Coach's Corner
Warm-Up
“When he had left Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” — John 13:31
There are times when you get praise and people tell you how good you’re doing, and that can feel really good. But your greater purpose reminds you that the glory always goes to God first.
(Pass out the “FOUR” bracelets.) I want you all to look at your bracelets. There are four symbols on each one. Let’s call out the four symbols together. (Heart, division sign, cross, and question mark)
These four symbols are an easy way to share the Gospel to your friends. The first symbol is a heart which stands for God’s love for us. The division sign stands for sin, and when sin entered the world, it separated us from God. The cross stands for Jesus’ sacrifice, which provided a way for us to be reunited with God. Then last is a question mark.
Each person must decide if they believe the first three symbols are true. Each person gets a chance to have Jesus in their life, but they must choose to follow Him in their own heart.
(If they haven’t put their bracelets on, tell them to put them on.) Now you all have a way to share God’s love with all your friends!
Workout
At all athletic events there are moments of excitement where the fans, coaches or teams on the sideline start cheering. At most collegiate and professional athletic events these days, there always seem to be athletes who are setting new records and doing amazing things.
When that happens, crowds go crazy. Athletes can hear their name over the speakers from the announcer, and they’re often given awards or praise. Everybody wants that! It’s easy to live for praise.
And of course, after the competition, how you respond to praise and whom you give credit
to for your success says a lot about who you are.
In all of those moments, a choice has to be made. That choice is not usually made on the spot but rather in private when an athletes are either thinking about themselves or spending time with God.
- How often do you think about giving God the glory for the good things you do?
Jesus was sent to earth for the greatest purpose ever—to live a perfect life, die for our sins, defeat death and leave us with the greater promise of eternal life, getting to live with Him forever. Another part of His purpose was to bring glory to God through His teachings, His kindness and the miracles He performed.
Jesus’ whole life was about giving glory back to God. In the same way, when we get praise and glory for things, we need to remember that we were only able to accomplish it because of Jesus. He gave us the strength to do it. Through Jesus we accomplished it. So we should point people to God and pass all of the glory along to HiGod sent Jesus to earth knowing this would happen. It was all part of His plan to bring people back into a relationship with Him.
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that Father may be glorified in the Son.” — John 14:13
- What are some ways you can glorify God while playing your sport?
Wrap-Up
Here are three ways we can give greater glory in all areas of our lives:
- Glorified Life. God didn’t just create us, but He also sent Jesus to die for us. How we use our mind, body and soul should always bring greater glory to Him.
- Glorified Works. That means everything we do in competition, at work, at school, in our relationships, in our free time and for others should glorify God.
- Glorified Future. When we glorify God today, it’s just a small reminder of what we will experience in our eternal lives in Heaven one day.
Pray this with your athletes
“Dear Jesus, thank You for being our Lord and Savior. Help them to recognize sin separates us from You. We know that You love us and have rescued us. Show us how to live boldly and to share The FOUR with others! Amen.”