THE CHURCH OF THE OPEN DOOR (49 OF 53)
by Mike Stone
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:4-9
This content is part of a series.
The Church of the Open Door (49 of 53)
Series: Straight-Up Truth for a Messed-Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 16:5-9
In 1963, NBC introduced a new game show to America. The original star was a man named Monty Hall and the show was called, ''Let's Make a Deal.'' Contestants were selected from the audience and the main part of the game presented contestants with choices about their prize.
Various gifts were located behind 3 doors. The would-be winners had to choose, often times, between ''Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3.'' Generally, there'd be a DUD gift behind 2 of the doors and a good prize behind 1 door.
In addition to having to choose, contestants would often be distracted by the craziness around them and tempted to forgo the door when Monty Hall tried to pay them cash instead. Today in 1 Corinthians 16, Paul writes about the opportunity to select a door. But this door doesn't lead to a new car, a new television, or a trip to Hawaii. This is a door of ministry that is set before Paul.
And I want you to see today that it's a door that is also set before our own church. And today, I want to encourage you and challenge you...don't be DISTRACTED...and don't be TEMPTED...you will really want to CHOOSE THIS DOOR.
It's an open door of ministry that was set before the church at Ephesus. And I believe is set before our church and before every church that seeks to do a great work for Jesus. So I want to charge you today, let's be the church of the open door.
1. The incredible opportunity of the door (5-9)?
There's no doubt that Paul is overwhelmed by the opportunity set before him. We don't know everything that was going on in Ephesus, but it's clear that Paul thought it was an incredible opportunity.
It reminds me of the time a shoe salesman was sent to a foreign country. When he arrived he realized nobody in that country wore shoes. The local customs called for everyone to be bare footed. He came home dejected and lamented, ''No one over there ...
Series: Straight-Up Truth for a Messed-Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 16:5-9
In 1963, NBC introduced a new game show to America. The original star was a man named Monty Hall and the show was called, ''Let's Make a Deal.'' Contestants were selected from the audience and the main part of the game presented contestants with choices about their prize.
Various gifts were located behind 3 doors. The would-be winners had to choose, often times, between ''Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3.'' Generally, there'd be a DUD gift behind 2 of the doors and a good prize behind 1 door.
In addition to having to choose, contestants would often be distracted by the craziness around them and tempted to forgo the door when Monty Hall tried to pay them cash instead. Today in 1 Corinthians 16, Paul writes about the opportunity to select a door. But this door doesn't lead to a new car, a new television, or a trip to Hawaii. This is a door of ministry that is set before Paul.
And I want you to see today that it's a door that is also set before our own church. And today, I want to encourage you and challenge you...don't be DISTRACTED...and don't be TEMPTED...you will really want to CHOOSE THIS DOOR.
It's an open door of ministry that was set before the church at Ephesus. And I believe is set before our church and before every church that seeks to do a great work for Jesus. So I want to charge you today, let's be the church of the open door.
1. The incredible opportunity of the door (5-9)?
There's no doubt that Paul is overwhelmed by the opportunity set before him. We don't know everything that was going on in Ephesus, but it's clear that Paul thought it was an incredible opportunity.
It reminds me of the time a shoe salesman was sent to a foreign country. When he arrived he realized nobody in that country wore shoes. The local customs called for everyone to be bare footed. He came home dejected and lamented, ''No one over there ...
There are 12022 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
