Today we watched Chile win an impressive victory over Honduras. And although I have never been to either country–I found myself caught up in the excitement and cheering along with 50,000 other soccer fans.

The scope of this tournament defies explanation.

We were in just one of ten stadiums around the country. If you filled them all at the same time, you would have over 500,000 soccer fans.

It is amazing to feel a part of something so big on the worldwide stage. Bigger than anything I have experienced before. There are literally people from all over the world (every tribe, tongue, and nation) jamming into these stadiums to show crazy support for the teams and players.

People–including me–were cheering from countries they weren’t even from.

This is the Kingdom.

Imagine what would happen if we were all as crazy about the kingdom of God as these people are about the World Cup?

Download the “Beyond The Game Devotional” from Children’s HopeChest.  We developed this 5-Day Devotional Experience to walk you through the “Kingdom Issues” surrounding the game. Each day, you’ll confront another facet of the World Cup that impacts children and orphans–but that you’ll never hear about in the news.

If you are a pastor or church leader, I want to invite you to come back to South Africa with Children’s HopeChest this October. Head to HopeChest’s Beyond the Game page to get your devotional, and sign up for the trip as well.

When I get to more reliable Internet, I’ve got some videos and photos to share with you. Here is a shot of the game and field from our seats today. When we left, we almost got caught in a stampede of people trying to board the buses. No one is allowed to drive to the stadiums for security reasons. I’ll post up some shots later.