Steve Durand - June 24, 2018
A Winsome Witness (part 1) - 1 Peter 3:8-12
In the 1744 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar.”
While many of us might reasonably scratch our heads at that statement and wonder why in the world a person would ever want to attract flies to begin with, the point of his statement is simply this: The more kind or gracious you are or the more appealing and persuasive you are in your approach towards others (as opposed to being mean-spirited or argumentative), the more likely you are to be successful in winning the other person over and to achieving your goals.
The same principle holds true for Christ-followers. We live in a world that is often hostile towards Christianity. Therefore, if we are to enhance our Christian witness with those around us and improve our chances of being heard, we should absolutely be concerned with the approach we take towards others and how we conduct our lives on the stage of this world.
From Series: "Between 2 Worlds"
This Week's Sermon: "Peter’s Closing Briefing"
brief·ing ˈbrēfiNG noun - a meeting for giving information or instructions.
Most of us love briefings because they are usually short and to the point. It's not a time for a lot of chit chat. Important information is shared, and then you're done. It's time to go get to work.
As parents we often give briefings to our kids before they're ready to head out the door. It's dangerous out there and we want them to be safe. We want them to make good choices. So we figure another short reminder can’t hurt. Which is why we say things like: “Be careful” or “Don't talk to strangers” or “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
This Sunday we complete our study through the book of 1 Peter. But not without a final briefing from Peter that could make the difference in whether we will win or lose the war we are in. You know that we are in a war, right? Danger is all around us in this fallen world, and we need to be battle ready. Peter’s closing words will help us do that.
