Coach's Corner
Warm-Up
“Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.’” – John 8:12
Ask for a volunteer to stand up, close their eyes and attempt to walk, spin, skip, etc., straight to a certain spot. Then ask them to do the same task with their eyes open.
- Why was it much easier for ______ to do the task the second time?
- How is God like the light in our life?
So, we saw that it was easier to do the task with our eyes open, right? That’s because, in the darkness, it’s hard to know where you are going. Today we are going to talk about how God’s light helps us move through the darkness in our lives.
Workout
When we have practice or a game at night, how can we see? That’s right, the lights. Without them, we wouldn’t know what’s in front, behind, and all around us. When we can’t see, we stop moving forward because we don’t know where to go. If the lights went off during practice, we would either have to wait for them to come back on or stop playing. We would be stuck until the lights turned back on.
In John 8:12, Jesus says that He is the True Light – not like the sun that sets at night, or like electric lights that can be turned on and off. When we follow Jesus, the darkness can’t stop us any longer because we have the One True Light guiding us. In the darkness, you are lost, scared, and confused. When we trust Jesus, He shines a light on all our concerns, and His light guides us where we need to go.
God has had a great plan for each of you since before you were born! In Jeremiah, God says, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” This plan was never meant to be done by ourselves. God wants to be with us! Isn’t that cool? The Creator of the universe has a specific plan for you and wants to show you. If we trust God, read His Word, and follow His commands, we will start to see His plan unfold right in front of our eyes!
There will be some hard times in life, days when the darkness seems everywhere, and we don’t know which way to go. It can cause confusion, sadness, and worry. But we can have hope because we know that Jesus already defeated the darkness by dying on the cross for us!
Wrap-Up
What are some ways to get the darkness to go away and live in the light?
“Lord, You are the True Light. Help us remember that You have great plans for us and don’t want us to do life alone. Lord, when darkness seems all around us, show us Your light and Your love. Remind us that You are always with us, guiding us towards You and helping us each step of the way. Amen.”