This sermon was preached on April 17, 2016 for the Fourth Sunday after Easter. The texts for this sermon were: Acts 9:36-43 , Revelation 7:9-17 , John 10:22-30 , and Psalm 23 . When it came to playing games with his children, my dad’s philosophy was always to play the exact same way against us as he would against adult opponents, regardless of our age or the game. He’d patiently answer any questions we asked about rules or strategies, but he’d stop short of leveling the playing field or changing his own strategy in any way. The immediate consequences of this philosophy, of course, was that my sisters and I lost a lot. And like most kids, I hated losing. But in the end, I’m grateful for the long-term consequences of this parenting strategy. My father used playing cards, Scrabble tiles, and little plastic cannons to teach us two vital life lessons. First, how to lose gracefully, over and over, and still keep playing. And second, that winning is never the most important thing. Inst