Sermon Illustrations

Baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. was interviewed about his success as a baseball player. Many believe he is one of the greatest players in baseball history, but his individual success was not what mattered most to him. In the interview, he said: “I’d much rather be referred to not as an individually great player, or someone who tore up the record books, but someone who came to the ball park and said: ‘Okay, I’m here. I want to play. What can I do to help us win today?’ A lot of people ask, ‘What is your greatest play — your greatest accomplishment?’ I say, ‘I caught the last out of the World Series.’ It wasn’t a great catch — I didn’t dive, I didn’t do a cartwheel and throw the guy out at first base. People’s mouths didn’t drop open on the play. We all want to be part of something bigger. But we all have our little jobs that we have to do as a member of a team. Everybody has their individual responsibilities, but they all have to come together for a main goal. . . So the most fulfilling moment I could ever have, again, was catching the last out of the World Series — knowing we did it”

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