{"id":6691,"date":"2020-09-03T08:23:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T22:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=6691"},"modified":"2020-09-03T08:23:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T22:23:11","slug":"fight-the-good-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/fight-the-good-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight the Good Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Readings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

New Testament passage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

24<\/sup> Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?\u00a0Run in such a way that you may\u00a0obtain\u00a0it.\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And everyone who competes\u00a0for the prize\u00a0is temperate in all things. Now they\u00a0do it\u00a0to obtain a perishable crown, but we\u00a0for\u00a0an imperishable\u00a0crown.\u00a026\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Therefore I run thus:\u00a0not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as\u00a0one who\u00a0beats the air.\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But I discipline my body and\u00a0bring\u00a0it\u00a0into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become\u00a0disqualified.<\/em><\/p>1 Corinthians 9:24-27<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As Christians in a modern world, we consistently find ourselves fighting\nagainst the flesh and against the ever-changing social norms, particularly in a\nsociety which prides itself on subjective morality. Often in these times, we\nfeel that we are so different from those around us which can make us feel\nisolated and can make us question whether we want to continue down the narrow\npath. Yet, we are in a battle in this world \u2013 we might not see it and we might\nforget about it, but it is real and ever present. How do we remind ourselves of\nspiritual warfare?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are some struggles we face as Christians in modern day society? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are some practical ways to overcoming feelings of helplessness in the spiritual struggle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another New Testament Passage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

10\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.<\/em>11\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against thewiles of the devil.<\/em>12\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but againstprincipalities, against powers, againstthe rulers of]<\/sup>the darkness of this age, against spiritualhostsof wickedness in the heavenlyplaces.<\/em>13\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstandin the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Stand therefore,\u00a0having girded your waist with truth,\u00a0having put on the breastplate of righteousness,\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>above all, taking\u00a0the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And\u00a0take the helmet of salvation, and\u00a0the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,\u00a0being watchful to this end with all perseverance and\u00a0supplication for all the saints<\/em><\/p>Ephesians 10:9-18<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Discussion questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When St Paul originally wrote this passage, he was using jargon familiar\nto his audience. What are some modern-day equivalents of the armour of God\nproposed by St Paul? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we utilise each aspect of the armour of God?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Readings New Testament passage 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?\u00a0Run in such a way that you may\u00a0obtain\u00a0it.\u00a025\u00a0And everyone who competes\u00a0for the prize\u00a0is temperate in all things. Now they\u00a0do it\u00a0to obtain a perishable crown, but we\u00a0for\u00a0an imperishable\u00a0crown.\u00a026\u00a0Therefore I run thus:\u00a0not with uncertainty. Thus … Continue reading “Fight the Good Fight”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[357,358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-small-groups","category-small-groups-small-groups"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6693,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6691\/revisions\/6693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}