{"id":150,"date":"2018-11-06T16:44:07","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T00:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/migrate.bettersermons.org\/?p=150"},"modified":"2020-06-01T11:40:53","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T18:40:53","slug":"the-winsome-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/the-winsome-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"The Winsome Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Winsome Witness<\/span><\/div>\n

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Key Passage:\u00a0<\/strong>Shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.\u00a0 Philippians 2:15<\/p>\n

Key Thought:\u00a0<\/strong>The winsome witness is expressed with positive words, impeccable integrity, and with fresh, creative approaches.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Scripture:<\/strong>\u00a0Philippians 2:14-18<\/p>\n

Idea:<\/strong>\u00a0There is something irresistible about the winsome witness. It is unshockable and unflappable. It is accepting and gives people breathing space in which to grow. It is expressed with delightfully positive words. It is lived out with impeccable integrity. It is shared in the most attractive manner possible.<\/p>\n

Story:<\/strong>\u00a0The winsome witness always rises out of a positive attitude that expresses itself in positive words.\u00a0We live in a negative world in which far too many Christians are narrow, tight, stern, and no fun. When one has a limited perspective on who God is and what He is like, when one gets down in the mouth about life and all the rotten things going on in the church \u2013 it can really sour their witness for Christ.<\/p>\n

When Paul tells us to \u201cdo everything without complaining and arguing,\u201d (verse 14) he uses an onomatopoetic word\u2014a word that carries a verbal imitation of the sound it makes.\u00a0This word expresses the low muttering of an unhappy heart.\u00a0One look at such a morbid face, one peep from such a glum mouth is enough to scare anyone off.\u00a0After all, if that is what happens to people who become Christians, who needs it?<\/p>\n

The winsome life is also expressed through a positive life.\u00a0Lee Strobel is right when he says, \u201cIf you’re living a boring, lukewarm Christian life of drudgery and rule-keeping, you may be doing more damage to your friends than all the scandals involving the televangelists.\u00a0You’re sending a message that Christianity is \u2018a stiff, uptight, inflexible way of life, colorless and unbending,\u2019 and it was certainly never intended to be that.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Paul talks about a quality of life that is \u201cblameless and pure . . . without fault in a crooked and depraved generation,\u201d (verse 15), he is calling us to an authentic life where there is a conspicuous absence of duplicity, deceit, immorality, and scandal.\u00a0 A life that hangs together in a coherent whole.\u00a0A life where actions and motives are squeaky clean. A life that is 100% for Christ.<\/p>\n

The winsome witness is communicated through positive approaches. We are called to \u201cshine like the stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.\u201d (verse 15).\u00a0We are called to be twinkling, sparkling, glistening stars that shine out for Jesus.\u00a0Such a witness is shared in fresh, unexpected ways. It is creative.\u00a0New every time.\u00a0An adventuresome journey to the edge.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to be prepared for anything.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to be connected to the spur-of-the-moment inspiration that comes from the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not something that is dull, boring, or insipid.\u00a0It is full of life and vitality.\u00a0It is full of Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0The gospel of Jesus Christ meets the needs of the bored and the broken, the dejected and defeated.\u00a0It fills the heart with hope and certainty that there is more to life than a dead-end trip to the grave.\u00a0That there is an eternity to come with Jesus in heaven at last.
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\nSubmitted by Dan Martella.\u00a0Better Sermons \u00a9 2005-2007. Click here for\u00a0usage guidelines<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Winsome Witness Key Passage:\u00a0Shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.\u00a0 Philippians 2:15 Key Thought:\u00a0The winsome witness is expressed with positive words, impeccable …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151,"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersermons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}