The Dream Team, Part 1
Type: Sunday Morning Service
Series: The Dream Team
Sermon: Part 1 - Going for the Gold
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Tom Van Kempen
God has called every believer to be part of His “dream team,” the Church, where each person has a unique and essential role to play. Empowered by the Holy Spirit and led by Christ, the Church exists not for personal glory but to fulfill the mission of spreading the gospel and making disciples. When united in purpose and vision, the body of Christ becomes an unstoppable force that advances God’s kingdom.
ℹ️ Tip: The video is set to start at the beginning of the sermon, but you can scrub the playhead to any part of the service. ℹ️
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
Called Into God’s Team
God has always intended for His people to function together as one body, each member serving with their unique gifts. Just as the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” assembled the best players for a united mission, the Church is God’s dream team, called to work together for the greater purpose of building His kingdom. Jesus declared in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church, and nothing—not even the gates of hell—could stop it.
The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Team
In 1 Corinthians 12:11, Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts as He wills, appointing each believer to their place in God’s mission. No role is insignificant, and every gift—whether service, teaching, encouragement, or prayer—contributes to the advancement of the gospel. Just as a coach positions players where they are most effective, the Spirit places believers where they can bring the greatest impact.
Living with a Greater Purpose
God’s dream team is not about personal recognition but about a shared commitment to the gospel. Philippians 1:27 calls believers to live lives “worthy of the gospel of Christ,” prioritizing eternal purpose over temporary success. Our ultimate mission is not self-fulfillment but to “go to heaven and take as many people with us as possible.”
Citizens of Heaven First
While national pride may stir hearts, Paul reminds believers that their ultimate citizenship is in heaven. This perspective calls Christians to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects Christ, pressing toward the eternal prize far greater than any earthly achievement.
Striving Together for the Goal
Like athletes training with discipline and unity, believers are called to stand firm in one Spirit and strive together for the gospel. The early church, empowered by unity and the Spirit, turned the world upside down. Today, the same Spirit empowers the Church to impact communities, nations, and generations with the good news of Jesus Christ.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
Opening Question:
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “dream team”?Discussion Questions:
Read Matthew 16:18. What does it mean that Jesus Himself builds His church?
How does 1 Corinthians 12:11 challenge the idea that some roles in the church are more important than others?
Why is it dangerous to view serving in the church as “volunteering” instead of being part of a mission team?
How does remembering our heavenly citizenship (Philippians 1:27; 3:20) affect the way we live out our faith?
What does it look like for a group of believers to “strive together” for the gospel in practical ways?
Action Step:
Identify one area where you can actively use your gifts to serve on God’s team this week—inside or outside the church—and commit to stepping into that role. -
Historical Context of John 6:35
Matthew 16:18 – Spoken in Caesarea Philippi, a place filled with pagan worship, Jesus’ declaration that He would build His church stood in stark contrast to the surrounding idols. This was the first time the word “church” (ekklesia) was used, meaning a called-out assembly with authority.
1 Corinthians 12:11 – Paul wrote to a divided Corinthian church that was elevating certain gifts over others. He reminded them that the Spirit, not human preference, distributes gifts according to God’s will.
Ephesians 4:11–12 – Written while Paul was imprisoned, this passage highlights leadership roles given to the church, not for personal honor but to equip all believers for ministry.
Philippians 1:27 & 3:20 – Written to believers in Philippi, a proud Roman colony, Paul reminded them that their ultimate allegiance was not to Rome but to heaven. This reframed their understanding of true citizenship and purpose.
Matthew 28:19–20 – The Great Commission was Jesus’ final instruction after His resurrection, charging His disciples to make disciples of all nations with His continual presence as their assurance.
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Introduction:
Ask the kids: “Who is your favorite sports team? Did you know God has His own dream team—and you’re on it?”Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10 – “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.”
Craft:
Make “Dream Team Badges.” Kids decorate a paper badge with their name and a gift they think God has given them (like helping, singing, encouraging, praying).Game:
“Team Relay.” Kids form teams and must work together to pass a ball across the room without dropping it. Emphasize teamwork.Discussion Questions:
What is a gift God has given you that you can use to help others?
Why is it important to be on God’s team instead of trying to do things alone?
How do we know Jesus is our “coach” and leader?
Wrap Up & Prayer:
Remind kids that God’s team is the best team ever because everyone has an important role. Pray together: “Thank You, God, for making us part of Your dream team. Help us use our gifts to love You and help others.” -
As you can see, we're beginning a brand new series entitled The Dream Team, and it's all about trying to get everyone involved in the body of Christ. Trying to get everyone in their rightful place because God has called everyone to serve. He's called us all to be a part of the dream team, And not only that, he wants the church to win the gold. Who can say amen? I'm not sure if you are Olympic followers in any way, shape, or form, but there's a lot of sports that I would never watch unless they were on the Olympics. Curling is one of those sports. Or do they call it sweeping the ice? I'm not sure. There's some crazy sports out there that I would just never watch unless it was the Olympics, but there's one sport that I enjoy watching all the time, and it's basketball. I have coached this game for over 40 years. I've played it since I was in elementary school. I've been a referee, and so I've been yelled at, cursed out, screamed at, because they didn't agree with what it was that I was calling at that particular time. And I'm wondering, how many of you remember the 1992 Olympic Dream Team? Anybody remember that group of players? There was a bunch of basketball players that came together, and they dominated a sport unlike any other team. Just yell out a couple names for me. Who are they? Larry Bird, Chris Mullen, Michael Jordan, someone said? Carl Malone, John Stockton. You guys are good. Who's the only college player? Christian Leitner. And you might not know this, the reason they put him on the team was to continue the tradition of having amateurs play in the Olympics. But once these 11 pros and the eventual pro Christian Leitner played, the game was never the same after that. Now, what would you think if I said that God has assembled a collection of superstars right here at Oxford Assembly of God Church? What would you think if I said that you are just as talented in the spiritual realm, that you can accomplish more legendary feats that will be talked about even longer than they accomplished back 33 years ago if you do what it is that God is calling us to do, and that is to get together as God's dream team and make a difference in this area. Who can say amen? Now, a lot of people are intimidated by that thought. You know, we are called to go into all the world. We're called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're called to evangelize the world. And I know there's a lot of fear related to some of those things. And in our modern culture, we're told that we're not even supposed to evangelize. We're told that we could offend somebody and we don't want to do anything like that. But let me tell you what Jesus said in Matthew 16, verse 18. He said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it who can say amen i am telling you if we serve a miracle working god who responds when we call out the name of jesus christ there's nothing we can fear is that right i mean there's nothing we should be afraid of. There's nothing we should shrink back from. And so today I want to begin an eight-week journey with you. An eight-week march towards what I think God is trying to get us to see together this fall of 2025. And it begins with this simple statement, the real dream team is put together by none other than God Himself. If you know the history of the original dream team In 1989, the United States put together a selection committee. And it was this committee's responsibility to find the 10 or 12 best basketball players in America. It didn't matter what team they were on. It didn't matter where they came from. It was just the 10 or 12 best basketball players from around the entire country. And they had one job and one job only. and that was to go to Barcelona, Spain, and win the gold medal. In February of 1992, after they released the names of these players, Sports Illustrated dubbed this team the Dream Team. And each of us here today, many online, and many more are called and are being called to be a part of our team, and each of us is on this particular team. Now listen, our specific branch of the team is called Oxford Assembly of God Church, O-A-G. But I want to focus on that word church, ecclesia. Remember, Jesus himself said, I'm going to build my church. I'm going to build my ecclesia. And you and I, we know what a church is. We've gone to church or we've started going to church. We've seen churches on corners. But when Jesus said, I will build my church, there had never been a church. Are you hearing this? Peter declares that Jesus is the son of God. And Jesus says, on this rock of revelation, Peter, I am going to build my church and hell cannot prevail against it. I wonder what Peter was thinking. I wonder what the disciples are thinking. He's going to build his church. Jesus, what's a church? Jesus, what do you mean church? Because they understood church to be a political thing. They understood church to be when a governor or a mayor or some type of officer would call out in the city, either officially or unofficially, and he would call people out of their homes to literally meet in the public square for something really important that needed to be taken care of. And Jesus is saying, I'm going to call you and you and you and you out of the world, because I've got something really important that needs to be taken care of. And I'm going to call this thing the ecclesia. I'm going to call this thing the church. But there's something that you need to understand. And that is this, first and foremost, God is the owner and you're not. God owns the team. He established it on the day of Pentecost nearly 2,000 years ago. And listen, the contract that was signed both in Jesus' blood and your confession cannot be renegotiated. Who can say amen? The question is, is why would you want to renegotiate? You traded your sins for Jesus' righteousness. You traded your brokenness for His healing. You traded death for His life. And if you're currently not happy with the position that you're playing, what you need to do is you need to go talk to the general manager who's the Holy Spirit. Because the Bible says He appoints everything that you do and where you position yourself on this team. Look at what it says in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 11. This is in a paraphrase called the Amplified Version, but it really brings to light the understanding of this verse. All these gifts. Remember, we're talking about 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And he's just mentioned nine ministry gifts in that chapter. And now listen to what he says about those ministry gifts. Healing, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, and five more. He says all these gifts, all of these things that you're able to achieve or do, All of these supernatural abilities are inspired and brought to pass by one in the same Holy Spirit who apportions to each person individually exactly as he chooses. So the Holy Spirit is the one who puts together the team. He's the one who drafts the different people. And Jesus is the coach. Say coach. you see we're used to shepherd and and i i know that's the biblical term in john chapter 10 the the scripture says that that the sheep know the shepherd's voice but i don't think that's the way if if god was writing this particular idea today which he's not by the way but if he were he probably would use a word like coach because we understand it a little bit better and i can tell you for sure that my kids, when I was coaching, they recognized my voice. In the basketball arena, sometimes they would be much bigger than this. And you know how sound can be lost with all the cheering and all the buzzers going off and all the announcing and everything. So Pastor Tom developed a coach's voice. And I would talk to my children. You know, my son Trevor played on the team. Trevor! You need to stop that man right now. I'm calling out a number four, number four, number four. I mean, they could hear me. They could recognize my voice. The Bible says that the sheep know Jesus' voice, and he doesn't even have to yell. He whispers a still, small voice that is found in prayer, that is heard in meditation. And then Pastor Jeff over here, Pastor Scott, where's Pastor Scott? Pastor Scott over here, Pastor Daniel somewhere over here, Amanda, Amanda, is she, Amanda right here, and Sheena back with the children, myself. Do you know we're the assistant coaches? The Scripture says that Jesus is the great shepherd, and Paul and Timothy, they were under shepherds. We're under the great shepherd. We're under the great coach. And our responsibility is very clearly spelled out in Ephesians 4, verses 11 and 12. Listen to this. And he himself, Jesus, gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. For what? For the equipping of the saints. It's our job as under shepherds or under coaches is to equip you. It's to teach you. It's to guide you. For what? For the work of the ministry. Did you hear it? In other words, Pastor Jeff, now that you're a pastor, you don't minister any longer. Wait, wait, wait. Did you hear what I said? No, I don't mean he never ministers. What I'm saying is, if the six pastors on staff do all the ministry, everything's not getting done. If the pastors are expected to do all the hospital calls, everyone's not getting visited. If the pastors have to greet everybody at the door, what happened to Pete is going to happen to the people coming to our church. We need more and more and more dream teamers who understand that they're not just a volunteer. I think the word volunteer has actually come across some hard times. I believe when you hear, will you volunteer, there's cringiness that comes over you. You hear, oh, they want me to volunteer. I'm getting out of here as fast as I can. but if you're a part of a dream team if you're a part of some team going for the gold does that change the perspective does that help you to understand how important it is what what all of us are doing and i know we've got a bunch of people here that live in the villages i i get that and this is what i hear all the time pastor i'm with you but i'm retired you know i i'm looking in my bible for that word i can't find it i can't find it in the greek i can't find it in the hebrew i can't find it in the arabic i can't find it in any translation anywhere as a matter of fact I find just the opposite. I find that a lot of people in the Old and New Testament, they got better and better the older they got. They matured into a ministry that was fantastic. Look at Moses. He went till he was 120. Is anyone there? I didn't think so. David went until the day he died. Caleb. I love Caleb. Listen to what he says. this is after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. This is after fighting for five more years in the promised land. And now he says, I'm 85 years old and I'm just as strong today as I was back then. You might say, well, that's not how I feel. Are you ministering? Are you doing what it is God is asking you to do? It's not a matter of how old or how young you are. God has a place for you on the team today. You have been called to a specific position. Listen, 1 Peter 4.10 clarifies that each one has received a gift. Minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. You have all, say all of us, all of us have been uniquely gifted. We're going to get into that more later on in this series. You've been gifted to minister. You've been gifted to minister both to one another and to the world. And God is going to hold you responsible because you are stewards of God. It's no accident that in Matthew, those big chunks of gold that were handed out were called talents. They were called talents because He's still handing out and giving talents today. Point number two, God's dream team is committed to something greater than personal glory. I think we do our children a disservice when we go up to them and say, what do you want to be when you grow up? I think it's one of the worst questions you could ask any child. The question is, what does God want you to be when you grow up? What is God preparing you to do as you get older? We need to train our children that they can't be anything they want to be, but they can do anything God calls them to do who can say amen. I mean, we need to understand the difference between a worldly mindset and a biblical mindset. The 1992 Dream Team's mission was clear, to win the gold and reclaim basketball dominance for the U.S. of A. That was their goal. We have to be committed to the great cause that God has called us to. Are you crystal clear on your purpose in life? I read this week that Josh McDowell was was talking to an executive recruiter. And he asked the recruiter what kind of questions that he asks when he's looking for someone to be a president or a CEO of a company. And he said, well, I loosen them up with some of the easy ones at first. And then I asked some business type questions. He said, but my favorite question to ask is what is your purpose in life? And Josh mccall goes well how do they do and he said well most people stumble with that one question he said but one time a guy who i was interviewing said this my mission and purpose in life is to go to heaven and take as many people with me as i can isn't that amazing that was their mission in life They wanted to get to heaven and take as many people with them as they can. This is literally what Paul is trying to communicate in Philippians chapter 1 verse 27 when he says this, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. In other words, only. This is the priority. This is the most important thing. I need you to live your life, which is so beautiful, so unique, so special, in such a way that others will want to follow you into heaven. Who can say amen? And it's called the gospel here. It's called the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospels of the good news. Not again. Not again, please. the mic went out in first service just so you know i can't have it it's almost at the exact same time too there's get out of here in jesus name man i'm telling you the gospel is the good news that our sins can be forgiven who can say amen we can have a second chance at not just life but abundant life we can live lives of purpose meaning and satisfaction then by our example others will follow. Jesus calls it the great commission, or he didn't call it that. We called it that, but he gave the great commission. Matthew chapter 28. Listen, listen. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Now in Proverbs chapter 11 verse 30, listen how the proverb writer communicates this idea. In verse 30 he says, he who wins souls is wise. He doesn't say he who converts souls. He says he who wins souls. There's this idea of competition. We are in competition with the evil one for the hearts and minds of humanity. This is a fight. This is a life or death issue. That's why I love singing this one phrase. Hell lost another one. I am free. I am free. I am free. Hell lost another one. I am free. I am free. Every time I see someone give their life to Jesus Christ, I'm like, had lost another one. It's a battle. Who can say amen? And we need to take it serious like it is a battle. But we're not just committed to that mission. We're not just committed to that cause. We're committed to the ultimate country. You might be thinking, what are you talking about? Well, I love the United States of America. I love the fact that the original dream team sacrificed their agendas, their personal goals, and their egos to work together to win the gold for the United States of America. However, if you go back to Philippians 1.27, the Greek word for conduct literally refers to being a good citizen. It is a play on words. What you need to understand is those people in Philippi were a little arrogant. They lacked some humility. And the reason was because they were a colony of Rome. And because they were a major colony of Rome, they had a lot of special status. And because of that special status, they thought that they were really, really cool. And Paul's saying, hey, I know you take pride in your heritage. I know you take pride in being a Philippian. I know you take pride in being a Roman colony. But you belong to a country that's higher than Rome, and it's called heaven itself. And as a citizen of heaven, you need to live up to the standards that Jesus Christ himself put into play. In chapter 3, this is how Paul communicates it further. He says, pressing toward the goal for the prize. Again, it's this athletic metaphor to help us to understand that this is a fight, and we're supposed to honor our heavenly country in a worthy manner. Say worthy. Worthy. We sang earlier, worthy is the Lamb, right? We taught back this summer that the reason we worship God, The reason we raise hands, the reason we sing, the reason we clap, the reason that we even kneel or come forward in prayer is because we think Jesus Christ is worthy. He deserves all of our praise and all of our adoration. Now, how many of you could care less about sports? Let me see your hands. You could care less about sports. Okay, that's probably about 20%, maybe 30% of the people could care less about sports. So then it'll probably really tick you off to know that Patrick Mahomes, as a quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, makes $60 million a year. Do you think he's worth it? How about Juan Soto, who plays for the New York Mets? He also makes $60 million a year. Who thinks he's worth it? Oh, I got one better for you, okay? There is this new guy, Shea Gilgus Alexander in the NBA. He just signed a new extension worth $70 million a year. I'm just letting you know, if they want to pay me a million dollars for every game, I will sign up for the NBA. One million dollars per game is what he's making. It is unbelievable. But listen, how much is your salvation worth? that's what this verse is trying to get you to to think about are you conducting living your christian life in a way that is worthy of the gospel of christ remember jesus paid the ultimate price he shed his blood you have been paid the ultimate contract you make more than 70 million in a year because you've inherited eternal life. Who can say amen? And this is going to be one of the most, no, it is the greatest gift you could ever be given. Third and finally, God's dream team comes together to bring home the gold. Pastor, you can come on up. God's dream team comes together to bring home the gold. The original dream team was a collection of some of the most talented basketball players the world has ever seen. They were basketball giants who had undeniable talent. Let me tell you a couple of things. Number one, they won every game by an average of over 40 points. Now, that happens in high school sometimes. Never in college. One game you can win by 40, but you don't average. And then you averaged over 40 against the best teams in the entire world. Coach Daly never called even one time out during the entire tournament. That means they were never behind. They were never in trouble. Sometimes we think we're in trouble. Let me tell you, we're not. God's got it all under control. Who can say amen? The Holy Spirit knows exactly what He is doing every step of the way. Sometimes we think that we don't have the same talent, but God says each of us is uniquely a masterpiece. We're going to talk about this next week, so I'm not going to get into that. This is what I want you to think about. We have over 500 first-round draft choices in our there's nothing we can't do. There's nothing we can't do. We, number two, must work together in unified effort. You know what I loved about the dream team and really every Olympic team since? And that is they get all these superstars from individual teams and they subjugate their talent to the team. They say, you know what? It's not about me. It's about the team. Do you remember one of the last games of this last Olympics and LeBron James and some of the superstars were deferring to one of the shortest guys on the court, Stephen Curry. They knew that he had the hot hand and so they didn't care that he was probably going to get recognized for this one game they just kept throwing him the ball and throwing him the ball because he could not miss this is a picture of what we do in the body of christ philippians 1 27 says stand fast in one spirit the italy church was marked by supernatural unity in the upper room on the day of pentecost Luke tells us this. They were all, say all, they were all with one accord and in one place. Later in the same chapter, you find out that they lived together, fellowshiped together, learned together, and shared life together. This unity is very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve unless the Holy Spirit is involved. The Holy Spirit needs to be the glue to cause all this to take place. That's why he says we need to stand fast in one spirit, in one mind. I've already talked about the cause, the mission. I would say over 90% of Christians agree on the mission. You know where things get sticky? It's on the vision. It's the how of accomplishing the mission. God wants every church to uniquely do what only they can do. No competing agendas, no internal fighting, rather a collaborative effort pushing towards the same goal. And it's not going to be easy. That's why the last part of this is stand fast in one spirit, one mind, striving together. Striving is the Greek word synathleo. S-Y-N, which means with. With athleticism is one way of putting it. The word athleo literally means to engage in a sporting contest. to contend for something like the gold medal in the Olympics. That's what we're being called to do. When 120 early Christians did that, they became an unstoppable force. Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He's been building that church for nearly 2,000 years now. That first group of 120, this is what the Bible says, turned the world upside down. What could the 500 of us do? We could do even more. God has assembled, I believe, an unstoppable force right here at Oxford Assembly of God. And I'm going to have you stand and I'm going to pray for you because this is going to be an eight-week series. We've got seven more weeks. This is just the foundation. This is just step one and getting us to think more and more about other people and more and more about the lost. You know, you've probably heard it said before that if God didn't have something for you to do, He would have called you home a long time ago. Wednesday night, I did a sermon on numbering your days. And I asked everybody how old they were, basically. And we came to the conclusion that if you're 80 years of age in America, your time's up. Listen, listen, listen. But if you're 80 and still here, that means God has something very significant for you to do. Really, really significant. Because as I said earlier, I'm sensing the end times. And with the end times quickly approaching, we need to unify more than ever. So would you bow your heads with me right now? Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus' name. And I pray, Father God, that you would just speak over this congregation. And I pray that you would communicate a new word. I pray that something fresh would rise up in our spirits this morning, Father God. And we would sense a hunger to get back in the game. Father God, if we've kind of stepped aside and allowed the younger generation to take over, there's some good in that. But Lord, you're not done with any of us here. You have something significant for each of us to accomplish. So I pray that today that you would release new vision and new passion into our hearts. I pray that there would be a Holy Spirit inspired excitement that just overwhelms us. And that we would understand that this church could literally churn this entire area upside down for your praise and your glory. So Father God, whatever you're calling us to, whether it's service inside the church or service outside of the church, we're signing up, Father God. We are on board 100%. We desire to be a part of your dream team, Father God. And we desire to make you proud by bringing heaven home, the gold medal in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. So lead us today, Father God. Lead us over the next five or six weeks, Father God, so that there'll be clarity in our hearts and our minds, so that we can do, Father God, what it is you want us to do. And I pray this today in Jesus' holy and precious name. And together, everybody says, amen. I would like to invite all the prayer partners to come forward, because there still might be some opportunities to pray with people. And would you just join as we finish this beautiful service with a song?
