College football is back - and these days, you can’t talk about college sports for long without talking about NIL.

Name. Image. Likeness.

For student-athletes, those three words have completely changed the game, allowing players to leverage who they are and the value attached to their identity.

But a recent conversation with Richard’s friend Steve got us thinking: What if Christians have an NIL, too?

Not one we’ve earned, negotiated, or built for ourselves - but one that has been given to us through Jesus Christ.

We pray and live with the authority of His Name. We are being transformed into His Image. And as followers of Jesus, we are called to grow into His Likeness, representing Him to the world around us.

In Episode 83 of Sermons on the Side, we use the wild world of college football NIL as a launching point for a much bigger conversation about our identity in Christ. What does Scripture mean when it says we bear His image? What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? And if we claim His name, how closely should our lives resemble His likeness?

College athletes may be cashing in on their name, image, and likeness - but as believers, we’ve been entrusted with something infinitely more valuable.

His Name. His Image. His Likeness.

Join us for a conversation about college football, NIL, identity in Christ, spiritual transformation, and what it really means to represent Jesus in the world around us.

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