Week 11- What Gratitude Isn't (Part I)
MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:1-5
35 For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. 36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”
Proverbs 8:35-36
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:3-8a, 11-14
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, you, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:3-4a, 5-6a, 10-12, 16-17
What does this passage have to say about gratitude?
Why is that important?
TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
1) What is the overwhelming command of Psalm 100 (v. 1, 2, 4)? Does praising God earn you admittance to God’s courts, or is it a response to being invited into His presence (v. 4)? How does a person receive God’s favor (Proverbs 8:35)?
Gratitude is not … a way to earn God’s favor.
2) Do you thank or compliment others in order to try to gain their friendship or approval, or to produce a desired response from them? Do you employ kindness to coaches and teammates in order to “get on their good side”? Do you attempt to manipulate your parents or teachers with expressions of thankfulness? Do you genuinely worship God at church, or is Sunday morning simply an exercise in “putting on a happy face” and going through the motions? What purpose exists in self-serving “gratitude”?
WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
3) Of what truth (which we discussed yesterday) are we reminded, in Ephesians 1 (verses 4 and 6)? Though he “chose us...freely” (v. 4, 6), God knew our sin would lead us to doubt His love, so He also gave us another gift. What is it (v. 13)? Of what does this gift remind us (v. 14)? Can you lose God’s love?
4) What does the gift of the Holy Spirit produce in a believer? What is the apostle Paul’s response to God ‘s grace and unconditional love? (Notice the phrase, repeated in similar ways, in verses 6 and 14.)
Gratitude is not … optional.
THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
5) Despite being children of God, still we sin (Psalm 51:3-5). Because God “desires truth in the inner parts” (v. 6), what type of response to your sin is not pleasing to God (v. 16)? If you seek God’s forgiveness by praising Him, but don’t turn from your sin, is your honor (gratitude) toward Him genuine?
6) In place of false words and acts of worship, what does God desire (v. 17)? What will a “broken and contrite heart” desire (v. 10-12)?
Gratitude is not … a replacement for obedience.
7) Would your coaches describe you as an athlete with a steadfast and willing spirit? Do your teammates know you to be humble when you’ve made a mistake, and to not repeat that error? Do you try to cover your wrongs with excuses or fake kindness?
FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of gratitude, and pray together.
· Ask your athletes to briefly reflect on what they’ve learned about gratitude this week, and to repeat some of those things. (Remind them of some of the Biblical truths about gratitude you’ve discussed, if necessary.)
· Ask your team, “Based on what we learned about gratitude this week...What does a grateful athlete do?” Do not settle for vague answers; challenge your athletes to go beyond general qualities of a grateful athlete, and to determine what those qualities look like in action.
· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “grateful 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 gratitude — 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 gratitude or anything else), and pray together.
Not a member? Join Now
