On September 3, 2023, at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message based on 2 Corinthians 10:1-18. This message was part 1 of the “Mission:Own” sermon series. Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion. You will also find the audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download, or share.

 

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read 2 Corinthians 10:1-18
3. Have you ever been exposed to Christian leaders who did not seem very “Christian”?  How about leaders who were more Christ-like?  What made the difference between the two?
4. How have you imagined the Apostle Paul looking and sounding?  Does it surprise you that the Corinthian opponents of Paul pointed out negatives about his appearance and public speaking?
5. This morning, we talked about how this passage gives us some things to think about when we are looking for a church home or a ministry to connect with.  These were:  don’t rely only on a “first look,” examine what the primary weapon is that they are wielding, discerning if the leaders of the church are looking to build others up or simply to control, is the leadership walking the walk or just talking the talk, and who is the hero of the congregation?  Using that grid, evaluate the spiritual influences/church in your life to see how they/it stack up.  Anything stand out?
6. Also this morning, we talked about how we can learn from Paul’s model as we “own” the mission Christ has for us.  We saw how we need to know where the power lies, know who the hero is, know who you are following, and know who commends you.  How does remembering these things help you as you serve Jesus with your life?
7. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

 

To access these questions in pdf format click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

Mission: Own #1 9.3.23

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch online use YouTube:

 

 

 

 

When I was in high school, I played for a basketball team that had not one, but TWO sets of twins!  Out of the 10 or 11 guys who played the most when I was a senior, four of them came from two families.  I am not sure what the criteria is for identical twins, but I can say that both sets of twins looked very similar.  How similar?  Well, if you didn’t know them well, you might mistake one for the other.

As someone on the team who saw all four of them daily, it was easy for me to tell them apart.  Their mannerisms, vocal tone, slight differences in their appearance, and how they moved athletically had enough minor differences that those who knew them well could identify them.

That said, this fall I will most likely see all four men as our high school team is being inducted into the Bartlesville Sports Hall of Fame.  It will have been nearly 30 years since I have seen a couple of these guys, and at least a decade since I have seen any of them.  I can tell you … I am a bit nervous to do so.  Why?  Though I could easily tell them apart in 1992, I might not recognize the differences 31 years later!

I tell you this because when I look at 2 Corinthians 10:1-18 I see the Apostle Paul talking about differences between himself and others who were opposing his ministry in Corinth.  At quick glance, they both looked similar (i.e. both claimed the name of Christ … both wore the jersey of “church leader,” etc.).  These (not so identical) twins might have been confused by those who did not know them well, or those who had not spent much time with their Savior Jesus Christ recently.  Given the confusion, Paul writes to correctly identify the true apostle from the fake imposter.

This is important for us to consider as well.  We live in a day and age when many people wear the jersey of Christianity … yet their voices don’t always sing harmony.  How do we separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to Christian leaders?  Well, Paul provides some great insight for us, and we will look at it this Sunday at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services. 

The next 6 weeks we will be in one final series from the book of 2 Corinthians … a series titled “Mission:Own.”  In 2 Corinthians 10-13, Paul gets very personally about how he is owning his role on mission with Christ.  By looking at his example, we might also see how we might step into “owning” our role in Christ’s mission as well.  Hope to see you Sunday as we are in part 1 of this series.  See you there … and bring friends!