such a way as to get the prize.25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict
training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will
last forever.26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a
boxer beating the air.27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after
I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

This past week \u2013 and I\u2019m sure most of us have been unable to miss
it \u2013 we have come into the last year before the Olympics come to
Canada\u2026

Less than 365 days from now athletes from around the world \u2013 or
at least the ones with snow \u2013 will come here to compete in their
respective sports for a chance to become Olympic champions. To
battle for gold medals\u2026

This means that over the next 12 months we\u2019re going to hear lots
of stories, read lots of news, and be swept into this Olympic
fever\u2026

We\u2019re going to hear a lot about sports \u2013 not that we don\u2019t already \u2013 but when Canada hosts the Olympics \u2013 the Winter Olympics \u2013 it\u2019s a big deal\u2026

And we\u2019re going to hear a lot of stories\u2026stories about athletes and their journey\u2026their challenges and their struggles\u2026their victories against the odds\u2026and we\u2019re going to listen to these stories intently because they encourage us\u2026they challenge us\u2026they inspire us\u2026

Because what sport gives us is a metaphor for life. Adversity,
challenges, goals, accomplishments \u2013 the struggle to achieve \u2013 the
battle to do well\u2026rebounding from failure\u2026these are the realities
that we know\u2026

And this is where we find a connection with Paul this morning because he too wants us to connect sport and our Christian life when he says to us:

When we study Paul and we think about his life and the things that
have influenced his thinking and his writing \u2013 one of the things
that comes out is his love for sport\u2026and it\u2019s widely assumed that
he was an athlete himself\u2026

This wouldn\u2019t have been something surprising or unique. Just like
we are today \u2013 the Roman world was a sports obsessed culture.
They had running and throwing and boxing and wrestling and team
sports much the same as we do now\u2026it really hasn\u2019t changed that
much\u2026

\u2026and so when he\u2019s writing this to the Corinthian church \u2013 he\u2019s writing to people who are going to understand the principles of sport in the same way that we do\u2026

We understand the dedication and the training and the effort
required to be successful in our sports. We know what it means to
try hard \u2013 to give everything that you have \u2013 to use the clich\u00e9 \u2013 to
give 110%\u2026

This should make sense to us even if we don\u2019t participate in sports,
or watch them, or like them\u2026that the Bible would tell us that we
need to dedicate ourselves wholly to our lives of faith\u2026

How do we do that\ue000 by spending time with the word of God \u2013 in
our own studies and our studies together. We can think of it just
like training for a sport \u2013 learning the rules to the game so that we
can play it right \u2013 we can play it fairly \u2013 and we can play it well.

Like an athlete trains her body to do the things she\u2019s supposed to we train our spirits and our minds\u2026so that we can do what God wants us to do with our lives\u2026

We need to work hard\u2026we need to pray continually\u2026we have to
share our faith with those around us\u2026we are called to teach our
young people well\u2026to serve our community with mercy and
love\u2026to not only know about our faith\u2026but to perform our faith
as the Bible tells us we\u2019re supposed to do\u2026

\u2026not for recreation or for spiritual exercise or for relaxation \u2013 this
is another way that we use sport and sometimes we use religion
and faith \u2013 Paul is telling us that our relationship with God and our
life in Christ is not just a Sunday hobby\u2026

It is the goal of our lives \u2013 we eat, we breathe, we sleep Christ\u2026
everything that we do is for God and his Kingdom\u2026Paul is telling
us to pursue our life in Christ as if we were headed to Vancouver
looking to stand at the top of the podium\u2026hearing the anthem
play\u2026