WELCOME
Let’s review our key ideas so far. What is the purpose of a veil? (to hide something) Do we need to wear a veil when we talk to God? (no) How can we learn to reflect glory back to God? (read Bible, study Bible)
Today we will learn how growing in our relationship with God gives us freedom which is key to helping us want to reflect His glory in our sport and our life.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16
WARM-UP
Time Toss
Have the group form a circle where each person is an arm’s length apart. Using an easily tossed object (ball, hat, etc.), tell the first person to call out someone else’s name and then toss it to them. The game continues until everyone’s name has been called and everyone has caught the object. If someone drops the ball, the group has to start over from that point.
[Leader’s note: Set a time limit for a second round of the game that makes it possible but difficult to complete the task.]How did the time limit impact your ability to calmly and effectively play the game?
What are some areas of your life where you feel like you don’t have enough time (e.g. rest, working out, hanging with friends, spending time with family, doing homework, etc.)?
WORKOUT
Competing in sports is fun – at least it should be. How many of you feel like your sport takes up a lot of your time? What do you think you would do with that time instead of sports?
It is easy for us to believe we don’t have enough time for things like reading our Bible, praying, or spending time with our church family but when we really look at how we spend our time I think we will see we do actually have plenty of time.
Our verse for this week coaches us to let our lights shine so that God will get the glory. In order to have a light we have to know the Giver of Light and we do that by spending time in His Word, the Bible. We can also get to know Him by spending time in prayer.
How many of you spend at least one hour a day on a gaming device or phone? How many of you spend an hour a day on homework? How many of you spend an hour a day with friends (outside of school)? How many of you could find 10 minutes to read the Bible? What about 10 minutes to pray?
If you think you have no time to spare, take some time this week to really look at how you are spending your time. I am pretty confident you will find a few spare minutes to share with God.
When you put your trust in God you will experience freedom from chasing glory, being worried all the time and the pressures of the world. When you grow closer to God you will experience freedom to do the most important thing you can do which is show others who Jesus is.
WRAP-UP
Growing in a relationship with God means making Him a priority in your life, just like you do for your sport. When you do that, you will experience His glory and freedom.
Let’s pray.
“Lord, we want to make You a priority in our lives. Show us the places we have time to spend with You and give us understanding of Your Word. Put people in our lives who can help us grow closer to You and help us keep each other accountable. In Your name we pray, amen.”
Hands in, whose glory?
God’s glory!