Bible Study July 20, 2023
1 Peter 3:13-16
“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared” which was their motto when I was in the scouts a few years ago.
What are we to be prepared for in our lifetime? The simple answer is everything that we face we need to be prepared because we do not know what it might bring. However, thinking about this it is very broad area to be concerned about.
Tony Dungy the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts said when he coached in Pittsburgh Chuck Noll then the head coach said he wanted his staff to know what he was teaching. Players would listen to the coaches out of respect for what they were saying.
Dungy said we are teachers first and the goal was to prepare the players for what they would face in a game.
The same is true when God tells us to go out and speak about Him. He wants us to be ready to tell someone what we believe and why we believe it. Why we accepted Jesus into our lives, why we follow Him.
“Be Prepared” is the same for us as it is the Boy Scouts.
This popped up the other day: “How do people start attending church?”
- A friend invited me – 86%
- Organized visitation – 6%
- Invited by the Pastor – 6%
- Advertising – 2%
Asbury Chapel 