Football glorifies the past history of great teams and players. ESPN does 30 on 30 stories from the past. High school and college programs honor past state and national champions. The media books of those programs tell the past history of these great teams and players. Telling the past history of your team helps you to recruit young players into the future.

In Christianity and our churches today are we telling our past history? Do we remember those who have gone before us and who have given everything, including their lives, in the attempt to further Christianity? Does your church have its roots in all the scripture and in the past history of the church? When I say history, I mean all the way back to the beginning of our story, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Jesus and the Apostles. Also the past 2,000 years of both the good and the bad of church history.

We need to remember the past and the difficulty of being Christians. Jesus said the only way to the Father was through him. Some today have difficulty believing that statement. Because of that statement other groups want to make fun of us, persecute us and even kill us.

Maybe life in America has become too easy. Most of us have everything we need so what do we need God for? Who wants to be persecuted, made fun of or killed for being a Christian? Although, when difficulty does come to the U.S.A. such as September 11, 2001 or a great hurricane, or other weather phenomenon, people flock back to church to pray, to remember, to ask for forgiveness, to ask for God’s blessing.

Stephen was the first Christian martyr. His story is told in Acts 7. Stephen tells our early history and is stoned to death for it. Why would these men from the past die for this story?