Week 7 - Practicing a Teachable Spirit

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.

     46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?  47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.  48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.  When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.  The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Luke 6:46-49

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

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) We have been learning from Scripture what it means to truly listen and have a teachable spirit.  What are we told, in this passage, we need to do once we have heard God’s Word?  What does God promise your life will be like if you obey His teaching (v. 47-48)?  If you hear His instruction and do not put it into practice, what will be the result (v. 49)?

2) Have you ever listened to something that you knew was right and said all of the appropriate words in reply, but then walked away and behaved as if you had never heard?  Do you know people who always seem to say the right things, but don’t live by those same principles?  What type of attitude do these actions demonstrate?  How does that attitude compare to a teachable spirit?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

3) Why is it important for you, in your athletic participation, to display consistency between your words and actions?  Re-read the passage, and think of your team as your “house” (which you have invested your time and effort in building).  Each member of your team is aware of your team’s goals and the expectations of being a part of the team (the work required to build your “house”), and by choosing to be a part of the team, each of you has committed to that work.  If each of you does not follow through on that commitment, what will the consequences be?

4) In what ways have you failed to “put into practice” a commitment to the goals and expectations of your team?  For what things do you need your team’s forgiveness?  After apologizing, what will your next step be?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

5) In the athletic realm, effective practice is not easy.  However, learning is reinforced by practice — so practice is very important.  What skills do you need to practice more faithfully, in order to learn more fully?  Is it possible to be “teachable,” but not practice hard?

6) Once you listen to the godly people in your life who want to see you grow in your relationship with the Lord, what can you to genuinely pursue that growth?  How can you “put into the practice” the godly advice you’ve received — especially that which you’ve resisted, to this point?

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.