Coach's Corner
Warm-Up
“So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” – John 8:36
Last week we talked about God’s love for His Son, Jesus, and that it’s the same amount of love that Jesus has for us! It is mind-blowing to think about how much God loves us, and it’s our job to tell others and show them that love.
I’m going to give you all an easy way to start sharing God’s love with others. (Pass out the “FOUR” bracelets now.) I want you all to look at your new bracelets. There are four symbols on each one. Can you tell me what the symbols are? (Heart, division sign, cross, and question mark)
- The heart will help you remember that, “God Loves You.”
- The division sign will help you remember that, “Sin Separates You.”
- The cross will help you remember that, “Jesus Rescues You.”
- The question mark is there to ask, “Will You Trust Him?”
These four symbols are an easy way to tell the Gospel to your friends. The first symbol is a heart which stands for God’s love for us – what we talked about last week. 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. This is where 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
Raise your hand if you have ever been frustrated while playing sports. Yeah, that should be about everyone. It can be frustrating when you are doing a skill wrong and can’t figure out how to do it right. No matter what you try, you find yourself still doing it wrong over and over again. That’s called a slump, and all you want is to be free from it. When you are in a slump, you can feel trapped by the bad habit and don’t know how to break it. As your coach, I’m here to help you break out of slumps and teach you a new way to be free from bad habits.
Sometimes we develop bad habits like lying, stealing, being rude, or laziness. We wish we could stop, but we don’t know how. Those things I mentioned are all sins that everyone is guilty of. No one is perfect, and we all have sinned. But here’s the good news – Jesus provides a way for us to be free from continuing that sin. If we accept Jesus into our life, we are a new creation, and our old ways and sins don’t have to follow us around anymore. You see, when we trust Jesus, He gives us the Power of the Holy Spirit to fight back against the sin that dominates our life. Jesus can help us finally be free of the things we wish we could stop doing.
The feeling you get from finally breaking out of a slump and enjoying your sport again is the same way it will feel to be free of that sin. That sin isn’t making you happy. It’s only causing you frustration. If we finally give it to God and choose true freedom, our lives will become so much happier and more enjoyable! Instead of seeing only sin and frustration, we will know the joy and power of life with Jesus!
Wrap-Up
- What is one thing you wish you could stop doing and be freed from?
- Review this prayer if you are ready to trust Jesus and surrender your life to Him.
“Dear God, I believe that You sent Jesus to die for my sins and that You raised Him back to life again. I want You to be Lord of my life. Help me to surrender to You. Amen.”