Ep 26: Deep Fried Faith

Speaker1: Well good morning I'm Daniel Dopp and this is for your Sunday morning drive. The short podcast designed to help put you in a Colossians three two mindset and help prepare your mind for worship on those hectic Sunday mornings. We are brought to you this morning by the Ministry League Network of podcasts. Please see the link to their YouTube channel in our show notes for today's episode. To find over 50 quality podcasts to help engage you and encourage you spiritually, I do want to thank you for making us a part of your Sunday morning routine. As always, I do appreciate it if you can find the time to share us with somebody that would enjoy the podcast, and also if you could leave us a rating and review wherever you listen. I think that gets everything out of the way this morning. So let's go ahead and dive into today's episode. This is episode 26, Deep Fried Faith. Let's go to church.

Speaker2: Are we there yet?

Speaker1: I live in Evansville, Indiana, and it's a fine place to live. It has a few claims to fame. Don Mattingly lives here. It's the third largest city in Indiana. The 1992 film A League of Their Own was filmed here at Bosse Field, and every fall we host one of the largest street festivals in the United States, and we simply call it the Fall Festival. And it's a massive affair. It just ended this week, and it draws about 200,000 people to the west side of Evansville from all over the place. It's a week long soiree devoted to gluttony and some of the best people watching you'll ever experience. There are over 130 food booths offering every kind of fried monstrosity you can possibly imagine. And. And when it comes to the food, the general rule of thumb is the weirder, the more unhealthy, the better. Here are some highlights. If you look at the menu, you'll find deep fried Oreos, deep fried Twinkies, a donut burger, chocolate covered crickets, Giant turkey legs, deep fried brain sandwiches, and a dessert called a dirty diaper. Sounds delicious, doesn't it? Well, we do look forward to the fall festival every year. And I do have to be honest, even after a short visit, I feel guilty about indulging in all of these things that are ultimately terrible for my health. But that's probably not going to stop me from going back next year.

Speaker1: And well, it made me think this week, after going down there and and maneuvering through the crowds of people that were all down there, and they were drawn there to partake in the games and the fun and the food that was offered. I saw the great amount of money that was spent by the masses simply to indulge, seeing how many traveled, some from even a great distance just to attend, maybe even rearranging their schedules and taking vacation time to make it happen, and seeing how excited they were to be there. But more than anything, how hungry they were. All of this just for a taste. It made me think. Do we seek out Jesus in that same way? What if we? What if they sought out Christ in his truth with the same amount of fervor. What if we hungered for him? Matthew chapter five, verse six says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. What if we taught people and encouraged them to come with us, to feast upon the good Word of Jesus Christ? John 635 says, And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. Now that's something we can indulge in without being ashamed. Romans chapter one, verse 16 says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Speaker1: Not that the Word of God is an indulgence, it's a commitment. But what if we strove to partake in it with the same fervor? I mean, if the world can get 200,000 people excited about a deep fried mess that's ultimately bad for them, then surely God's people can get themselves and our neighbors excited about the gospel and the salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. Do we look forward to those things? Are we able to excite people and are we able to do it without a gimmick? It's not about a gimmick or being flashy or being manipulative. But what if we were just sincere? What would our churches look like then? What would the draw be like? How many people would come and eat from the Lord's table? I think the change would be pretty drastic. Well, those are my thoughts for your Sunday morning drive. Now it's time to hear yours. Our discussion questions for this week are. Are we ashamed of the gospel? What can we do to show our love of Jesus to others and bring them to him? And lastly, do we show the same amount of motivation for the work of the master as we do for the leisure of this world?