Coach's Corner
Warm-Up
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” — John 3:17
Every athlete has had something good happen to them—it could be as big as winning the championship or something as small as a good play. Let’s all show our best celebration moves…the bigger and louder, the better!
- When have you had a great game or a good play and how long after did you feel happy about it?
Your athletic ability is a gift, but it can only make you so happy before it’s gone. Thankfully, God has a greater gift that will last forever!
Workout
One of the worst things that can happen to an athlete is getting hurt and not being able to play anymore.
A famous basketball player, Tamika Catchings, got hurt at the worst time. In the middle of her college basketball season, she hurt her knee. This meant she couldn’t play in the NCAA tournament, and she had to sit out of her first season with her professional team.
It wasn’t 100% certain that Tamika would get better. So, she spent the next few months not just working on making her knee better but also working on her relationship with God. Her injury was a hard reminder that Tamika’s athletic gift would not last forever.
For committed athletes, especially for young athletes, it’s hard to think about not having your athletic gifts in the future. But for those who know that sports are just one part of your life, instead of the only thing, it’ll be easier to find true happiness.
- Have you lost an athletic gift from an injury, or seen someone lose theirs? If so, how did it make you feel?
- Do you ever think about the fact that one day you won’t be able to play like you do now? How does that thought make you feel?
- How would you feel if your athletic gift lasted forever?
The religious leader named Nicodemus was talking with Jesus late one night. He wanted to understand Jesus’ teachings about light and darkness, life and death and Heaven and Earth.
Jesus shared with Nicodemus that everyone in the world had been born with sin in their hearts and needed to have a relationship with Christ in order to go to Heaven and “have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Eternal life means never-ending. It means that even though our bodies might wear out and die one day, we have the greater promise of an amazing, never-ending life with God. Unlike our athletic gifts and life, we live here on Earth, the greater gift of Heaven will last forever.
- What excites you most about the gift of eternal life?
Wrap-Up
There is no greater gift than the promise of eternal life through a relationship with Jesus. Here are three more gifts attached to that promise:
- The Gift of Hope. We will always have difficult times in this world, but the greater gift is the knowledge that we have hope in Jesus Christ. —2 Corinthians 4:17–18
- The Gift of Heaven. The good things we experience in this world will lack in comparison to the unimaginable blessings we will experience in our forever home. — 1 Corinthians 2:9
- The Gift of Eternity. We will live forever in God’s presence. There will be nothing greater than that never-ending reality. — Revelation 21:4
Huddle up and shout out, Greater Gift! Then, close in prayer.