Coach’s Corner
Warm Up
Read Philippians 2:3-5
Hey friends! We have learned much in our study of God’s game plan. To finish, we have one more action that God calls us to. Once we know how to love God, we are called to go out and love others.
You might think, “Okay, that’s easy. I already love other people.” But let me ask you, how do you show your love for other people? (Take a few answers.)
It’s easy to say you love others, but sometimes it’s harder to show. Jesus showed us how much He loves us by dying on the cross for us.
Give me a few examples of how you can serve other people.
When you serve someone, you are putting their needs above your own. Did you know that Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross? He asked God if there was any other way for His will to be done. But there wasn’t another way, and Jesus chose to serve us instead of Himself. That, to me, is showing us how much He loves us.
Workout
So, how do we learn how to put the needs of others above our own? Let’s see what the Scriptures say:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-5
That doesn’t sound like an easy thing to do, does it? How often do we put what others need and want above our own?
Has anyone heard of the story of the Good Samaritan? In Luke 10, Jesus gives us the story of a man who was injured and lying on the side of the road. Many people passed by him, including a priest, and didn’t stop to help. Then, a Samaritan man did not have to stop and help had compassion on the wounded man and stopped to help him. Not only did he clean his wound and keep him safe, he paid for a room and food for days while the man healed.
Why do you think the priest didn’t stop to help?
The priest didn’t stop because he thought of his own needs before the needs of the injured man. He might have been running late, was tired, or just got done helping someone else and thought the next person would do it.
We are called to step in and serve others because when we do, we can show other people a glimpse into how God loves them. How special is that? We get to show people God’s love by serving them the way God does.
Through us, people can come to see the love of God! Now, that is pretty cool.
Wrap-Up
- Pick one person this week that you can serve. How can you serve them?
- How do you feel when someone serves you?
“Lord God, Help us learn what it looks like to put the needs of others before our own. Show us how we can serve the people in our life and the people You bring into it. Amen.”