A Prize Worth Living For

Marcel Hall: I haven't really been able to share something, uh, with

the congregation that I usually do at the beginning of the year.

And actually I do this actually on a, on a wide, a worldwide basis.

I share every year.

I have a slogan for the year, and I've been doing this since like 2008.

And usually it's just my personal slogan, but I give it free

of charge to everybody else.

You are more than welcome to use it.

And I think once in now, uh, once, you know, every now and then, it will

actually kind of help be one of the themes for the church for the year.

And so, oh, was that my man?

Ej.

Ej you've been with me for a long time and you know, EJ was with me back in

LA uh, before we moved here, and so he remembers you might be part of the genesis

of it, but, uh, so to give you a little bit of history, like in the past when I

first started, it was great in oh eight.

Because I was trying to be great in oh eight.

You, you get what I'm saying?

That was 2008 for those who couldn't catch that.

And it's been on every year.

And so I'll give you the last couple.

So, uh, in the past here in the last couple years, it was become more in 24.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Y'all appreciate that.

Okay.

Last year was let the spirit drive in two five.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

We ain't coming late.

We've grown since oh eight.

You know what I'm saying?

Yes.

And so this year, can a brother get a drum roll please?

Thank you.

Here it is.

We're a little late, but it's better late than never.

Here we go.

Alright, here it is.

Let's hope this is working.

Here we go.

Here we go.

It is clean, like new kicks in.

Two six.

That's right.

I want the Lord to keep making me clean like some new kicks in.

Two six.

I wanna do my part in being clean, looking fresh and clean, like some new kicks in.

Two six.

Are y'all with me there?

So you can go ahead and use that as well.

Again, this is free of charge.

Hashtag clean, like new kicks in.

Two six.

All right.

And so speaking of 2026, I know there's a trend that's been going on.

The, uh, look back.

What is it?

The, uh, 26.

2026 is the new 2016.

Is that what it is?

Where everybody's sending pictures and showing pictures

of what you did 10 years ago.

You guys familiar with me there?

Alright.

Yeah.

So I wanna do a little bit of that, but I have to cheat a little bit so it's not

2016, it's a little further than 2016.

And I actually showed this, and so I was reminded, I actually

showed this in my very first sermon when I came to Orange County.

And so I'm gonna show this again because when we moved here 2015,

well, you know, we're close.

So I showed it 10 years ago.

You guys with me here?

Okay.

And so I wanna show you this video, so let's please make sure the, uh,

we got the sound and everything together, um, of me being i'll.

I'll let, I'll let the video speak for a second.

Let's go ahead and play the video.

Bob Barker: You have five total.

You go right up those stairs, take your place up there at the top of

the Plinko board, get right behind it there, and look down here in that slot.

10,001 chip and let it go.

Alright, here it comes.

Here it comes.

WinCo Chip, Marcel.

Oh, wrong way.

Come on.

Come on.

Don't that.

Another blingo chip worth.

Oh, big old zero.

Marcel uso.

Blingo chip number three is on its way on.

Its not Fargo.

This one won't count.

We'll get this down here.

And the lovely Heather will bring it up there to you, and you

can do that one all over again.

Here you go, Linco chip number three.

Another try.

Another try.

And here it comes.

All worked out.

Do it again, huh?

Do it again.

The same way.

Same place.

Looking pretty good.

Looking pretty.

One more Up to 21,000 now Marcel.

One more time.

Woo.

Here we go.

Here's his last shit.

Oh my God.

Could he do three in a row?

Have

Marcel Hall: go, go.

There you go.

That was a long time ago.

You see a little grainy uh, uh, footage there.

So definitely it was in 2016, but I won $22,000 as you can see there.

I was a, uh, I was going to my, yeah, I was a senior in college,

so this was 2002 right there.

And so that I was just several months after becoming a Christian, and that was

a phenomenal time that I had right there.

And I did show that, like I said, about 10 years ago when I came.

And that was a, just a phenomenal experience.

It was a dream come true to go and, uh, to be on the show and then to win.

And it was showing on Christmas Eve.

So everybody and their mom end up calling me afterwards and

we saw you on prices, right?

And uh, and so that was a phenomenal thing there.

But as we think ing, I've always been reminded of this, that

in Jesus, we actually have a greater prize than all of that.

And that in Jesus, we have a prize worth living for.

And that's the title of the sermon today, A prize worth.

Living for.

Let's go ahead and let's go to God in prayer.

Father, thank you so much for all that we've been able to experience

already this morning to be reminded of the mercy and grace that you

extend, that we don't have to perform.

Father, the call and the opportunity to show you your value to us.

God, we thank you for the chance to sing praises to you and encourage one another.

Father, we pray that your word right now may minister to our very souls.

Help us to see what you want us to see this morning.

So that God, we can trust you more with our lives so that we can

walk faithfully in the spirits.

We pray this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

We're gonna look over in one Peter.

Chapter one, one Peter chapter one.

The context here for one, Peter Peter was an apostle of Jesus.

Of Jesus, and so he was, he was called by Jesus.

He was trained by Jesus, and he was therefore sent out by Jesus,

and he ended up going to Rome in the latter part of his years and.

Sixties, a DD ad, and he starts being one of the main leaders in

the church in Rome at this time.

But the churches in the Roman Providences, they're having some hard times.

There's some persecution that's starting to take place for those

who are disciples of Jesus.

And as Peter gets wind of this, he decides to send a letter out of encouragement

and help and guidance and strengthening for the brothers and sisters, which we

are grateful because the principals.

Still apply to us today.

And so this was a group of disciples who you can say, we're scattered,

we're marginalized, we're suffering.

Most of them not wealthy, definitely not powerful.

And you can even say not winning culturally.

And Peter, you would think maybe would promise an escape, but

he doesn't promise an escape.

He reminds them of the prize that they have.

Despite their circumstances, they have a prize that is worth living for and to hold

on to their faith and to continue to live for the prize that is in Christ Jesus.

And that prize, we can say, is the prize of eternal life,

the prize of eternal life.

Brother and sisters, are you with me this morning?

All right y'all.

I need you to be with me here.

All right.

Let's go to First Peter chapter one in verse three.

We'll read here it says, praise be to the God and Father of

our, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope, through

the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

From the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded

by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in

the last time and all this, you greatly rejoice though now for a little while you

may have had to suffer grief in all kinds.

Of trials, these have come so that proven so that the proven genuineness of your

faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes, even though refined by fire,

may result in praise, glory, and honor.

When Jesus Christ is revealed, though you have not seen him, you love him,

and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled

with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

For you are receiving the end results of your faith.

The salvation of your souls.

We'll stop right there.

Peter reminds the church there that they have the prize of eternal life.

That, and this prize doesn't apply to just them.

It applies to us today.

If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you have a prize worth living for.

And so we wanna break this down some.

So let's go through first Peter real quickly here.

And so first off, he says he praised this God, but he says in his great mercy, this

prize of eternal life isn't a prize that we have won, isn't a prize that we have

been rewarded with or that we have earned.

It is solely by God's mercy and love.

I showed a little prices, right video there and, uh, you

know, I can show you all of it.

We, you know, another time we can show you all the other parts there, but I'm

bidding on things to get the chips.

I had no idea any of the prices of the things I was bidding on.

So I looked at the crowd and they're like, five, I go five.

And I get it.

They go 10 10 and all I did and I go, wow.

And I get up there and I'm dropping it.

I didn't physically force anything to drop in those $10,000, but I won this prize.

Why not?

Because it was by my strength.

But I believe it was divine guidance.

But our prize isn't anything that you and I have earned.

As Daniel alluded to earlier, we don't come to God and say we have eternal

life because we have earned this, because I've been righteous this week.

No, it is because of mercy, not giving us what we deserve, but then extending

grace, giving us what we do not deserve.

And he goes on and he says, he's given us new birth.

You know, the prize of eternal life starts with God giving you a new life.

Many of us can testify the blessing of being able to have a new life

begin when we came to Christ.

We can testify.

Boy, oh boy, I'm so grateful for who I am now because who I was then.

And so we can testify, we can say hallelujah, that he gives a new life.

Because if I had to go off my old life, then I stand judged.

And destruction will follow me, and I don't even wanna know what that might

look like for me and those around me.

He says, we have a new birth.

Then it goes on and it says, it's into a living hope.

I love this.

A living hope, meaning it is alive.

We have a hope that is not dead.

It is not old.

It is not wasting away.

It is not expired.

It is always presence.

And so as disciples of Jesus, we always have hope as disciples of Jesus.

We are never categorized as the hopeless.

We are never put in that bucket because of Christ.

We always have hope no matter what the situation may look like, because

of the living hope that we have been birthed into and because of

the living God who is our father and savior who is calling us to eternity.

What a blessing and privilege that is.

It goes on and he says it's an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

And this inheritance is kept in heaven for you.

You know, an inheritance.

That's something that, that you receive and you know, some

of y'all have in inheritances.

Y'all looking forward to,

I'm from a broke family.

We don't have that uncle who's rich.

We don't have any inheritance.

So I'm looking forward to this spiritual inheritance.

You know what I'm saying?

But even if I did have that rich uncle, it still wouldn't compare to

the riches that are found in God.

And what does he say here?

It's an eternal treasure of heaven with God Almighty.

Again, this is an inheritance, something that you have, but yet you're waiting for.

And so we have it now.

We experience it now, but not in, in its, its fullness, not in its completion.

It's still to come, but yet we experience some of it now and we have the joy of

knowing, wow, I can't wait to see what it looks like when it comes to fruition.

And so we have this inheritance waiting on us, and it's an eternal prize.

I love this.

It says it won't perish, so it won't decay.

Won't, it cannot be corrupted and it cannot lose its shine.

That's the inheritance for you and I as disciples of Jesus.

You know, I, we had a hope of getting a house in Orange County that parish, once

those interest rates start going up.

You know, I've had a number of good meals that I put in the fridge, or

Thanksgiving meals and Christmas meals, whatever the case may be.

But what happens over time that food will, what spoil?

You may have new clothes and shiny things, but what happens over time, it fades.

The eternal treasure that you and I have is nothing like that.

Cannot spoil, cannot perish, and cannot fade.

It says it is kept in heaven for us.

Our salvation is here and now, but yet also in heaven waiting for us.

Boy, oh boy, this is gonna be something special, but boy oh boy,

it's something special right now.

And he goes on and he says, it's through faith and we are shielded by God's power.

Again, this was written in Greek and this word, this, this phrasing here shielded

was a military term and that they would use it when you would guard someone.

And so it says here that our inheritance, our salvation, our eternal prize, our

prize of eternal life is shielded.

Like if it was a military guard in front of it, making sure that nothing can

happen and who's the one guarding it?

God almighty.

It's God who guards and protects and shields us.

I don't know about you, but that's the greatest security guard we could

ever have that beats any lock system.

It brings peace and security for the future, but also for the present.

This is what we have now, and this is what we will enjoy when Christ returns.

And it goes on in verse six and verse seven, talking about trials.

And so Peter doesn't, he doesn't dismiss, Hey, you are going through something

or you will never go through something.

No, he says You are and you will, but remember the prize that you have.

And he goes on and he says this, these have come so that the proven genuineness

of your faith of greater worth than gold, our faith is of greater worth than gold.

Gold has always been precious, a precious metal, a commodity that for

ever since it's been discovered, has been something that people wanted.

And most of the gold that's in existence now that we have seen

has been mined, has never has.

Most of the gold that's been mined is still presence, and so gold

lasts longer than you and I, but our faith is even greater than gold

and will last even longer than gold.

Our faith is valuable.

It's what Peter tells us.

It's, it's priceless and no earthly treasure can compare to the spiritual

treasure you have in Christ.

Our faith is more valuable because it lasts beyond this life.

He goes on and he says this.

He says, though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see

him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

It says filled, not just half, not just some, but we can be filled to and

over the brim with an inexpressible.

The joy that we have, you can't even describe accurately chat.

GPT can't give you the language for it.

It's a joy that can be fully comprehended or fully articulated.

That's the joy that we have in Christ.

It's a joy in the midst of life's challenges.

'cause he just talked about, Hey, you're going through some things.

Has anybody been through some things recently?

But we can have joy, not because of these things, but in spite

or in the midst of those things.

Why?

Because we have the joy of what God has done for us.

We have joy of knowing what God will bring and provide for us, therefore,

leading us to have joy in the present day.

Thank you, God, for what you have done.

Hallelujah, for what you will do.

I am blessed

and inexpressible and glorious joy that cannot be described

as something to marvel at.

He goes on and he says this, for you're receiving the end results of your

faith, the salvation of your souls.

An eternal relationship with God, our souls at peace and in rest with God.

You know, again, as disciple of Jesus, we are on our way to paradise and

eternity with our God and Savior.

Yes, in practical ways, yes, we'll be going down to 10 Goodyear in Irvine,

but that's not our destination.

We are on a path to eternity in paradise with God Almighty, and we will be face

to face and the faith shall be sight, and we'll be surrounded by saints in

the multitude and it will be glorious.

I don't even think Revelation gives us a clear and or accurate

picture of how awesome it will be.

Because it cannot be described so that our human minds can comprehend what we have.

Brothers and sisters, we have a prize worth living for.

We have a prize worth living for.

It consists of a new life.

Hope that doesn't die.

Treasure in heaven waiting for you.

God's power for protection.

Indescribable joy to the max, and an eternal relationship with God.

Can I get a hallelujah?

Hallelujah.

That means praise the Lord.

You better mean it when you say that.

Don't just say it 'cause Marcel said it.

Praise the Lord.

This is what we have, brothers and sisters.

Now, let me ask you this.

What do you do with a prize like this?

What do you do with a prize like this?

When you have something of great value, what do you do with it?

Okay, some people say Share it.

I, I might have shared this story.

I used to, uh, I used to work in sports radio and, uh, we, we,

we were able to go to a game.

They gave us tickets one time and we were in the suite.

And, uh, and so we're in the suites.

I brought a brother with me, uh, David Moore.

So me and David Moore we're in the suites and they come in this

day we're at a Clippers game.

And, uh, so we're at this Clippers game.

They come in, uh, the people work for the Clippers and they go, Hey, you know what,

you guys, you're, you're lucky today.

You're gonna get this signed Autograph basketball with all the clippers on there.

Some of y'all not impressed.

I know it's the Clippers, but these are professional basketball players.

And so I had this ball, this signed by all the clippers.

And this wasn't like, you know, Chris Paul Times didn't have Blake Griffin

and some ballers, it was like some, some LA Clippers, you know what I'm saying?

But it was still cool and I got the ball and I'm like, oh, this is cool.

So I get it, I bring it home, I show Karina and I had this little stand for,

and I used to put it on the stand, and wherever we moved, I had it in there.

But what happened, I didn't realize what I was doing.

I didn't really protect it.

And so I would have it near Windows.

You already know.

And so after some years and you know, maybe we moved, I looked at the ball

and I go, oh snap, what happened?

There's like two signatures left.

I'm like, I can't even tell who that is.

This might have been a dude that was on the practice squad.

You know what I'm saying?

And I'm looking and it's faded, and I'm like, man, this is a mess.

I don't even know where that ball is today.

I think I gave it to somebody.

Let one of my kids play with it.

You know what I'm saying?

I didn't cherish it.

I didn't see it as that valuable, and you can argue if it was valuable

or not, but I didn't cherish it.

Here's the thing, some of us are treating God's treasure, like that Clippers ball.

It's there, we have it, but we're not cherishing it.

It's not protected.

It's not appreciated.

It's not put in a place where it can shine, where it can

invoke memories and nostalgia.

We we're not treating it the way we should, and so what should

we do with this type of prize?

I believe God wants us to do this.

Cherish the prize.

I believe God wants us to cherish the prize, and when you cherish something,

that means you think it's valuable.

Wow.

You don't cherish things you don't think are valuable, but you

cherish what you think is valuable.

You hold it dear, and you protect it.

And I believe there's several ways in which we can show our

cherish and our appreciation.

And that's one we, you know, we, we, we cherish the prize with gratitude.

We cherish the prize with gratitude.

When we realize what we have, we can't help but be grateful and appreciative.

We can't help but be grateful and appreciative.

And so I, I know this, you know, just the other day I was looking, I

don't know how I got on there, but I started looking at some photos here

on, you know, Google photos there.

And for some reason, I, I, I was looking at old photos and I started

going down this path and I'm looking at old pictures of me and Carina.

We were getting man, like, man, I used to look young.

And I, you know, and I'm like, man, what a couple of gray hairs up in my mustache.

That ain't cool, James.

You know what I'm saying?

I can't do the gray and the mustache.

The gray and the beard I can do, but not in the mustache.

You know what I'm saying?

Anyhow, sorry I digressed, but I'm looking at these photos and I'm

like, wow, I appreciate Karina.

I'm looking at her and I'm going, you know what?

We, we still look pretty good.

But man, I got a beautiful wife and I just started to appreciate like, man,

and, and, and, and, and I am blessed.

And I was just like, man, thank you.

And you know, Corina, I didn't tell you, but thank you.

I love you and I appreciate you.

And I just started being filled up with gratitude because I was just thinking

back like, wow, I'm honored, I'm blessed.

And you know, we, when we remember the grace, it remains amazing.

Yeah,

the grace remains amazing.

Will we remember what we've been delivered from, what we were and

what we have to look forward to?

And for some of us, this is hard.

I, I just, you know, confessed here, even, even within my family, but it,

I can do this with God, is that we've been around, for some of us, we've

been around for so long that we can lose our appreciation for what we have.

And we get so used to the miracles that it's just the average for some who grew

up in a church or maybe you're still younger, you grew up in a church, you've

been around glory your whole life.

So glory's just normal to you.

And so it's hard for you to appreciate all that is there now and to look forward to.

But this is why we must cherish with gratitude.

We must remember what we have.

Where we are going.

And this gratitude doesn't stop with feelings, but it changes how we live.

And that means that we cherish the prize through commitments.

You know, when you have a prize like this, it changes how you live.

What we cherish shapes our values and decisions, and this cherishing leads

to being committed to Jesus for giving the prize out of grace and mercy.

Again, it's not a prize that we've earned.

It's not a prize that we somehow were lucky to receive.

It's a prize that came out of his rich grace and mercy.

And so what is it?

Demand?

I believe it demands our very best, not my half, not my most, not my

sum, but my very best because I have this treasure and I'm gonna go

and give some of myself in return.

I can't do that.

It deserves my very best.

It deserves a full commitment, and I appreciate Peter as he

gave himself fully the following.

Jesus and church history tells us that not only did he become a

leader, but Peter died for his faith.

He was actually crucified.

And church history tells us that at the point of his

crucifixion, he was crucified.

He said, I'm not worthy to be crucified like this.

Can you crucify me upside down?

That's commitments.

When we have a prize, we can cherish it through our commitments.

You know, the price is right, it's worth it.

And what we truly cherish, we don't keep ourselves.

And so we cherish the prize by sharing it.

When you cherish, you don't hoard it, but you invite others to

come and experience it with you.

I remember leaving the prices right, and I'm fired up.

I'm calling my mom.

I'm telling her, mama, I went on prices right?

And I want some money.

She like, for real?

Like yeah, how much I like, I don't know if I can tell you all that.

I'm just playing.

But I wanted to tell everybody, and when they showed it on tv, we recorded it.

And then every time we used to have, you know, uh, our Carina

remembers this, but every time I'd have, we'd have, uh, uh, uh, dates

at our house, encouragement dates.

We'd have group dates and they'd come over to the house and every

time it was at my house, guess what?

We showed the price is right.

Video.

I was fired up.

But everybody else wanted to see it.

They're like, Marcel, let's turn on the video.

Corina has seen it so many times.

She started talking during the video.

But I wanted to share it with people, and in fact, I got

myself in too, too much trouble.

I had some family members call me like, Hey man, a brother need a loan.

I said, brother, I ain't got no money like that.

I'm in college.

You know what I'm saying?

But I digress.

Sorry about that.

You know, spiritual treasure is meant to be shared with others.

It's not meant to just be kept to ourselves.

It's meant to be shared so that others can experience it and have it as well.

Because God's design is for all to have.

Experience the eternal prize of eternal life.

You know, sharing his participation in God's generosity, in

helping lives be changed.

And we have the prize of eternal life.

And that's some good news worth sharing.

Let's get real practical here.

Let's come in for a close.

Brother and sister, are you still with me?

I, I like to give action steps for the week so that we don't just hear

something doesn't stay in our head.

We don't click on it like it, but that God wants us to let it know ruminate,

but then he also wants us to put something into practice this week.

And so if you're taking your little, your, your pictures, go ahead and

get ready to take some pictures.

You're taking notes.

Write this down.

But if you're not a disciple of Jesus, this first one, if you're

not a disciple of Jesus, here, here's the, the, the action step.

Take one step toward new birth this week.

Take one step.

Maybe it's asking questions, opening the scriptures with someone who brought you.

If you're online with us, go ahead and messaging us.

We'd love to be able to get into the word of God with you.

Maybe it's praying honestly and asking God to make himself known to you.

Do whatever it is.

Take one step toward a new birth to members of the church here.

Reflect on the prize of eternal life.

Go ahead and review first Peter chapter one verses three through nine.

Take a few minutes.

I, I would encourage you, I wouldn't wait past Monday 'cause you'll probably forget.

But go ahead today or tomorrow, take a few minutes and reflect on the prize

of eternal life that you enjoy now, and that you have to come read it slowly.

And thank God for the hope, the inheritance, and the joy that

you have available in Christ.

Every one of us, we could do this practice one intentional act of cherishing.

And so choose one intentional way to cherish the prize this week.

It may be through obedience.

It may be generosity, perseverance in a trial, or sharing the

hope with someone who needs it.

But take these action steps here today and put it into practice here over the next 24

to 48 hours and let's see how God changes you, your perspective, and even your

values and priorities and your direction.

The price is right, was a wonderful prize and experience,

but nothing compares to the Eternal prize found only through Jesus.

It's a prize, not only of a lifetime, but it's a prize of eternity.

And it's a prize worth living for.

And so let's share a surprise of eternal life with gratitude, with commitment,

and sharing the prize with others.

If you're here today and you're not yet a disciple of Jesus, this prize is

being offered to you through new birth.

And if you're a disciple of Jesus, let's live like you

have the prize because you do.

Amen.

Let's close out in one Peter chapter one, Bre and sister, are you still with me?

Here, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope, through

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance

that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.

Because of Jesus, we've been given a prize that can never perish, spoil,

or fade, the prize of eternal life.

This is a prize worth living for.

Amen.