Finish

Big Idea:  Be someone who finishes what they start

Scripture: I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6

Warm-up:

-Name some things that have been hard in your life that you stuck out to the end and did not quit.

-Name some things that you learned and/or ways that you grew through that.

Game Time Discussion:

Read the following scripture aloud:  No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14

–Pressing on to the goal while not dwelling in the past is a great thing to do. I’ve heard multiple high-level athletes say that the difference between a great athlete and a good athlete, is their ability to shake off a bad day and move on. Is it hard or easy for you to shake off a bad day or a bat at-bat and move on? If so, why? If not, why?

-What are some ways we can “forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead this weekend on the field”? What are some ways we can forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead in life outside of baseball?

Concluding Thought: When I was 13 years old, I was cut from the all-star baseball team that summer. That was the first time I had ever been cut from a team. It was hard looking in the mirror and realizing that I wasn’t good enough that year to play. I got down, I got mad, I blamed others. Then, my dad said to me “you can either get bitter or get better”. I remember at that time, thinking that I had a work to do and I wasn’t through yet and I wasn’t ready to quit. What can you quit being bitter about and start being better at by not quitting?

Game Time Challenge: Jesus never asks us to do anything that He wasn’t willing to do himself. In John 4:34, Jesus says “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” Jesus modeled this for us by finishing the work His father gave Him by going to the cross where he died for our sins. What is going in your life today that you need to stick it out until the end and finish? FINISH IT.

Prayer: God, thank you for being a God that modeled what it’s like to complete the work we are designed to do until the very end. Thank you for finishing your work on this earth by going to the cross to die for our sins. Give us the strength to finish the work that you have mapped out for us in this life knowing that it’s You working in us to carry it out. In Jesus name, AMEN.

Extended reading: Philippians 2:13, Romans 8:28, Romans 5:3-5