Pastor's sermon is based on the second lesson from Philippians 3:4b-14. Paul imagines himself as a marathon runner: “Forgetting what lies behind,” he says, “and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul is chasing after Christ. For a long time, Paul had been hunting after the followers of Jesus, trying to exterminate them. During that time in his life, Paul had been running toward a different prize. He wanted to be a religious success. He wanted to be holy. He wanted to be good. He wanted to follow God’s law. All of his former successes are now regarded as rubbish. It wasn’t that those old ways and habits of success were bad things in and of themselves; it is just that knowing Christ is: “of surpassing value.” Amen.
