(This sermon on 2 Timothy 4:6-8 was preached 8/24/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
Many expected the Beijing Olympic marathon to be slow, as runner after runner would succumb to the pollution on top of high heat and humidity. So when this morning the leaders took off at close to world record pace, a number of runners - including the top Americans, Dathan Ritzenheim and Ryan Hall - decided around three miles that that was suicidal, and backed off, hoping to run a slower, more even pace, and pick off stragglers. Such tactics had worked well in a number of past Olympic marathons.
But not today. Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya had other plans. He had prepared for these conditions. When the day dawned quite clear for Beijing, he was confident he could run a fast pace all the way to the end.
And he did. With a little over two miles to go he picked up the pace - and immediately dropped his last competitor. Running smoothly, relaxed and strong, he entered the stadium with a large lead. The crowd roared, cheering him on. He celebrated as he ran the last quarter mile on the track. Sammy Wanjiru finished well.
Our question this morning: Will you also finish well?
To get the gold medal, you have to finish the race. The marathon is 26 miles 385 yards. If you stop at 26 miles, 384 yards, you do not win - no matter how far ahead you are at that point.
(This sermon was preached August 17, 2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
No one in the history of mankind has run 100 meters as fast as Usain Bolt did yesterday. And yet - did you see the head-on shot of his race? He looked completely relaxed.
This coming Saturday night, watch the men's marathon. Ryan Hall will run over 26 miles, averaging well under 5-minutes per mile. That's fast. Indeed, looking around, I don't think there's anyone here this morning who can run one mile that fast. Yet while making that long, sustained effort, his stride will be fluid and his face relaxed.
Are these two anomalies?
No: All good coaches teach their runners to relax.
When trying to run as fast as we can, we have a natural tendency to grimace, to tighten the mouth, the neck, the shoulders. But all that is counterproductive. All that slows you down.
In order to run fast, you must relax.
Why is this? It is actually quite logical, for two reasons.
(This is a summary of the last sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on July 20, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What do you expect from a pastor?
What do you expect from an elder?
Consider this description of the perfect pastor found in various forms on the internet:
The perfect pastor works every day from 7am until midnight and is a wonderful family man. He is content with a salary of $100 a week, wears stylish clothes, drives a late-model car, buys plenty of books, and donates $100 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 30 years pastoral experience. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone's feelings. He is enthusiastic about missions, but never encourages anyone's child to live the rest of his life overseas. He makes 5 visits daily to members' families, visits shut-ins and the hospitalized, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, never misses a committee meeting, and is always in his office when anyone calls. That's the perfect pastor.
People tend to have high expectations of pastors - and they are often disappointed. Some end up hopping from church to church, trying to find someone who fits their ideal. Others work hard to get rid of each inadequate pastor who comes to their church, expecting to be able to find someone better. But then after a few months or a few years, the next man proves just as disappointing. Surely God doesn't intend us to church hop, nor does He intend us to trade in our pastors for a newer model every two years. How should you handle disappointment in pastors and elders?
(This sermon on Hebrews 12:1-2 was preached 8/10/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
You've trained for years. Day after day. Season after season. Long runs. Interval training. You're prepared.
Now the opening ceremonies are over. Your Olympic race day has arrived.
Over the course of anywhere from a few seconds to a bit over 2 hours, you must put into play all you've learned; you must put into effect all the strength work, all the cardiovascular work you've done. One mistake, one brief loss of focus, one moment of indecision could set aside years of training.
What do you need to remember as you race in order to run to win?
How will you run the race?
A number of you have run in events where place is completely irrelevant. You're not so much running AGAINST others in the race, as WITH them. Your goal is not to beat others, but to complete the distance, or to achieve a particular time.
Not so in the Olympic track events. In these races, time is almost irrelevant. Your only goal is to win the race. If you can win in a slow time - that's fine.
In order to win, you have to beat your opponents, either mentally or physically. So, particularly in events 400m or longer, every coach hammers this point into his athletes' heads: Your goal is to make the race develop in such a way that others can't catch you, or to make the race develop in such a way that those who can catch you think they can't.
A classic example of this took place 54 yars ago this week, in the 1954 Commonwealth Games "Miracle Mile." The Englishman Roger Bannister had run history's first sub-four minute mile on May 6. The Australian John Landy broke that World Record six weeks later. No one else had broken the barrier. About seven weeks after Landy's record race, the two runners met for the first and only time.
(This is a summary of the fifth sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on July 13, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What roles does the congregation play in the leadership of the church?
Do the pastors/elders have all authority, which the congregation must always follow?
Or is the congregation the final authority on every issue, able to overturn any decision of the elders/pastors?
How should a member of the congregation think about the pastors and elders?
Today and next Sunday we will look at several biblical passages that shed light on this question. We will see that the Bible clearly teaches that members should honor, respect, indeed, love their leaders. And they must submit to them.
But in the end it is the congregation as a whole that is responsible that the church teaches right doctrine. Elders are sheep, and some will wander from the truth - and will attempt to lead others astray. The church not only may but must deal with an errant elder.
We'll look at four responsibilities of members of the congregation, which will serve as our outline. Next week's sermon on how to deal with disappointments in elders will continue this theme.
The congregation must honor and esteem the elders 1 Thes 5:12-13, 1 Tim 5:17
The congregation must imitate their elders Heb 13:7
The congregation must obey/submit to their elders Heb 13:17
The congregation must watch over the teaching, purity, and unity of the church
This is a summary of the fourth sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on July 6, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What is a senior pastor, and why do we have one?
In this series, we are exploring what the Bible says about the role of pastors and elders in the local church. These are vital truths, often misunderstood in the church today, which are key for us to understand if we are to build a church that brings glory to God.
Let me remind you of some of what we've seen in first three sermons:
The first sermon focused on the centrality and necessity of preaching. The most solemn exhortation in all of Scripture precedes Paul command to Timothy to preach the word. God calls men to a preaching ministry, in part because naturally we don't want to hear the Word - instead, we want to gather teachers to tell us what we like. A man who will preach the Word faithfully in season and out of season, whether people like it and large crowds come or whether they walk out, is a gift to the church.
The second and third examined biblical teaching on elders/pastors/overseers (which are all the same office.) The Holy Spirit makes them overseers, not man. They exist to help the church fulfill its threefold purpose:
- To Express joy in Christ
- To Spread joy in Christ
- To Deepen joy in Christ.