Week 2- The Response of Gratitude

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.

   3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people — 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

   9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the    kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:3-14

What does this passage have to say about gratitude?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) What reason do the Colossians have to be grateful (v. 13-14)?  How does the  Colossians’ gratitude to God motivate them to live (v. 4-5)?

2) So...the Colossian believers, knowing that they have received the promise of a “kingdom that cannot be shaken,” are grateful to God and are spurred on to faith and love.  They seem to be in good shape — living in a way that pleases God.  Why, then, does Paul write, “Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you” (v. 9)?  Why are the Colossians in such need of prayer?

3) Do you understand yourself as a person daily in need of God’s grace, to enable you to grow in an understanding of His will and to please Him?  Have you asked others to pray for you, in specific ways, as you seek to do so?  Do you pray for others in this way?  Your family and friends?  Your coaches and teammates? 

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

4) Gratitude causes a believer to “live a life worthy of the Lord” (v. 10).  What characterizes such a life (v. 10-12)?  What “fruit” is your life     bearing — that of “good works” or selfish pursuits?  Are you growing to know God more deeply?  Are you patient and persevering in the face of challenges?  Do others know you as a joyful person who gives God credit for all the things of your life?

5) Read back through the marks of a “life worthy of the Lord” (v. 10-12) again.  Evaluate your habits as an athlete; do they demonstrate these same commitments?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

6) Do you practice gratitude (“giving thanks to the Father” - v. 12) as a   regular part of your life?  What attitudes, fears, or other influences     sometimes prevent you from doing so?

7) Do your habits as an athlete reflect gratitude?  Are you a boastful person who thinks highly of himself, or do you humbly recognize your abilities as given by God?  Are you thankful for your coaches and teammates, or are you focused solely on getting what’s good for you?  Are you thankful for the opportunities you get (playing time, recognition, attention, friendships, etc), or do you always feel you deserve more?  Are you a “taker” or a “giver”?

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.