In 2012 the Women’s Olympic Marathon was won in the record time of 2:23:07 by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia. That is a pace of 5:28 per mile for 26.2 miles–that is really fast! Second place was only 5 seconds behind her, a pace of less than 1 second slower per 5 miles. What would it have taken to get those 5 seconds and win the Olympics? A couple of corners taken wide, a day off or a lack of a day off, a small change in diet–whatever those changes would have been, they would seem worth it now.
As we have been going through the text of 1 Corinthians, we have seen how Paul guides them on lots of different issues and challenges. But now he gets into the why of the instruction. Why should we live a certain way, why govern our lives according to scripture, and in chapters 8 and 9 why give up our rights for others? The answer is really simple: Paul says to “run to get to the prize.” Sports was a big part of the culture in Corinth and Paul uses that sports culture to push this group of believers past mediocrity and into victory.
Podcast
Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:50 — 66.2MB)
Downloads
Notes See It Be It Video Audio iTunesSEE IT // BE IT
(Weekly Community Group Discussion Guide)
Date: September 27, 2015 // Title: Freedom & Culture
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8 & 9
SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes
ARRIVAL / SOCIAL TIME 15-20 minutes
Spend the first 15 minutes or so of your time together catching up and socializing with one another. Also find time to catch up together on how the assignments from last week turned out.
SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes
How do we think about issues that scripture doesn’t speak to specifically? The issues of love, knowledge, and freedom are addressed in 1 Corinthians 8-9. People are eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. People are disagreeing about what you should do. Some say that they are “partying with the world” others think that they are just eating discounted meat. The expression of our love is the foundation to support our knowledge and that leads to personal freedom. However, without that foundation personal freedoms and individual knowledge can become stumbling blocks instead of cornerstones; it can tear down instead of building up. If we can’t win together then we are missing the point of the gospel. We have to be sensitive to the culture that we find ourselves in. Our love for our brothers and desire to share the good news means we should be willing to set aside our rights so that we might share with the blessings of the gospel going forward.
THE MAIN THOUGHT Keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
We are in this to win this; victory is when we can win together.
SEE IT Questions :: 10-15 minutes
Picture: What sort of issue is Paul having to navigate between the eastern-minded Jews and the western minded Greeks? food, idolatry, relationships, law, etc.
Mirror: What sorts of issues, in our community, are dividing us into parts instead of uniting us into a body? How are they rooted in our claims to our rights instead of shared understanding and common love?
Window: Are my claims to personal freedoms building up my community or are they obstacles to their growth? Do I really think that laying my claims aside for a time we might both win?
BE IT – Practice
Change UP // Winning in our Hearts
We must constantly remind ourselves of the Gospel? Read some passages that help you remember what winning really looks like. Let’s keep our hearts set on the work of the cross (the ultimate expression of love), the knowledge redemption, and the freeing power of the resurrection.
Change IN // Winning as a Family
Claim three wins as a family. What are three places your family needs wins in? What would that look like? In light of the foundation of love, building blocks of knowledge, and freedom, what types of sacrifices would it take to build towards a win in those places?
Change OUT // Winning as a Community
Our expression of the gospel should feel like good news to our community. What issues of ugliness and brokenness are presenting themselves in our midst? What would it look like for us to engage in those places, what would it cost us?
CLOSING PRAYER 5 minutes
Take a few minutes to gather any prayer requests and pray for each other to SEE IT and BE IT this week.