Tune in to hear Pastor Josh preach from 1 Thessalonians this morning:
“Have you ever played Mario Kart? There have been several iterations, but the original was the first to have the unique feature of being able to race against the track record, the fastest completion of whatever track you are on. An ephemeral version of the track champion (a ‘ghost’ if you will) would be projected directly in front of you so that you could learn every twist and turn of the track. And if you were to follow directly on the heels of the fastest time ever, well then you too would finish the race in record time…It was of great benefit, then, that the new Thessalonian Christians were able, even if only for a few short weeks, to observe the behavior of Paul and his associates…Christ Jesus, of course, is our exemplar. He alone ran a perfect race. I like how the NIV translates Hebrews 12:1-2: ‘And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’ But Jesus did not merely leave the church with a WWJD bracelet. He granted the Holy Spirit. I do not have to wonder ‘what would Jesus do?’ because I am given Spirit empowered models in the church to observe.”