Coach's Corner
Warm-Up
“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” — John 10:10b
We all have ideas in our heads about what our best life should look like. For competitors, it’s often linked to achievements, awards and long-term success.
- How would you describe your best life as an athlete?
- How do you think having that best life would impact your daily existence?
It’s easy for us to allow our lives to get wrapped up in sports, but there is much more to our existence than what takes place during competition. A greater life is found in God through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Workout
You might see a professional athlete or Olympic competitor and wonder what his or her life might be like. What would you do if you were an Olympian? (Let the players respond). Having it all might sound cool, but what you often learn over time is that those superstars have e problems too! They might be “bigger than life,” but they aren’t always experiencing their best life.
- How do you think reaching the top of your sport would make you feel?
- Do you ever think about what your life would be like without sports?
In John 9, Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth, but the religious leaders were not happy that this man had received a new perspective on life through Christ. A conversation with the Pharisees and Jesus continued into John 10 where He explained that being blind doesn’t just mean physically. Jesus also taught His disciples a similar lesson—that you can have what the world calls a great life and yet have no life at all.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” — Matthew 16:25-26
The best life ever for everyone is the life that is surrendered to God. That’s the only life where our full potential can be reached through a relationship with God. It’s the only life that is rooted in Truth.
“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” — John 10:10b
As Jesus tells us in John 10:10, we can have an abundant, overflowing life through Him. It’s a life with greater joy, greater peace, greater purpose and greater freedom from the pressure to perform.
- In what areas of your life could you use more joy, peace, purpose and freedom?
- What does it look like to surrender those areas to God?
Wrap-Up
There is no greater life than a life that is surrendered to God. Here are three key points to show what this truth can look like in your life:
- Joyful Life. Joy is greater than happiness. It’s a state of contentment in all things, the good times and the bad, that only greater life in Christ can bring. — Psalm 16:11
- Peaceful Life. Peace is hard to come by inside the performance trap. But God’s peace will overcome all your fears and anxieties. — Philippians 4:7
- Purposeful Life. There’s more to life than awards, achievements or material gain that comes through competition or a career. God’s purpose is life-giving and life-changing. — Exodus 9:16
Huddle up and shout out, Greater Life! Close in prayer or ask an athlete to lead the team in prayer