Response

Possibly overlooked by many is the fact that on at least one occasion, Jesus cooked for his disciples. John 21:9 records that the disciples had been out fishing. When they came to shore, they found Jesus on the beach with a meal. “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.”

Avery Gilbert, psychologist and fragrance scientist, writes that cooking is much more than just preparing a meal, it is an invitation. The savory notes of roasted meat and baked bread stimulate us enroute to a meal.

Food aroma is an invitation and a spur to action. Even before the first bite, it triggers an elaborate sequence of physiological events: salivation, insulin release by the pancreas, and the secretion of various digestive juices. The aroma of bacon, at a level so faint it can’t be consciously identified, has been shown to trigger the flow of saliva.

Possible Preaching Angles:

Jesus offers everyone an open invitation to eat and drink with him. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Rev. 3:20). “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Rev. 19:9).

During the 2002 Soccer World Cup, Adidas introduced their Fevernova soccer ball, which featured a new design that was supposed to make the ball follow a more predicable flight pattern than the previous generation of soccer balls. However, while the Fevernova accomplished this goal, many players complained that it was too light, making it fly unpredictably.

So for the 2006 World Cup, Adidas attempted to fix those problems with their new +Teamgeist ball. This ball had 14 (rather than 32) curved panels that were bonded together rather than stitched. This goal was to make the ball uniformly round and completely waterproof. Yet for all of Adidas' efforts in solving the water problem, some players felt that the ball flew too fast. It was too easy to score goals they said, and it made goalies look slow and ineffective.

Adidas again made further improvements for the 2010 World Cup ball called the Jabulani. They further reduced the number of panels from 14 down to eight, but they also added textured grooves to the panels intended to make the ball have the same kind of aerodynamics as a traditional stitched ball. But once again, some players complained that the new grooves made the ball fly unpredictably. Undoubtedly someone at Adidas is now working furiously on soccer balls for the latest World Cup.

Possible Preaching Angles: (1) Technology; Progress; Change—"Every good technology comes with a trade-off of some kind. Newer tools bring us benefits, but those benefits come with a cost. For example, mobile phones allow us to call for help from almost anywhere, but they also allow everyone else to reach us no matter where we go." (2) Blame; Responsibility; Sin—After three supposedly defective soccer balls, maybe the problem is with the players. Maybe we should stop blaming others and take responsibility for our problems.