We've been looking at Paul's challenge to the Corinthian church through the eyes of a communicator. Here's the passage: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to win the prize. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). If you are paid to persuade, inform, or transform, let me ask you this: are you preparing in such a way as to win the prize? In other words, are you doing everything possible to be the best possible communicator? Communicators are no different than other…
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When was the last time you decided to go for a run without any thought of where you would go? "That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of the town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on goin'. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on goin'. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far,…
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The Bible uses two significant words to describe those of us who follow Jesus: aliens and ambassadors. On the one hand, we are to live as aliens in a world that rebels against God. Our values are not to be determined by opinion polls or who wins the Oscars, but are to be taken from Jesus himself. Morally and ethically, we are to live as foreignors in a land that doesn't follow Jesus. On the other hand, we are called to be ambassadors -- to represent our King to those we live among. The apostle Paul puts it this way: "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." We live in an age when the fastest-growing religious affiliation is "none." As aliens in a foreign land, we have an obligation to be different. As ambassadors, we have a responsibility to build bridges. Sound easy?
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I had never heard the term "social drinking" until my childhood church split over whether a potential elder could have an occasional glass of wine. As I recall, no one accused him of being an alcoholic or spending three days in the gutter. While the Bible certainly condemns drunkenness (one-time or chronic), it doesn't condemn the occasional glass of wine. So, what was the problem? The problem was a misuse of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 8 (our text for this weekend) was invoked as a passage that prohibited mature believers from participating in certain activities. The topic addressed in 1 Corinthians 8 was whether a Christian could eat meat that was sacrificed to an idol. However, the real issue had nothing to do with BBQ. It had everything to do with loving one another.
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I heard author Henry Cloud recently say, "We don't need new ways to fail. The old ways are working just fine.” Ouch! He's talking about my habits -- those patterns of behavior that get created, then cultivated, and become hard to break. Maybe you can identify with that. Over time, you find yourself drifting back to the same places or people. Perhaps it's a recurring thought that keeps dogging you or causing you to doubt. The old ways of failing are working just fine. What do you need? A new way! A new way of thinking or doing. A new way of organizing or delegating. A new way of talking, to yourself and others. If the old ways are working just fine and you don't like the results, don't expect to get different results without changing.
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