Achieve Excellence. 2 Corinthians 8:7

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1 Achieve Excellence 2 Corinthians 8:7 Excellence is possessing and producing good quality in an unusual degree. The opposite of excellence is mediocrity, which simply means something of ordinary or average quality, being commonplace or undistinguished, but does not necessarily connote poor or bad quality. Nonetheless, from our text scripture, it is evident that God does not expect us to settle for mediocrity but to excel in every positive way. While living in mediocrity may not always be a deliberate decision, it is usually influenced by our environment, exposure and past experiences. These could have shaped our mindsets and made us to regard mediocrity as excellence. However, being in the image of God gives us an intrinsic craving and ability to achieve excellence in every area of our lives when we put in our best efforts. Furthermore, our perspective of excellence should be holistic to balance the functional effects of what do (usefulness) with the aesthetics (beauty, appearance, presentability). Emphasizing one of these at the expense of the other is neither excellence nor spirituality if our goal is to add value to people and life generally in every way possible. The focus of today's discussion is to encourage us to diligently act to always achieve excellence in all areas of our lives. 1. A young man who grew up in a slum strongly believes that excellence is impossible without an abundance of money; what kind of advice will you give to him? Discuss 2. Mediocrity is not synonymous with poverty; neither is excellence limited to the extremely wealthy. God expects us all to be excellent-minded no matter our status for He is an excellent God. (Gen. 1: 31). There is always room to achieve the best at any level we are per time and be committed to continuous improvement. The following are some tips to achieving excellence in every way: 1. Value Excellence. Attach importance to it and prioritize it. Col. 3: Believe that you deserve the best. Deut. 28: Believe that people deserve the best. Matthew 7:12 4. Learn from the best and benchmark against the best. 1 Corinthians 11:1, Proverbs 9:9 5. Whatever you do, put in your best effort. Col. 3: The call to excellence is a call to service. It starts with 'being' before 'doing'. While it is true that God looks at our hearts, it is also true that the quality of our thoughts is reflected on the quality of our words and actions towards others. Hence, to be excellent, you need to match the good quality of how well a thing functions with how appealing it appears to the other person who receives it. As you keep your focus on God while giving your best service to people, God will give a new meaning to everything going on around your life. You will succeed in Jesus Name.

2 Godly Habits Ephesians 5:1-2 INTRODUCTION: A tree is known by its fruits. As children of God there are habits that show we are His children. These habits make us stand out. This week, we shall mention some of these habits and make them our way of life. KIDDIES TALK BACK 1. Sharing: God "shared" his only begotten son with us all (John 3:16), it doesn't hurt us to share with our friends also. 2. Praying: this helps us stay in touch with God and He speaks to us as we do to him. 3. Helping: whenever we lend a helping hand we show Gods true loving nature. 4. Respect: everyone is an extension of God and should be treated specially and respectfully. 5. Patience: this is one of Gods specialties; give others a second chance whenever they mess up because no one is perfect. 6. Politeness (Courtesy): 'Please', 'excuse me', 'thank you', 'sorry' and 'pardon me' are words we can use every day to show politeness. 7. Forgiveness: We all have faults so learning to forgive is very important. 8. Cleanliness: God is excited to hang around clean people and places, so clean up and God will hug you. 9. Self control: there is a right time for everything, so control yourself and do the right thing at the right time. 10. Love: this is how we show we are true children of God when we show love to our fellows. (1John 3:16) MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 7:16a (King James Version) Ye shall know them by their fruits. PUZZLE: Search for seven (7) godly habits in the word grid.

3 Living an Excellent Balanced Life 2 Corinth. 8:7 (NIV) People usually say that the way you are dressed determines the way you will be addressed. The emphasis here is on how important your appearance is. While the way we look on the outward matters, who we are on the inside, i.e. our values and what we do, are equally important. By steadily improving on the Godly values we exhibit, the quality of our lives will increasingly radiate the beauty and nature of God. This week we want to draw a balance between our values and our appearance. Q1. If three people walked into a room, one scruffy looking, the next dressed in a simple and plain outfit and the last one in smart, trendy and beautiful attire, who would you qualify as a Godly and excellent person, and why? Discuss. Q2. Cleanliness is an aspect of holiness before God. By extension, this means that a Christian needs to balance both character and physical presentation of themselves. Being trendy should not be overdone while your character is in short supply. You must work at excelling in both areas. Here are some practical tips to help you achieve this: Ÿ Place a high value on excellence. (if you don't have values, you won't have value as a person). Ÿ Believe that you deserve the best. (Have a healthy self-image). Ÿ Believe that people deserve the best. (Everyone is an extension of God). Ÿ Learn from the best. Ÿ The standard with which you measure yourself should be from the best. Ÿ Put in your best effort. Excellence is an ongoing process that you must always work towards even while trying to build the balance between your appearance and your values. You will succeed in Jesus name. Amen.

4 31st July- 4th Aug Achieving Excellence in the Marketplace 2 Corinthians 8:7, Proverb 22:29, Deut. 23:12-14 Excellence is the possession of good quality in an unusual dimension. To achieve excellence therefore as a business owner or employee, you must value excellence internally and also believe that the audience using your product or service deserves the very best. It is important therefore to emphasize that having a balanced perspective, which combines functionality and aesthetics, is critical to achieving excellence. Today, our discussion centers on the need to always go beyond average in the delivery of products or services and endeavour to achieve the best possible in all your professional and business engagements. Q1. Excellence distinguishes an employee or service provider from others. As a Christian business practitioner or employee, list what you can do or improve upon to achieve excellence in your area of influence. Discuss. Q2. Excellence is being above the average and the opposite is mediocrity. As Christians in the marketplace, we must strive to be above average in the services and product(s) we provide. Below are tips to help us achieve excellence: Ÿ Value Excellence and prioritize it in the functionality as well as aesthetics of your products and services (1 Samuel 16:7) Ÿ Believe that your target market deserves the best of service or product Ÿ Benchmark and learn from the very best in your career path or business sector Ÿ Give your best effort in whatever you do (Colossians 3:23-24) Mention others. Excellence is a decision and its pursuit is a wholesome journey that distinguishes us from an average or mediocre lifestyle. Mediocrity is not necessarily poor or bad quality but depicts the common and ordinary. It hardly represents the best in us or results in true fulfillment. However, your flight of excellence begins with an internal change in values and perspective which then shows in what you offer to the marketplace either as a service or product. Therefore, re-evaluate your service or product, office ambience and everything around and if there be a variance with best in class standard, make a commitment to continuous improvement immediately. You will succeed in Jesus Name.

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