Showing posts with label Shawn Brown. Show all posts

Sunday, February 4, 2018

'My Faith in the Lord Means Everything': How These Eagles and Patriots Are Using Super Bowl LII to Glorify God - CBN News Shawn Brown

'My Faith in the Lord Means Everything': How These Eagles and Patriots Are Using Super Bowl LII to Glorify God

02-01-2018

The underdog Philadelphia Eagles are taking on the legendary Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII this Sunday, a rematch 13 years in the making.

The Eagles are seeking their first Super Bowl championship in history while the Patriots are gunning for title number six for their irrepressible dynasty.

As you can imagine, there's a lot of pressure on the players. While winning is important, some of them are playing for much more than a Super Bowl Championship.

The Eagles have arguably been the best team in the NFL this season. Safety Malcolm Jenkins says it has a lot to do with the brotherhood of faith he and a lot of his teammates formed in the offseason through Bible studies, praying together, and even baptism.

"I've seen like three guys get baptized at the team facility. I don't think that's happened anywhere. It's just one of those things that faith is a really important part of this team. And we commune with one another often times. We talk about it, and it's been unique and special to watch that unfold in an NFL locker room," said Jenkins.

Tight End Zach Ertz agrees with Jenkins. He says he is personally reaping the benefits of a faith-filled locker room.

"I dedicated my life to Christ back in March. I was baptized in March, got married the next day. Our marriage has been built on that foundation from the word and Jesus and it's changed my life. And just to have these guys hold me accountable on a daily bases has been phenomenal for me. I hope I do the same for them," said Ertz.

"My faith in the Lord has been my foundation. It's been as they say your rock, your strong point. He's what I stand on. As a team, we're strong in the faith. People say underdogs, and we're like, we consider ourselves blessed," said Eagles Tackle Will Beatty.

Eagles Quarterback Nick Foles has been on quite a journey to get to this point. He was traded by the Eagles 2015. Two seasons later, the team signed him again as a back-up to Carson Wentz.

Then Wentz tore his ACL in week 14, and many questioned whether Foles had the goods to lead them all the way to a championship. Now they're playing their first Super Bowl in 13 years.

Foles says it's all because of God's faithfulness.

"My faith in the Lord means everything. I'm a believer in Jesus Christ and that's first and foremost. That's everything. I wouldn't be able to do this game without Him because I don't have the strength to go out and do this. This is supernatural," Foles said.

"It's also an opportunity to go out there and share what's He's done in my life. And it's not about prospering at all. It's about how He's humbled me. In my weaknesses, He made me strong, 2 Corinthians 12:9. You know, whenever I was at my lowest, that's where my relationship with Christ grew," Foles continued.

And there's plenty of faith on the New England side too.

The Patriots have won two championships in the last three seasons. Now they're back to try for another. For a lot of the players, it's another opportunity for them to glorify the name of the Lord on the biggest stage in football.

"I feel like my purpose here in the National Football League and on this earth is bigger than the game of football. I firmly believe I've been given the platform of football to build relationships, build bridges, and connect with people, and show them the love of Christ. And that's something that I've enjoyed doing since I got here to New England and something that I continue to enjoy doing," said Patriots Wide Receiver Matthew Slater.

"I go through my ups and downs. I'm a broken human being and I have flaws and my struggles and God's the one that's consistent. God's the one that carries me through. And I'm so thankful for Jesus Christ and the things He's done in my life," said Patriots Tackle Nate Solder.

The Patriots' veteran defensive backs Duran Harmon and Devin McCourty say it's when things get tough that they lean on their faith the most to help them stay focused and poised.

"This whole journey has ups, downs, but the one thing that has been consistent is God – His love for me, His grace, His mercy continually shows His favor. I know that He has something bigger in store for me than football but I just have to stay the course, continue to keep serving Him and everything else will fall in place," Harmon said.

"I think one of the cool things that we talked about this year is just joy. You know I think football brings a lot of ups and downs and you can easily just ride with that roller coaster. Even today in our chapel before we came here, we talked about embracing everything, being here tonight and enjoying this process. And just being authentic, being ourselves and not being scared to be different and talk about being blessed and the opportunity to be here," McCourty said.

Tight End Dwayne Allen signed with the team in the offseason, so this is his first Super Bowl appearance. He's worked hard to get here. While he's elated about the opportunity, he says none of his success would have been possible with his relationship with Jesus Christ.

"I go back to January 8, 2014, in my bedroom I had an intimate moment where I submitted to Christ. When I said, 'I can't do this alone. I tried it the last 23 years and it's just not working. I need You.' And the way that He has come into my life has changed my life for the better," Allen said.

"Taking that step to submit your life to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not something easy. But life isn't meant to be, but take heart because He's conquered all, and that's the faith that I have," he said.

Watch here: Eagles & Patriots Interview

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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Agnostic Jew Becomes Joyful Christian - CBN

Agnostic Jew Becomes

Joyful Christian

CBN Oct. 18, 2016

Ed Heath

Shawn Brown

Andrew says, “Because I was unhappy as a child, I became addicted to daydreams. I became a real daydreamer. And that really taught me how to write.”

Best-selling author Andrew Klavan grew up as an angry young man. That’s probably why the characters in his books are usually tough-as-nails and looking for answers. CBN interviewer Scott Ross sat down for an interview with him.

Scott says, “Here you are, a Great Neck Jew. Great Neck is in Long Island. Right?”

Andrew responds, “Long Island, yeah…”

“And Jewish background…were you religious?”

“Well, we were raised in the religion,” says Andrew. “We were taught and sent to Hebrew school. We would celebrate Passover and Yom Kippur and certain holidays. And we were bar mitzvahed, but the weird thing about it was my parents really didn't believe in God.”

Learning rules about a God who didn’t exist made no sense to Andrew; so threw himself into literature.

Andrew says, “Because I didn't get along with my father I looked for male role models in fiction and I found them in the tough guy fiction, in Hemingway and Raymond Chandler, who had this great detective Philip Marlowe, and I modeled myself after these guys. And the more I read, the more I found that Christianity was at the center of almost every great story that I loved. We didn't have a New Testament in my house, right? We were Jews. So I went out and bought myself a New Testament and started to read the gospel according to Luke, purely as a piece of literature to find out what everybody was talking about. It convinced me that this figure of Jesus was at the center of western culture, which I loved. I mean, it was the center of all the books that I loved. And that was not a religious idea that was a literary idea. I didn't believe in it at all.”

Scott says, “You were on a search for truth though. That was a thing in your gut that you were out looking for truth and this was all part of it, but you didn't recognize it then, right?”

“Never,” says Andrew. “And that was one of the things that bothered me about the kind of Judaism I was raised in, that Judaism is a beautiful religion, but when you empty it of God, it has no meaning. And so that-that's become – been a very intense quest for me to make sure that the things I'm saying have – at least attempt to have a relationship with reality.”

Andrew’s search for truth made him realize that life didn’t make sense without the existence of God. But he still had no connection to Him.

Andrew says, “And so I began, in my mind, to actually believe that there was a God, but I didn't quite know it yet. There was a little bit of a lack of communication. And so what I did one day, was I did an experiment. I was reading a book and this guy, before he went to sleep, said a prayer. And I thought, ‘Well, he can say a prayer. I can say a prayer too.’ And it sort of seemed random at the moment, it seems like praying to a God who wasn't there, but in my mind I already had-had come to believe. And I said this three-word prayer, I said, ‘Thank you, Lord.’ And I fell asleep. And I woke up the next morning and truly everything had changed. I mean, it was a new clarity to everything. My heart was filled with gratitude, I was experiencing a joy that had been there, that had been locked away. And suddenly knowing God opened me up to my own experience of life. And my prayers got longer and more elaborate and I would pray in my car and all this. And he transformed my life. And so one day I was driving in the Santa Barbara hills and I said the same prayer to God, again, I said, ‘Thank you, Lord. You've changed everything, now what can I do for you?’ Like a voice, almost aloud, the words came into my mind, ‘Now you should be baptized.’”

“Baptized?” Scott asks.

Andrew says, “Yes. And I said out loud as I was – I was driving, I said, ‘You've got to be kidding me.’ And it really did create tremendous problems. A lot of anxiety in my mind. My father was still alive, and even though he and I had never gotten along, we made a separate peace. He was a good grandfather, and you know, I didn't want to start that trouble. I knew that would really explode. So I really had to think to myself, ‘Is this voice the voice of God, or is it some kind of delusion, some kind of crazy idea that's come into my mind?’ After five months of-of looking at it, I thought, ‘Nope, you know, this makes perfect sense. I know exactly why I came to this decision now.’ And so yeah, I really understood that that voice was telling the truth to me.”

Scott asks, “Do you consider yourself a completed Jew? What kind of Jew are you?”

Andrew responds, “I don't like to use words like ‘completed Jew’ ‘cause I know some Jews find it like they're incomplete and they find it an insult. All I can say is, for myself, I never knew my Jewish self until I found Christ, and I found my Jewish self in Him.”

Scott asks, “What's the pursuit now? What's the dream now? What's the vision now?”

“I want to remember people like me who are living in a world where atheism is the default setting, especially for people who consider themselves intellectuals, you know? I want to speak into that world that we're all living in, of broken people, of terrible violence, terrible hatred, terrible sorrow and grief, and say – and speak of Jesus there, you know? Because God is God of the real world. He's not God of a fantasy world where everything works out for the best. He's God of this world, of trouble and pain. And so I don't want to forget the people who are like I was, sitting there thinking, ‘I don't know how to live.’ If I could maybe put the next step in front of them, you know. You can’t cross the river; you can’t jump across the ocean you’ve got to take a step at a time. And I think if I could put a step in front of people that would be great; I would consider myself a very successful guy.”

Watch here: gnostic Jew Becomes Joyful Christian

Monday, February 3, 2014

Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson on Win: 'God Is So Good'

Russell Wilson - Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson on Win:
'God Is So Good'

By Shawn Brown, CBN Sports Reporter
Feb. 3, 2014

The Seattle Seahawks have won their first Super Bowl Championship in franchise history, routing the Denver Broncos in a lopsided 43-8 victory.

It was a big upset after the Broncos had become the highest-scoring team in history during the season, making them the #1 offense in the NFL.

But the Seahawks, with the #1 defense in the NFL, managed to shut down Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. In fact, the Broncos didn't even smell the end zone until the very end of the third quarter.

After the Broncos got off to a rough start with a bad snap that ended in a safety, the Seahawks struck with two field goals. Then Kam Chancellor picked off a Manning pass, leading to a Marshawn Lynch touchdown, putting the Seahawks up by 15 -0.

With 3:36 left in the first half, Manning's short pass to Knowshawn Moreno was picked off by Malcolm Smith, who took it in for the TD. At the half, it was Seahawks 22 and Broncos 0.

On the opening kickoff for the second half, Percy Harvin rubbed salt on the Broncos' wounds with an 87-yard return for a touchdown.

The Broncos tried to fire back but turned the ball over. The Hawks capitalized when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson connected with Jermaine Kearse for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Then, with 3 seconds left in the third quarter, the Broncos finally put some points on the board. But even after the 2-point conversion they still had a long way to go.

With 11:55 left to play, the Seahawks struck again when Russell Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin for 10 yards and a touchdown. With the score at 43-8, the Broncos were finished off and the Seattle Seahawks became Super Bowl champs.

"You know it's just frustrating to get this far and lose like this. I mean it's embarrassing," Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker said after the game.

"You tell it was too out of hand. We weren't getting anything going. Offensively… defensively…we could tell it was coming to an end," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said, "This is the highest level of competition in this sport and this is the greatest challenge, the ultimate challenge in the game. And to accomplish this for everybody that took part in it, it's very, very special."

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson not only led his team to victory, but as the game ended with confetti raining down on them, he also led fellow Christians to kneel and pray on the field, giving glory to God.

"I told the guys, 'Why not us?'" Wilson said. "It's only my second year, but I believe in the guys that we had. I believe…in the coaching staff…it's just God is so good. He brought me a really long way. It's unbelievable. It's kind of surreal to be honest with you. Sitting there holding that trophy up and I'm looking up, I'm just so thankful for everything that I've been given."

Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse called the team's win "amazing."

"It still hasn't hit me yet. I'm still kind of in shock," he said.

Seahawks offensive tackle Russell Okung also gave thanks to God.

"The Lord allowed me to be here," he said. "And I keep saying that all the time, man. With Him there's purpose man. I'm not just here to exist, I'm here to live. And I'm glad He's going to use me this way through my platform to bring glory to Him."

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