1 Cor 9 24-27

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1 Cor 9:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Runin such a way as to get the prize.

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Everyone who competes in the games goes into stricttraining. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that willlast forever.

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Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like aman beating the air.

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No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.Theme: Run in such a way as to get the prize.Goal: To motivate half-hearted Christians to active Christianity. Need: Half-hearted Christianity.IntroductionI. The challenge: Run in such a way as to get the prize.II. The training: I beat my body and make it my slave.III. The goal: We do it to get a crown that will last forever.

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What is our motivation? earthly, heavenly?ConclusionIf you want to pray better, you must pray more. – Mother Theresa

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – “Cross Training for Christ”Brothers and sisters in Christ,I’d like to begin by telling you a little bit about Alex Daigle. In1992, he was drafted into the National Hockey League by theOttawa Senators. He was so talented that he was drafted firstoverall – he was the best player coming into the league that year.In junior hockey he was unstoppable. He scored goals effortlessly.His skating was brilliant. He was going to be a hockey star.In the first year with the Senators you could see flashes of the brilliance that Alex Daigle possessed. He would fly down the ice,he would make incredible moves to keep the puck and while hedidn’t score many goals that year you could see the raw talent hehad whenever the puck went into the net.But in the next few years something changed in Alex Daigle. Hedidn’t improve and his skills diminished. There was no brilliancein his play. He had no jump in his skating. He wasn’t producing asa goal scorer. And there was no passion whenever he was on theice.Eventually Alex Daigle was traded to another team and quicklyfaded out of the NHL.He had potential!He had all the tools. He was gifted and fast. He could score. Hehad some of the best coaches and trainers in the world. He was playing in the NHL – living the dream that so many Canadian boysshare.

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Alex Daigle had potential…but he never lived up to it…because hewas always focusing on things other than being a hockey player

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the money, the fame, spending time with celebrities in Hollywood

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but never on hockey.Doesn’t it make you just want to throw something whenever somebody wastes the gifts that they have? When a person doesn’tlive up to his or her potential?I still have this delusion that an NHL scout is going to walk intodrop in hockey, see me, and say “That’s just what we need.” --WHAT WAS HE THINKING!!!And that’s what our text is about – Paul is writing to the Corinthianchurch – A church that was boasting because of its gifts…itsnatural talent at being

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. And because of this pride theylost focus and were wasting away their potential.And this leads us to a natural question

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Are we living up to our potential as a church and as Christians?And the answer is that most of us, myself included, do not live upto that potential at all. Now as we look at this passage we are going to see that Paul hasgiven us three things to think about.

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