Lately at church our pastor was doing a short series of sermons about what he called as the basics, the basic of our faith, surface level, basic and easy to understand.

This got me thinking, I, like some of my other friends and believers, have in the past, been frustrated with the average church service because the sermons don’t seem to dive very deep into some conversations and areas of deep spiritual thought.

But, this series of the basics got me thinking about things in a new way, my current job title is that if coach, and in that role I have taught my team that, if we want to be the best, we have to be the best at the basics, others might be better than us at some of the bigger or flashier things, but if we can win at the basics, we will be the best.

In sports, any sport, this same principle rings true, the best are those who win at and master the basics, from there comes everything else.

Just this morning I heard the testimony of a firefighter who saved several kids on a lake after their boat capsized, and as the radio host pointed out, it was the countless hours of training and practicing that lead to the motions coming naturally, he mastered the basics until they were muscle memory.

If we apply this same line of thought to our faith, that we master the basics until they are as natural to us as breathing, if we win at and master the basics, how much impact could that have on our lives.

The master swordsman continues to train each and everyday at the basic forms and techniques, the most skilled martial artist repeats the forms everyday, as Christians, we should aim to master the basics as well, for from that stems the deeper things.

Be blessed brothers and sisters, and the next time you want to see your church dive into a deeper topic, remember the importance of mastering the basics, and ask God how you can improve as well, for we all have room to grow, even in the basics of our faith, for we are sinful and fallen, even as we have been redeemed none of us has put off the nature of the flesh as of yet.