One-minute sermon? Pastor keeps things short to catch 49ers game

Everyone at Gold Hill Lutheran Church in Butte, Montana knows that Pastor Tim Christensen loves the San Francisco 49ers. So when he appeared to shorten his message to just one-minute on Jan. 12 to avoid missing the kickoff for Sunday's big playoff game against the Carolina Panthers, they appreciated the joke.

"Would you all like to be forgiven for your sins? Okay, that's great. You are," he told the amused congregation, offering help-yourself communion and concluding just seconds later.

"There's some bread and some wine up here on the table. Feel free to help yourself if you'd like to," he said before ripping open his vestment to reveal a 49ers T-shirt.

While that's where the viral YouTube clip of the service ends, a secretary at the Gold Hill Lutheran reassured concerned viewers that Christensen did, in fact, stick around for church.

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"It was just a little bit of a joke," a parish secretary told Mashable. "The entire congregation knows he's a big 49ers fan, so they were in on it and he held a full service right after that."

"It was my way of adding a little levity to the day," Christensen said.

The football-loving pastor told Right This Minute that he ran home after the service to catch the game on DVR. His beloved Niners won the game, 23-10.