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Watch the video, then walk through the study below.
Key Verse: "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." - Proverbs 1:7
How has fear gripped your life? What areas in your life have you been fearful?
Erwin McManus acknowledges his own lack of courage, but where does he get his strength from each day?
“Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is the absence of self.” What does that quote mean to you?
I was coaching a junior high boy’s basketball team and having a great time. During one game, however, the team was not executing well. I called a time-out and gave the boys a lecture while they sat on the bench. I paused to see if my message was getting through. And that’s when the starting center, a team leader, broke the silence with a goofy imitation of me. He mimicked several of my phrases and the other players were a little nervous about what my reaction would be. I decided to laugh, so the whole team laughed along with me. These were boys who loved to have fun. Scripture says that there is a time for everything (Ec 3:1). There is certainly a time for discipline and teaching, but there are countless opportunities for fun and laughter too.
Have you read the sports news lately? Is it filled with news that makes sports look pretty bad. Have we taken the competition in sports too far? Teenagers are killing each other with baseball bats, parents are shooting coaches, fans are taking swings at players on the field. Have we taken competition and the pressure to win to a whole new level? Where do we turn for answers?
FCA has put out a great guide for athletes, coaches and even parents. It is called the Competitor's Creed. It's made up of six verses that represent how we should compete and play for Christ. Today's athletes and coaches are being pushed to win at all cost, but if we truly compete with Christ in mind, our desire will be to honor Him--not ourselves as athletes and coaches.
A Christian teen doesn’t want to take Jesus to a wild party, when invited. At first, he says no but he doesn’t resist the temptation. After making a poor decision to go to the party, he ends up regretting the decision when he realizes that Jesus is with him at the party because now that Jesus is in his life, He goes everywhere. At the end of the skit, a couple of his friends, who are obviously Christians are walking by and they see him and say, "Hey, let's get out of here. We really know how to have fun.”
John the Baptist was the man! He was the herald prophesied by Isaiah — the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He was the great baptizer of the people, the one who drew crowds everywhere he went. Yet he knew a time would come when his “star status” would diminish.
Fast-forward to 2009. Tyler Hansbrough, the reigning NCAA Player of the Year, had to make a choice for the sake of his team. In order to help his team attain their goal of a national championship, he would need to take a "back seat" to Ty Lawson. His scoring average fell, and he graciously passed the mantle of leadership to Lawson. When asked about the shift in his role, Hansbrough repeatedly said, “I'll do whatever it takes to help this team get to the championship."
It has been said that life is not a playground, but a battleground. Most battles happen in the unseen world and play out in the physical world. Knowing this, God gives us spiritual armor to be prepared for battle. Every piece of armor—the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit—protects from the front. None provide protection for our backs. In fact, we are instructed in Philippians 3 to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. God has our back. He gives us no armor for our backside because He has it covered. When we are right with God and confess our sins, we have nothing to fear. Proverbs 3 tells us that when we use good judgment, our sleep will be sweet.
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