{"id":12349,"date":"2022-06-26T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/?post_type=ctc_sermon&#038;p=12349"},"modified":"2022-06-28T10:40:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:40:00","slug":"living-for-the-gospel","status":"publish","type":"ctc_sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/sermons\/living-for-the-gospel\/","title":{"rendered":"Living for the Gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-gdm-google-drive-embedder-viewer\"><iframe width='100%' height='100' frameborder='0' scrolling='yes' src='https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1SCP41fklmzYu5KAF6HknSivVNjPLrYY9\/preview?usp=drivesdk' allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n<h4><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Read<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">1 Corinthians 9:19\u201327<\/p>\n<h4><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Consider<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">I wanted to finish the race. I cannot read verses 24 to 27 of our text without thinking of eleventh grade gym class. It was the spring of the year, likely May or early June. Part of the requirements for that class was running a mile, four times around the track. I was not in great shape but I was determined to finish. As I completed the third lap of the track at Birchmount Park Collegiate in Scarborough, I called out to the teacher, \u201cHow\u2019s my time?\u201d I truly liked the teacher but thought his reply was unnecessarily harsh: \u201cForget it, Norman, just forget it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">I wonder what Paul would think of that story. You see, on that day fifty-plus years ago there was only one best time. I have no idea which classmate finished first in that race; likely when that happened I might have just begun my third lap. Perhaps Paul would say that the image of the race has its limitations, because as on that day in high school and at the Isthmian Games in Corinth, only one athlete would be the winner of the race. The journey of Christian faith is not a contest. It is not something that one of us wins while the remainder of us fail. So what is Paul saying to us?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">I think Paul has two things to say to us in this \u201csporting\u201d illustration of his. First of all, he reminds us there is training involved in getting ready for the race or the jump or the boxing match. Historians tell us the Isthmian Games in Corinth were popular with athletes because unlike the Olympics or the Parthian Games, the Games in Corinth were held every two years. That meant athletes could be either competing or training most of the time. Those athletes knew they could not just show up one or two days before their event and be ready for it. They needed to train, to enslave their bodies as Paul says.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The second thing Paul is telling us has to do with the prize. Look at verse 25. <em>\u2026they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. <\/em>The prize in these Roman sporting events was a laurel wreath. The prize promised to the Christian is eternal life in the unbroken presence of God. That\u2019s not just for one of us but for all of us who have given our lives in faith to Jesus. The Lord never says to us, \u201cForget it, Christian, just forget it.\u201d It\u2019s more like \u201ckeep on running the race and I will be with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Though it has been less than two months, it seems like \u201cforever\u201d since I have been with you in worship. I am so looking forward to tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., seeing you at SCBC or on line.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">The Rev. Dr. Bill Norman <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Pray<\/h4>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Here is a prayer offered based on part of our text for this Sunday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Help me, Lord, to run the race in front of me. Help me, Lord, to focus on my race and my race alone. Help me Lord so I do not run another person\u2019s race. Help me, father, to finish my race. Help me so I do not give up in the midst of my race. Help me, father, to complete my race. I thank you for the promise that at the end of my race, I will obtain the prize promised to those who have faith in Jesus. Thank you for your abundant grace. In Jesus\u2019s name, Amen.<\/p>\n<h4><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Diving<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Deeper<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">It could be misunderstood if we use the word \u201cslavery\u201d to define what it means to be a disciple (see 1 Corinthians 9: 19). How can we use this term in our world without turning seekers away from the gospel? Is there another word or concept we ought to use instead?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Have you ever become like someone else\u2014as Paul says he did\u2014in order to influence someone in a positive way for the gospel? How did it work out? How can we do this in our world WITHOUT compromising our core beliefs?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">What would you consider your sport? Is it tennis or hockey or volleyball or golf or the newly popular pickle ball? Are there insights from the training you do for this sport that you can apply to training for following Jesus?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 Corinthians 9:19-27<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":12245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","ctc_sermon_topic":[],"ctc_sermon_book":[152],"ctc_sermon_series":[526],"ctc_sermon_speaker":[484],"ctc_sermon_tag":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/12349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ctc_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12349"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/12349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12366,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/12349\/revisions\/12366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_topic?post=12349"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_book?post=12349"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_series?post=12349"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_speaker?post=12349"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_tag?post=12349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}