Sun. June 29, 2014 (Tony Tremblett)

"Run to Win!" On July 29th, in the midst of a hotly-contested World Cup 2014, Tony Tremblett focused his meditation on the sport metaphor used by Paul in 1 Cor. 9. In Paul's day, Greek runners prepared for the various levels of games by training intensely for as many as eleven months before traveling to the game site to finish training with an acknowledged coach. Paul encouraged his new Christians in Corinth (not far from where some of the games were held) to take their spiritual lives just as seriously as if they were striving to become top athletes. If their lives are successful (if they could 'win the race'), the honours would not be the transient cheers of the fickle crowd or the laural wreath that wilted a few days later, but that which is everlasting, eternal. Unlike a mere footrace in which only one person wins, every person serious about their faith can ultimately win. Unlike sports, in which there is always another race, our life-long 'race' happens only once. The writer of Hebrews imagines "a great cloud of witnesses" cheering us on, even though they are unseen by us. Tony ended by asking what we want to leave behind, at the end of our race: money, things, or a positive influence on others. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 29th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.