I like to think the writer of Hebrews was a sports fan.The analogies he uses would certainly lead one to support this idea. Just as the writer referred to great numbers of witnesses, we athletes often compete in front of an audiences of great numbers.

This is also true in the Christian walk. Both believers and nonbelievers comprise our audience. There are those who encourage us: our pastors or our Sunday School teachers; and then there are those who "boo" us, ones who are opposed to any semblance of commitment to our Lord.

Momentum is the one thing that can turn a game completely around. This game-changing element can happen in any sport, but the one that comes to mind immediately is basketball. How often, while watching a game on television, do you hear the announcers start screaming, “Coach so-and-so better call a timeout soon”? They realize that if coach so-and-so doesn’t stop the game and allow the team to regroup, things will soon go from bad to worse. The same can happen to us as coaches when situations catch us by surprise, making a timeout needed. What’s a surprise situation? It’s one of those situations where nothing is going the way we’d like and our emotions get the better of us, causing us to react in a way we later regret.