“Core Training”
Proverbs 27:17
Remember back in grade school P.E. class when the gym teacher had all the students see how many sit-ups they could do?
In third grade it was the day for the sit-up test during physical fitness week. (Some kids were conveniently "sick" that day.)
I remember our class walked into the gym and one of the second graders from the class before us was still going strong.
He ended up doing more than 700 sit-ups and his face was beet red when he finished.
I did around 90 and the next day my stomach muscles were so sore I could hardly breathe.
I've always wondered how that other kid felt the next the day!
I share that story because unwittingly that day was my introduction to core training, and core training is all the rage today.
Why is this?
Well, strong core muscles make it easier for us to do many things, such as swing a golf club, get a glass from the top shelf and bend down to tie our shoes.
Strong core muscles are also important for athletes, such as runners, as weak core muscles can lead to more fatigue, less endurance and injuries.
Weak core muscles can also leave us susceptible to poor posture, lower back pain and muscle injuries.
Strengthening our core muscles may help improve back pain.
Experts say that when we have developed strong core muscles we are ready to go on and begin to strengthen the other muscles in our body.
This morning, I’m going to be introducing a new ministry plan within our church, that, if we are intentional in carrying it through—could very well change our lives and the effectiveness of our witness, strengthening not just our core, but helping us move on to other important aspects of our faith, ministry, witness and lives as individuals and Christ’s Church.
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But, before I do that, I’d like to ask us all a few questions.
How is it with your soul?
Are you growing in your relationship with God or are things becoming stagnant?
Are you finding yourself becoming more in-love and loving toward God and other people or do you find your love growing cold?
I think these are good questions to ask ourselves, especially as we seek to live through this pandemic, time of civil unrest and isolation.
You know, if things are healthy in our core—that is, in our relationship with Jesus Christ then our ability to not only cope but also to live through these difficult times successfully, triumphantly and fruitfully are great!!!
Because if our core is strong, we can grow in other areas as well.
But if our core is weak, I’m afraid this is going to be a most miserable season indeed.
Christianity is a relationship.
It is a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
And when we are in a relationship with God it changes our lives, just as all relationships—good and bad—change our lives in one way or another.
But not only is Christianity a relationship it is also a commitment.
Think of it in terms of a marriage.
If we were to get married and then, as soon as we say “I do” say, “Okay, now I’m going to go off and do my own thing.”
Is that really a marriage?
Of course not.
The marriage begins after we say: “I do,” and continues as we live in relationship with the one we have married—the one we have made a commitment to.
And it’s not always easy.
It takes work on the part of both partners.
David Brackett told me, this past week, that he will often run into college students who will say, “I just don’t feel close to God anymore.”
And David will ask them, “Well, how much are you working on it?
If you are going to have a close relationship with God you are going to have to work on it.”
And it’s true.
And just like a marriage, there will be times when our relationship falters a bit, or doesn’t feel as strong as it once did.
In the case of a marriage it might be due to an illness or the distraction of children and running them to ball games and all over the place.
And often, we don’t realize that the relationship has been drifting apart until we suddenly wake up and say, “Hey, wait a minute.
Something is wrong here.”
And our relationship with God is similar.
Things may be going along well, and then we become distracted.
And as we all know, there are a lot of distractions in our world.
We may get busy with other things.
We may stop worshiping on a regular basis.
Our prayer life may take a back seat.
We might stop reading our Bible.
And we may fall into a pattern of sin.
And sin will alter our relationship with God.
It will get in the way.
It will hamper it.
It will seek to destroy it.
And so, we must recognize it, repent of it and cast it aside.
But can we do this on our own?
There is no doubt, that as Christians, we can’t be completely happy nor satisfied in life if our relationship with God is not moving in the direction it should—forward.
Because, as Christians, our relationship with Christ is our core.
It is what is at the center.
It is what determines how we feel, how we move, how we live, how strong we are.
Our Scripture Passage for this morning from Proverbs 27:17 says: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Several years ago, a sociologist named Don Chambliss began studying competitive swimmers.
And in his research, he learned that the real way to become a great swimmer is to join a great team.
Now, this may seem weird because we might think that the opposite would be true, like, first you become a great swimmer and then you join a great team.
And that is true to a certain degree, but if you really want to make it to the top you need a great team.
Here’s a quote from Chambliss: “when I started studying Olympians, I thought, ‘What kind of oddball gets up every day at four in the morning to go to swimming practice?’
I thought, ‘There must be extraordinary people to do that sort of thing.’
But the thing is, when you go to a place where basically everybody you know is getting up at four in the morning to go to practice, that is just what you do.’
It’s no big deal.
It becomes a habit.”
In a similar way, the Christian walk is a group project.
We sharpen each other, we grow each other, we strengthen each other.
We all need each other to get better at becoming more and more like Jesus.
At this point, you might be thinking to yourselves, “Ken, that is all well and good, but do you realize that we are currently in the middle of a pandemic?
How can we walk together, when we can’t even worship in the same building?
How can we sharpen one another when we are so isolated?
Are you trying to frustrate us?
Why preach about this now?”
My answer is: “Because, now, more than ever, we need one another.”
“More than ever, we need a sense of community.”
“More than ever, we need to be in relationship with God and one another.”
We are isolated—like never before, and so we need this NOW more than EVER.
We must be intentional about our relationship with Christ, lest we slip backwards and into sin, misery and things we will regret.
And so, I am asking all of us to prayerfully consider making a commitment to being part of our new ministry project called “Core Groups.”
“What is a Core Group?” you might ask.
Core groups are small groups with a designated leader.
These groups are made up of no more than 6 people.
They meet once a week at the same time each week.
They are confidential, which means, no one is allowed to share anything which is said outside of the group.
They read Scripture.
They pray for one another.
Each person is asked a set of questions at each meeting:
1. How is it with your soul?
2. What are your struggles and successes?
3. How are the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures speaking to your life?
4. Is there anything we can help you with?
5. For what do you need prayer?
As time goes on, the questions can go deeper, if the group so chooses.
The groups can meet via Zoom, which is so easy to work or, if everyone in the group feels comfortable, you can meet at someone’s house—with facemasks and social distancing.
As Methodists, this will take us back to our roots—all the way back to what was the backbone of the biggest Christian Revival in the past 250 years.
John Wesley called these groups band societies.
They were created because the Christian journey doesn’t stop when we say “I do” to Jesus’ call to come follow Him.
That is just the beginning of a lifelong, life changing relationship where we seek to grow more and more into the likeness of Christ—another word for this is sanctification.
As Christians our core is our relationship with Christ.
And our CORE is the most important part of our life.
For when my core is strong, I am able to love—even my enemies.
When my core is strong I am able to so overcome the sin of envy that I can rejoice in something that someone else has that maybe I don’t have—maybe even something I’ve prayed for and wept over and begged God for in my own life.
When my core is strong I am able to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
When my core is strong I am able and willing to walk through hard things with others in their anguish.
When my core is strong I am able to allow myself to be bent and shaped and know I will not break, and if someone bumps a little hard against me, I am able to let God sort it out.
When my Core is strong Love becomes more and more a habitual and organic part of my existence.
You know, as a rule, we humans are terrible accountability partners for ourselves.
Just as iron left alone for a long time gets more and more dull, a man or woman left alone for too long gets more and more dull.
We are, more often than not, terrible accountability partners for ourselves because we want comfort more than change…
…because if we are honest, many of us aren’t too scared of disappointing ourselves…
Like, “I know I said I would read the Bible every day, but I am pretty sure I would understand why I didn’t read today.”
And we just keep skipping spending time with God.
The following was written by an unknown author.
I think it’s pretty on target.
Here it is: “Accountability is the brave friend that dares to disturb our comfortable decay and remind us to keep reaching for our goals.
Accountability is the brave friend that reminds us to keep living, keep growing, and keep striving for the goal.
Accountability reminds us that our identity, our lives and our goals are bigger than this moment.
We have a future that we are building up to, we have an identity that we are learning to live out.
Accountability is not a scary and guilt filled pressure.
In fact, accountability will free us from scary and guilt filled pressure.
It will dare to call us back into living for a goal, not just living in a miserable moment.
It frees us because it reminds us that this moment right now, this pain right now, this discouragement right now, is not all of us.
There is more to us.
Without accountability, if left to ourselves, we become prisoners of the comfortable present moment.
We become dull, numb, unmotivated.
But with accountability, we are drawn to living for a goal bigger than the moment.
This gives us strength to move on and frees us from being prisoners of our present struggle.”
Within the next couple of weeks, you will be contacted by a leader of a CORE group, inviting you to be part.
If you do not get a call or invitation or if you know you won’t because you are not affiliated with the Church—please either call the church office at 423-877-2881 or send me an email at pastorkensauer@gmail.com.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Our relationship with Christ is our CORE.
Without this, nothing else matters.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
Please become part of a CORE group for the sake of Christ, for the sake of this Church, this community—for the sake of your soul.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
