WARM-UP
Is that all you’ve got?”
“I need more out of you!”
“Don’t leave anything out there!”
“Give me 100 percent!”
Sound familiar? It should. After all, these are just some of the mantras that athletes hear from coaches throughout practice, in pre-game speeches and during competition. But regardless of how people try to motivate you, giving it all for your sport isn’t free. Achieving significant athletics goals costs a lot of time, sweat, pain and tears. It’s all about hard work and sacrifice.
With that in mind, let’s go around and have each person respond to the following questions:
Q: What is your biggest dream as an athlete?
Q: What would you be willing to sacrifice to make that dream come true?
Taking One For The Team
In an era where college and professional athletes are often criticized for being self-centered and inward focused, there are still plenty of sacrificial acts that take place within the team context everyday. Athletes in their best moments have been known to:
Play through injury or illness.
Relinquish playing time instead of chasing a record.
Stop to help an injured competitor.
Take less money to help the team compete for a title.
Through all of these examples and countless others, it takes selflessness and courage to give something up for someone else or for the greater good of the team, especially when the costs are high.
Q: What’s the most sacrificial thing someone has done to help you in your sports career?
Q: What do you think is the most sacrificial thing that someone can do for another athlete or for the team?
WORKOUT
The Ultimate Sacrifice
In the pursuit of big dreams, we are often forced to make hard decisions. But nothing can compare to the ultimate sacrifice that God made in order to see His dream come true.
It all started when God made mankind in His image (Genesis 1:26-30). He desired companionship and found it in the form of Adam and Eve—the first man and woman. The world was perfect. All creatures lived in harmony. There was no hunger, no war, and no hate. All Adam and Eve had to do was take care of the Garden of Eden and not eat from the tree in the middle. If they ate from that tree, God warned them that they would die.
But then, everything changed when Adam and Eve listened to Satan’s lies.
Adam and Eve’s sin caused the world to quickly spiral into darkness. Although mankind troubles were just beginning, God wasn’t about to give up on His dream. He longed to restore mankind back into a relationship with Him.
This led to a plan that was set into motion immediately but would take thousands of years to unfold. It involved the creation of a great nation, the rise and fall of numerous kingdoms, brutal wars, and the protection of a holy lineage at all costs. This plan would ultimately reconcile God back to His people through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.
No Greater Love
God’s great plan came to a head during a volatile time in human history. The Roman Empire ruled a large portion of civilization and the Jews (God’s chosen people) were enduring unjust suffering and oppression.
The story of how Jesus (God’s Son) came to earth is documented in Luke 1-2. With His arrival came some amazing promises for the world:
How Jesus lived His life and what He taught has been the topic of discussion and debate for more than 2,000 years. But the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection changed the world forever.
It was the primary purpose behind Jesus’ coming down from Heaven in the first place—to live a perfect, sinless life and to give up that life as a sacrifice so that we could be redeemed back to God. In other words, God gave up His Son to endure a torturous death and Jesus willingly took part in the plan.
Although Jesus was fully God, He was also fully man and experienced all of the physical and emotional pain that a human might go through under those brutal circumstance.
Then, after carrying His own cross to the crucifixion site, Jesus was nailed to a cross through his wrists and through his ankles. As He hung from the cross, the people continued to jeer Him until He finally breathed His last breath.
Jesus was buried and raised from the dead three days later.
Because of this 100 percent, all-in sacrificial act of love, you have access to a relationship with God; you have access to an abundant life on earth; you can be free from the law of death; you have access to eternal life in Heaven. The apostle Paul would later explain in his letter the early Christians in Rome:
It’s all because God was willing to shed His Son’s blood to pay for your sin. It’s all because Jesus was willing to give up His life for yours.
Q: How does it make you feel to read that God enacted such a detailed plan just for the chance to restore you back into a relationship with Him?
Q: How does God’s 100 percent, all-in sacrifice compare to other personal sacrifices you’ve personally experienced in your life or those that you’ve read about throughout history?
Q: What do you think our response should be to that kind of sacrifice?
WRAP-UP
100% God
If you’re ready to enter a relationship with Jesus Christ and start pursuing your purpose in Him, here are three things you need to do with the sacrifice He made for you:
• Believe in the sacrifice. First and foremost, you must believe that the Bible is the 100% living, breathing Word of God and that the story of His life, death, and resurrection really took place:
• Need the sacrifice. Next, you must understand your deep, personal need for Jesus the Savior:
• Receive the sacrifice. And finally, you must accept that free gift and allow Jesus to cleanse your sins so that God can become the Lord of your life:
And when you do make that decision, the beautiful result is a transformed life: being at peace with God (Romans 5:1), the blessing of abundant life (John 10:10), and the hope of Heaven as promised in our daily theme verse:
OVERTIME
As a Huddle, go through The FOUR. Take some time afterwards to discuss each of these principles. If you haven’t already committed your heart to Christ, talk to your Huddle leader or another FCA staff member about making that game-changing decision today.