Welcome: (Greetings and Announcements)

Warm-up: (icebreaker, games, skit)

Work-out: (Bible studies, devotionals, testimonials)

• Read Galatians 6:9

• Jojo Villa is a high school basketball coach. One year when his team was 4th in the standings, they had one more game before semifinals. 

o If they won the game, they would be play against the strongest, top-ranked team in the semifinals.

o If they threw the game, they would slide to 5th place and face a weaker team. In fact, another team in the same league had just done it. Their coach coached his players to lose.

• But at what cost? They would disrespect their sport, dishonor each other and disregard their training for excellence. Worse, taking a shortcut just because the right way was harder would grieve God. We serve an excellent God who had not cut corners when He created the world.

• So Jojo’s team played their hearts out, because that’s what warriors to. They won the game, maintained 4th place, played their hearts out against the toughest team, and lost.

• It was hard to suffer the loss but liberating to achieve the real victory: to work hard with honor and fair play in the eyes of the Lord. Integrity trumps winning.

Small Group Time

• Describe a time when you or your team faced a similar situation as Jojo and his team. How did your coach lead you?

• What would you tell your coach if he/she coached you to lose a game in order to put the team in a better position to win the championship? 

• Read James 4:17

• If the team had thrown the earlier game, they might not have faced the toughest team until finals and at least have come in 2nd place, not 4th. What should Jojo’s post-game speech be to his team after losing to the top-ranked team in the semifinals? Be ready to share your post-game speech with the rest of the group.

Wrap-Up: (closing comments)

• Ask some of the small groups to share their post-game speech.

• Read Colossians 3:23-24 and Titus 2:6-7

• Surround yourselves with Christian friends and leaders who you can go to for advice and who will support when you are tempted to act in a way you know will dishonor God.

Same rules as tag... except everyone is it!

Get everyone to put their non-preferred hand on their head. Then, everyone has to run around in the specified area and get other people out by touching their elbows.

Last one in wins!