[4 Slides] Last week we were in Matthew 17:22-27. That text says that [1] All the disciples were gathered together there. In v24 the collectors of the 2-Drachma Temple Tax questioned Peter about whether his teacher, Jesus, pays the tax. According to Exodus 30:14, [2] All who are 20 and older must pay the 2-Drachma Temple Tax. Jesus sends Peter to catch the fish that held a 4-Drachma coin in its mouth, and [3] Only Jesus and Peter pay the tax. So, [4] Jesus was a youth leader, with one adult sponsor!

But more importantly, Pastor Matt gave us 4 Needed Reminders from the text: [Slide]

1. A reminder about Jesus’ death

2. A reminder about our loyalties

3. A reminder not to offend

4. A reminder of Jesus’ miraculous power

Since what we know isn’t nearly as important as what we do about what we know, and since there are basically 2 kinds of people in the world: Those who need to be redeemed, and the rest who need to be reminded, there’s this passage in 2 Peter 1:12-15 – A Friendly Reminder. [Title Slide]

You’d think that after having tasted the reward of experiencing God from His word – seeing for yourself first- hand God proving Himself faithful to His own Word – that there would be no turning back. We all have stories of having established a routine at some time (and maybe you even tasted the reward and experience of God’s presence) yet found ourselves slipping off that routine. It’s because

Be reminded: It costs to follow Jesus, but it costs a lot more not to.

Even the most disciplined people need reminders. Reminders keep us on track. Without reminders we lose

our routine, and we lose sight of the reward.

– PICTURE – Under Armour Jersey – 199 [#1 Tom Brady Slide]

Tom Brady watches 17 hours of practice film every single week – most of that of himself. He has a personal videographer who just videos…him! He watches this footage just to make sure he doesn’t pick up any quirks or sloppiness, anything that shouldn’t be in his mechanics. He watches himself practice. How boring would that be?

He goes to bed at 8:30 pm every night and gets up at 5:30 am every morning.

Check out his diet: He eats 80% vegetables, all whole grains and lean meats, and absolutely no sugar,

no white flour, and no MSG.

To live that routine, there has to be a huge motivation! Tom Brady lives each day with a reward in mind that

he has altered his entire life around. Christians, have you altered your life (at all?) to follow Jesus?

Tom altered his entire life so that he might actually experience the reward; and he’s still at it, as he announced in his HULU commercial during last week’s Super Bowl. Last year, at 41, he was the oldest QB to win the Super Bowl. He has 6 Super Bowl rings – more than anyone else, or any other football franchise, ever!

He’s played in 14 Pro-Bowls. He’s been awarded 4 Super Bowl MVP’s, and he has 3 NFL MVP’s!

Tom is a 42 yr old QB – the oldest in the game. But because he relentlessly pursues this routine, he is still one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, if not the G.O.A.T.!

costs us something to maintain. Sometimes it can seem exhausting to the point where the cost seems greater

keeping a routine isn’t easy. It

than the reward, where the cost of following Jesus seems greater that who He really is. We need to be

reminded that this is false.

– Tom Brady

He doesn’t want to just look back with nostalgia at all those rings and trophies – at rewards of the past.

Q: since being drafted in 2000, do you think it’s gotten any easier for Tom as a 42 yr old QB to do what he

does?

But he sticks relentlessly to the routine because he wants to experience the rewards in the present and in the future. So in order to do that, he has reminders to constantly remind him that it’s worth it, so that he’ll actually stick to the routine, even when exhaustion makes it seem like the cost is greater than the reward.

Q: Does anyone know why his Under Armour jersey says 199? It’s a reminder that [#2 Tom Brady Slide] he was the 1