​Part 1 – written after Rally Day.   Some lines from my sermon on Rally Day on Sunday September 11th seemed empowering to me as I preached them:  “As I look out at you here in church, I say – What a team.  What a kingdom team.  I realize we are not as large a team as we once were, but we are formidable.  That means strong.”   I realize now looking up ‘formidable’ in the dictionary that it can mean ‘causing fear and apprehension’ like if I were using the word about how underpowered teams might view the Buckeyes in these pre-season games. 

​September is an exciting time for followers of Australian football.  The finals of the national football competition are held on the 4 weekends of September culminating in the Grand Final on the last Saturday in September.  The Grand Final is always held at the same place – the Melbourne Cricket Ground – affectionately known as ‘The G’.  (The 1956 Olympics were held in the same stadium.)  I had the privilege of attending the 1997 Grand Final (similar to the Super Bowl)  There were many fired up fans, many of them dressed in their team colors, and like here, with their team colors on their faces.  It was an exciting game, and my home town team – the Adelaide Crows – won the big game.  The cheering was so loud.   The celebrating after the game continued on for hours, and days, and…