A sermon arguing that Christians should center their daily witness on Christ's crucifixion, not social work or end-times preaching alone. The crucifixion connects with people who've never heard of Jesus and naturally leads to both compassion and hope. Paul's principle: become all things to all people by focusing on the core story.
Chapters
Here's the question: How do we know which gospel we should be focused on? Should we be like the first gospel when Jesus came and he said, "I've come to make all things right for all people"? Should we be out doing healing ministries and feeding the poor and looking after people who need help with, with basic life? Or should we be out preaching the gospel of Jesus and him crucified, Christ and him crucified? Or should we be focused in on that final gospel and telling people that God's judgment is here, it's coming, Jesus is returning soon, and when he gets back, all things are going to be made right eternally, eternal gospel. All three are important messages, but we live in not a post-Christian society, but a pre-Christian society. So how do we represent Christ right now? If we live in a pre-Christian society, a society that has not even heard of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our story of how Christ, the God of the universe, how he interacted in this world to save us from it, how he saved us from sin, that is a story worth telling. And it's a story that, like Paul says, you can become all things to all people because you just go down to the core element of what your story is, and you tell that story in a way that helps people connect through you to Christ. You know, Paul says, "Follow me as I follow Christ." That is all of us as Christians. Once we've shared that gospel, it comes naturally then to care for the needs of those around us and to be the people of God living in the kingdom of God, making all things right with those around us. And it comes as a joy to say to those people who know Christ and know what he's done for us, Jesus is coming soon. The eternal gospel is a promise to you and to me. My invitation to you today is to make that middle gospel, that core Christian gospel, Christ and him crucified, your daily story so that you can connect people through you to him.
