I had the opportunity to preach a sermon at my church in July. My Dad is the pastor, and he was taking a break. I don’t aspire to be a pastor or preacher, but I don’t mind stepping in once a year or so. Here’s the audio podcast of the sermon. I think it’s reasonably entertaining, and I even managed to convey a couple of interesting points. For those of you who don’t want to listen to 36 minutes of audio, I’ll summarize the sermon below. Also, if you’re live in the Tidewater area and are looking for a church, come check out Acts 2. We’re friendly, fun, and we’re growing.
Train Yourself in Godliness mp3
I titled my sermon, Train Yourself in Godliness. It’s based on 1 Timothy 4:8 where Paul tells Timothy that physical training is worthwhile, but spiritual training is even better. Paul writes a lot of metaphors comparing physical and spiritual exercise. Working out builds muscle. Jogging builds stamina. Eating healthy maximizes the effects of your exercise. In the same way, praying, reading the Bible, and spending time with other believers adds to your spiritual health. Paul says that your spiritual training is important because it holds “promise for the present life and the life to come.” So we should focus on building up our spiritual muscles.
In the same way that body builders will write up a workout and diet plan, we should have a spiritual workout plan. “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” The plan could include things like spending a few minutes in prayer and reading the Bible each day. Part of the plan could be to do something selfless and loving for our friends and family each week. Then, as we execute the plan, our spiritual muscles will grow, and we’ll reap the benefits of a happier and healthier spiritual walk.