Week 4 - People Who Teach Us

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.

 20 My son, keep your father's commands
       and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

 21 Bind them upon your heart forever;
       fasten them around your neck.

 22 When you walk, they will guide you;
       when you sleep, they will watch over you;
       when you awake, they will speak to you.

 23 For these commands are a lamp,
       this teaching is a light,
       and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.

Proverbs 6:20-23

What does this passage have to say about a teachable spirit?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) What does this passage say about how God intends for us to first begin to learn to have a teachable spirit (v. 20)?  Have you had an open heart to what you parents have tried to teach you?  Give an example of your answer to that question.

2) Some parents are not as able to equip their children with the truth of God’s Word, and no parent can fulfill that role perfectly.  What other people has God provided in your life to guide and teach you?  Have you had an open heart to what those people have tried to teach you?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

3) What does Scripture tell you to do, in order to hold onto the teaching you have been given (v. 21)?  What efforts are you making to “bind” and “fasten” the valuable instruction you’ve received, in order to keep it for the long term?  How are you doing this as an athlete?

4) How will remembering and following valuable instruction benefit you in the future (v. 22-23)?  What implications does this have for you in athletics, as you learn from coaches and teammates?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

5) There is always more that God is willing to teach you, but before you can learn more, you must ask the question…”Are you using the instruction you have already been given through parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, friends, and God’s Word to be a willing learner and a better team member?”  How are you doing so?

6) If you are struggling to heed godly instruction from particular people or in particular areas of your life, ask yourself whether you trust the words of Proverbs 6:22.  Do you really believe that the teaching you have received can “guide you”, “watch over you”, and “speak to you”?  Do you really believe that “the corrections of discipline are the way to life”?  What is causing you to doubt these truths of Scripture?

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

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

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

· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “teachable 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 a teachable spirit — 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 teachability or anything else), and pray together.