What does First B Jackson teach about running your race?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on running your race starts with an honest look at what the surrounding culture is actually selling. Pastor Brad opened this series by pushing back on the assumption baked into nearly every message we absorb, that this life is all there is, so comfort and self-advancement are the obvious goals. Against that, he argued that what our souls actually need is identity, purpose, and genuine connection, and that scripture has always offered something far better: relationship with the infinite God who invites us into eternity.
Drawing from Hebrews 12:1-2, Brad laid out three movements the text itself provides: rid, run, and look. The first is to strip away every obstacle and the sin that so easily entangles, and he was careful to press on the word every. He named the quiet religion of modern culture as selfism, a systematic tendency to use people and experiences as if this life is the whole story. He was equally clear that the application is personal. The text says let us rid ourselves, not our spouses or our community groups. The second movement is to run, and the letter is addressed to the whole church, not just pastors and elders. Brad drew a sharp contrast between the spectator wearing someone else's jersey and critiquing from the stands, and the person who gets into the game, makes mistakes, and receives grace for them. He connected a lot of hypercritical church culture to people who have not yet started running their own race and so have energy left over for judging those who have.
The phrase 'the race marked out for you' carries two things, according to Brad. First, every person's race is their own. He pointed to the moment when the risen Jesus tells Peter his future, Peter asks about John, and Jesus replies that it is not Peter's concern. The application was direct: God gives different temperaments, talents, and callings by design, and comparing your race to someone else's misses the point entirely. Second, winning simply means finishing. Because the race is a category of one, all you have to do is complete the course set before you.
Taught from Hebrews 12:1-2 · Galatians 5:13-14 · Ephesians 2 · 1 Corinthians 10:31 · James 5:16
The passage taught · 1 Corinthians 10:31
31 Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- September 24, 2025 Rid, Run, Look Hebrews 12 calls Christians to strip off sin, run with endurance, and fix their eyes on Jesus, the champion who finished his race so we could run ours.
- September 14, 2025 Rid, Run, Look Hebrews 12 calls us to rid ourselves of every hindrance, run with endurance, and fix our eyes on Jesus, the champion who finished the race for us.
- September 14, 2025 Rid, Run, Look A sermon on Hebrews 12:1-2 calling Christians to rid themselves of sin, run their God-given race with endurance, and fix their eyes on Jesus.