WELCOME
Let’s review. Who is supposed to get all the glory? (God)
Who sometimes takes the glory instead? (we do)
This week we are going to learn how to focus on eternal prizes instead of temporary ones.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” – Matthew 6:33
WARM-UP
I’m Best At : Have students pair up. The objective is to quickly come up with something that they are “the best at” using words that begin with the same letter and must be sports-related. For example, if the letter is P: “I am the best at Playing Pickleball.”
WORKOUT
It is fun to be the best at something. You are the best at a lot of things. We started this season learning about who is supposed to get the glory. But it isn’t always easy to give all that attention away, is it?
Let’s take a look at someone from the Bible. Paul was a big deal. He wrote over half of the New Testament but before he did what God wanted him to do, he used his family name, his education, and his skills to get attention and money. The problem with relying on those things is they don’t last.
What is the last award, trophy or recognition you received?
How long did the good feeling of winning that thing last?
When we shift our focus from competing for ourselves and our glory to competing for God and His glory we begin pursuing a greater prize – one that is lasting.
Shining our light for God when we compete in our sport is an opportunity we have to glorify God. Doing that can help our teammates, our opponents, the officials and even the fans begin to know who God is. If we do what our memory verse says, “seek first the kingdom of God” no matter what happens we will be doing what God asks us to do.
WRAP-UP
To glorify God is to shine a light on all that God is. I challenge you to choose to do that and to seek Him above all else.
Let’s pray.
“Lord, the world wants us to seek glory for ourselves. We want to give glory to You. Help us to seek Your Kingdom first. Remind us that Your glory is eternal. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Whose glory, team?
God’s glory!