WEEK 5- Leaves of Green

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team

     5 This what the Lord says:  “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.  10 I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

Jeremiah 17:5-8,10

What does this passage have to say about confidence?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) What is the difference between true confidence and false  confidence? (v. 5,7).  What is the quality that must be true of a   person who has genuine confidence? (v. 7)

2) By that definition, are you a confident person?  A confident athlete?  Is your team a confident team?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

3) What are the qualities of a person who has false confidence? (v. 5-6)  If you trust in your own strength, should you hope to be        successful?  Should you hope to have meaningful relationships?

4) What are the qualities of a person who has true confidence? (v. 7-8)  What are the rewards of a life lived in dependence upon God?  If you trust God, should you hope to be successful?  Should you    expect that your life will be of benefit to others?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

5) As an athlete, how do you respond to situations that are stressful — that push your abilities and emotions to their maximum limit?  (When heat comes, are your leaves always green?  In a time of drought, do you bear fruit? - v. 8)

6) When you are frustrated by your teammates’ response to adversity, what is your typical response?  Whose responsibility is it to “search the heart and examine the mind” of your teammates? (v. 10)  What is a helpful response when your team is not acting confidently?

 FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of confidence and pray together

· Ask your athletes to briefly reflect on what they’ve learned about confidence this week, and to repeat some of those things.  (Remind them of some of the Biblical truths about confidence you’ve discussed, if necessary.)

· Ask your team, “Based on what we learned about confidence this week...What does a confident athlete do?”  Do not settle for vague answers; challenge your athletes to go beyond general qualities of confidence, and to determine what those qualities look like in action.

· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “confident athlete”, and be sure the list is displayed somewhere that is constantly visible, as a reminder to the team.

· Pray together as a team.  Encourage your athletes to pray for your team’s growth in regard to the discipline of confidence —  especially in relation to some of the issues and challenges that you discussed together this week.  Challenge them to also ask for forgiveness, when applicable.  Give time for athletes to request prayer (regarding confidence or anything else), and pray together.