Richmond Till We Die" Pastor Andrea Kraushaar 08/23/2023

Devotional

Day 1: A Torn Sign Taped Back: Belief Beyond Perfection

The Richmond team’s weathered “BELIEVE” sign hangs battered yet defiant, its scars testifying to seasons of struggle. Like the church, it isn’t preserved behind glass but weathered in the open—torn, repaired, and still declaring hope. This isn’t about flawless faith but stubborn trust that God works through cracked communities. Just as the sign stayed up through losses and locker-room fights, the church persists not by hiding wounds but by clinging to Christ’s redemption. What holds us together isn’t our polish but His promise. [38:03]

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together… praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”
(Acts 2:44–47, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you seen God’s grace in the “tape and tears” of this church? How might your scars become part of someone else’s healing?

Day 2: Curious, Not Judgmental: Stories Unseen Beneath the Jersey

Jamie’s arrogance and Roy’s gruffness mask deeper wounds—a truth Ted Lasso uncovers by asking questions first. To see others as Christ does means lifting the jersey of performance to glimpse the bruises beneath. The early church didn’t build a community of perfect people but a family of forgiven ones who shared bread and burdens. Curiosity disarms; assumptions divide. What if today’s irritation is tomorrow’s invitation to listen? [29:28]

“If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body… But God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”
(1 Corinthians 12:15–18, ESV)

Reflection: Whose story have you assumed you already know? What one question could you ask to uncover a hidden chapter?

Day 3: Goldfish Grace: Swimming Beyond Our Worst Moments

A goldfish’s 10-second memory becomes a metaphor for freedom—not ignorance, but liberation from defining ourselves by failures. Peter denied Jesus but became a pillar of the church; Paul persecuted believers but penned grace. God’s mercy doesn’t erase our past but redirects our future. Like Richmond’s players, we’re called to forgive ourselves and others, not because the hurt vanishes, but because Christ’s resurrection rewrites the ending. [29:50]

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
(2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Reflection: What “worst moment” have you let define you? How might releasing it free you to swim toward Christ’s purpose?

Day 4: Scarred Jerseys, Full Stadiums: Belonging Without Perfect Answers

Richmond’s fans chant through losses, their loyalty unshaken by imperfect outcomes. The church isn’t a trophy case for saints but a locker room for sinners being remade. Like the Acts 2 church, we’re called to show up—not when we’re fixed, but because we’re family. Our jerseys bear the mud of service, the tears of grief, the stains of doubt. Yet together, we declare: “We are here.” [32:18]

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
(Romans 12:4–5, ESV)

Reflection: When has simply “showing up” for someone—or letting them show up for you—made you feel Christ’s presence?

Day 5: From Sermon to Skin: Coloring Sheets as Kingdom Blueprints

The final challenge isn’t to admire the sermon but to wear it like a team jersey—getting grass stains from serving, ink smudges from praying, paint splatters from creating. Ted Lasso’s team transformed when they moved from self-interest to shared mission. The coloring sheet isn’t a souvenir but a commission: What lines will you draw? What colors will you bring? The Kingdom isn’t a show we watch but a field we enter. [42:29]

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and… immediately forgets what he looks like.”
(James 1:22–24, ESV)

Reflection: What one action—forgiveness, curiosity, vulnerability—will you “color outside the lines” to live out this week?

Sermon Summary

Acts 2 gives a picture of a church that did not need a building, committees, or everything figured out before it could be the church. The early believers devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. The church worshiped, ate, prayed, shared what it had, and cared for one another so clearly that the surrounding community wanted to be part of it.

Richmond until we die becomes more than a soccer chant because Richmond keeps showing up even when the team loses, struggles, and disappoints. The fans wear the jerseys, carry the scars, and say, “I am part of this place no matter what.” The church carries that same kind of belonging, not because everything always goes right, but because Jesus Christ holds people together through the hard stuff.

Ted Lasso’s team begins as a bunch of people trying to do their own thing. Jamie wants to be the star, Roy stays angry, Nate gets overlooked, Rebecca carries her wounds, and Ted hides behind his own struggles. Community slowly changes them because humility, vulnerability, trust, and shared time make them bigger than themselves. The body of Christ grows in that same way when people stop trying to carry everything alone.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12 push back against a church that had turned gifts into a competition. The body has many parts, and no part gets to say it does not matter because it is not like another part. God brings gifts and talents together on purpose. The church needs people who work the stand, do the laundry, count the money, serve behind the scenes, pray, welcome, organize, and care for neighbors. God does not make mistakes, and the gifts that seem small can be exactly what makes ministry happen.

The belief sign, torn and taped back together, gives a good picture of the church. The tears remain visible. The scars and disagreements do not disappear. The church keeps showing up, loving, forgiving, and believing because the church is not held up by perfection. Jesus Christ holds it up.

Belonging does not mean everything is perfect. Belonging means, “These are my people, and I am your person.” The call reaches beyond enjoying a series or agreeing with good ideas. The church must believe something, ask a question, release a failure, offer forgiveness, admit when help is needed, and show up. Love becomes real when every person, especially those told their whole life that they do not belong, experiences welcome in this place.

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Key Takeaways

1. Belonging stays when life gets hard. Richmond’s chant carries weight because it is sung after losses too, not only after wins. Christian community cannot be built on everything going smoothly or everybody agreeing all the time. The church becomes a home when people keep showing up through scars, failures, and disappointment. [32:01]
2. Every gift belongs in Christ’s body. Paul refuses the idea that some people are essential while others are extra. God designs the church with different gifts, different abilities, and different ways of serving. Ministry becomes strong when people quit competing and begin honoring the part God has given each person. [36:24]
3. Christ holds imperfect people together. The torn and taped belief sign tells the truth: cracks, hurts, and disagreements are visible. Perfection never has been the thing holding the church up. The love of Jesus Christ gives people the strength to keep forgiving, keep loving, and keep believing. [38:25]
4. Welcome must become an experience. Saying that every person is loved is not enough by itself. The church must make love concrete through presence, attention, and room for people who have been pushed aside. Belonging becomes believable when a person can walk in and know, “I am your person.”

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:20] - Ted Lasso and Everyday Faith
[28:54] - Remembering the Believe Series
[31:06] - Richmond Until We Die
[32:18] - Acts 2 and the Early Church
[33:39] - A Team Becomes a Community
[35:40] - One Body With Many Parts
[36:52] - Every Gift Matters
[38:03] - The Torn Believe Sign
[39:33] - More Than Winning
[41:58] - The Beauty of Belonging
[42:11] - Show Up and Make Love Real
[43:32] - A Church Going On to Perfection

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 12:12-27
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [36:24]

Acts 2:42-47
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. [33:39]

Observation questions

What four practices did the early believers devote themselves to in Acts 2, and what additional actions show how those practices shaped their life together?
What does Paul say to the person who feels they do not belong because they are not like someone else in the body? [36:28]
What examples of different kinds of service show that ministry depends on more than the people seen up front? [37:07]
According to 1 Corinthians 12, how are the church’s members called to respond when one person suffers or when one person is honored?

Interpretation questions

Acts 2 describes believers sharing possessions and meeting needs. What might generous care for one another look like today without requiring every household to live exactly the same way?
Paul says that parts of the body that seem weaker or less honorable are indispensable. Why might churches be tempted to overlook certain people or kinds of service, and how does Paul correct that temptation? [37:24]
The body image does not erase differences; it brings different parts together. How can different gifts, personalities, and opinions strengthen a church rather than become a competition?
A community can have visible cracks, hurts, and disagreements while still being held together by Christ’s love. What does forgiveness look like when the hurt has not simply disappeared? [38:38]

Application questions

Is there a gift, ability, or life experience that has seemed too small, ordinary, or behind-the-scenes to matter? Where might that gift help meet a real need in the church, neighborhood, or a friend’s life? [37:40]
Have there been times when comparison made it hard to feel that you belonged? What would it look like to receive your place in Christ’s body rather than measuring it against someone else’s?
“These are my people, and I am your person” is a picture of belonging that remains when life is not perfect. Who has helped you experience that kind of belonging, and who might need you to offer it to them this week? [42:00]
Is there a failure, scar, disagreement, or hurt that you have been carrying alone? What would it mean to take one honest step toward healing—asking for help, releasing shame, or offering forgiveness? [42:29]
Acts 2 shows believers eating, praying, learning, and sharing life together. Which of these practices is most needed in your relationships right now, and what is one simple way to make room for it this week?
Love becomes real when people actually experience welcome. Think of someone who may have been told, directly or indirectly, that they do not belong. What could help that person feel noticed, respected, and included? [43:14]
Showing up matters, especially when things are hard or imperfect. Where is God inviting you to show up more faithfully—for a friend, a neighbor, a small group, or the wider church? [42:47]

Sermon Clips

74s

“The tear is visible. The hurt can be seen of what has taken place in this team. But they keep it up. It's a good image of the church. This is probably brand new information, but we aren't perfect. We've got some cracks. We've got scars. We've made mistakes. We've had disagreements. There are times that we've hurt one another, but we keep showing because this is our team. This is our home. We keep loving and forgiving and believing because the church is not held up by perfection. We're held up by the love of Jesus Christ.”

67s

“Believe something. Ask a question. Release a failure. Offer forgiveness. someone if you're not okay. And then show up. Show up for your church. Show up for your neighbors. Show up for a friend in need. Love someone that doesn't look like you or believe like you. Be there for someone who has been told their whole life you don't belong. Because being the church isn't simply about saying that we love every person. It's about making sure that every person that walks into this place experiences that very thing.”

54s

“Because being the church isn't simply about saying that we love every person. It's about making sure that every person that walks into this place experiences that very thing. This believe sign teaches us about who we want to become as the church. That we can grow, that we can be forgiven, that we don't have to pretend, that we can ask questions, that we can be generous, and that we belong here. Not a perfect church, going on to perfection church.”

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