you will win Lombardi believed.
    I believe the same is true in living out our faith.  If Christians continually practiced and executed the fundamentals of their faith, they would know God’s grace in daily life.
    Martin Luther believed in going back to the fundamentals.  He instructed his followers that when they rise in the morning and when they go to bed at night they should make the sign of the cross, then recite the 10 Commandments to remind themselves that they do not always behave as Jesus would have them behave.  Then they were to recite the Apostle Creed to remind themselves that Jesus came to die on a cross so their sins (dysfunctional behaviors) could be forgiven.   Finally, they were to pray the Lord’s Prayer to remind themselves that Jesus was a source of help and comfort in their daily lives.  Luther believed that if Christians practiced everyday the Commandments, Creed, and Lord’s Prayer they would be able to withstand any temptation that might come their way.
    As you know, I have been teaching the Gospel According to St. Mark on Wednesday evenings during Lent.  I have taught Bible studies on Mark in the past.  As I review the material, re-work and re-write what I have previous taught, I find that I am remembering many facets of Mark that I have forgotten.  Helping to spur my memory is reading a commentary on Mark by Pheme Perkings.  Each time I teach a Bible study like Mark, I am forced to go back to the fundamentals of my faith.
    A final example is a presentation I am making this Thursday to Lutheran pastors on the Augsburg Confession.  While all eight of the Lutheran Confessions (documents that define what Lutheran really believe) a supposedly equal, the Augsburg Confession is the document that is always quoted.  As I worked on this presentation, there were parts of the Confession that I knew by heart.  There were other parts that I know I have read in the past because I had underlined particular words, phrases, and sentences throughout these parts of the Confession.  Through the preparation for my presentation I have come to renew my appreciation of the uniqueness of Lutherans especially in the Lutheran understanding of theology.
    So let me ask, if Lombardi and Luther are right when they say practice and execute the fundamentals, how do you practice the fundamentals of your faith?  Do you set aside time for daily Bible reading and prayer?  Is weekly worship a priority?  How do you reach out to touch others because the Bible teaches that we are our brother’s keeper?  A good practice schedule builds a strong faith-filled life.
Pastor Pete