WEEK 3- Shining as Stars?

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.

     12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

     14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Philippians 2:12-16

What does this passage have to say about humility?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) What is the cause of the “fear and trembling” in verse 12?  Is this an anxiousness that accompanies our efforts to be obedient (It’s tough to obey sometimes, after all!), or does it describe something else?

2) As you submit your life to God and see the ways in which He “works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (v. 13), what response should that produce in you?  How can we fathom a God who transforms a hopeless, ungrateful, hatred-loving sinner into an obedient servant, and not only that...but He also loves that person (even before He changes him) and willingly dies in order to save him from his pathetic state?  Isn’t the magnitude of God’s love for us cause for a little “fear and trembling”?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

3) We are commanded to be “shine like stars” amongst our “crooked and depraved generation” (v. 15).  Stars “stand out”; they are different from the darkness around them.  How do “sports stars” stand out?  Who is your favorite sports star?  What draws you to that athlete?  Consider the actions and attitudes of that athlete; what does his life demonstrate about his priorities and beliefs?

4) As we “shine like stars,” we are commanded to “hold out” what (v. 16)?  In order to be an athletic star, a person must study, know, and practice his sport.  In order for us fulfill our calling to be “shining stars” and to “hold out the word of life,” what must we study?  Are you living in such a way to cause others to have a love and desire for the Word of God?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

5) As an athlete, how can you “hold out the word of life”?  What do the actions and attitudes of your team demonstrate about your priorities and beliefs?  For starters, are you obeying the command of verse 14?

6) As a team, are you willing to humble yourselves to a different set of standards than those of the world, so that the word of life may be seen in you?  How should your team’s pursuit of athletics contrast with the prevailing priorities and habits of athletics today?  What specific goals and commitments can your team set?  What purpose is there in athletics that does not “hold out the word of life” (v. 16)?

FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of humility, and pray together.

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

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

· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “humble 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 humility — 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 humility or anything else), and pray together.