Greater Life

WELCOME

“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” — John 10:10b

It’s easy for us to allow our lives to get wrapped up in sports, but there is much more to our existence than what takes place during competition. A greater life is found in God through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

WARM-UP

BEST LIFE EVER

We all have ideas in our heads about what our best life should look like. For competitors, it’s often linked to achievements, awards, and long-term success. Other areas of our life might be tied to relationships, possessions, and career goals.

Q: How would you describe your best life as an athlete?

Q: How do you think having that best life would impact your daily existence?

WORKOUT

BIGGER THAN LIFE

You might see a professional athlete or Olympic competitor and wonder what his or her life might be like. But you often learn over time that those superstars have the same problems as you, and sometimes even more so. They might be “bigger than life,” but they aren’t always experiencing their best life.

Ask John Smoltz, who won the World Series in 1995, Mike Singletary, who won the Super Bowl in 1985, or Bernhard Langer, who won the Masters in 1985.

They, along with so many other great athletes, experienced a major letdown after their greatest achievements. All three can testify that they didn’t truly experience their best life until they surrendered it to Jesus.

Q: How do you think reaching the pinnacle of your sport would make you feel?

Q: Do you ever think about what your life will be like without sports?

ABUNDANT LIFE

In John 9, Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth, but the religious leaders were not happy that this man had received a new perspective on life through Christ. A conversation with the Pharisees and Jesus continued into John 10, where He explained that being blind doesn’t just mean physically.

Jesus also taught His disciples a similar lesson—that you can have what the world calls a great life and yet have no life at all.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” — Matthew 16:25-26

The best life ever for everyone is the life that is surrendered to God. That’s the only life where our full potential can be reached through a relationship with God. It’s the only life that is rooted in Truth.

As Jesus tells us in John 10:10, we can have an abundant, overflowing life through Him. It’s a life with greater joy, peace, purpose, and freedom from the pressure to perform.

Q: In what areas of your life could you use more joy, peace, purpose, and freedom?

Q: What does it look like to surrender those areas to God?

WRAP-UP

GREATER LIFE

There is no greater life than a life that is surrendered to God. Here are three key points to show what this truth can look like in your life:

1. Joyful Life. Joy is greater than happiness. It’s a state of contentment in all things, the good times and the bad, that only greater life in Christ can bring.

“ You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.”— Psalm 16:11

2. Peaceful Life. Peace is hard to come by inside the performance trap. But God’s peace will overcome all of your fears and anxieties.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7

3. Purposeful Life. There’s more to life than awards, achievements, or material gain that comes through competition or a career. God’s purpose is life-giving and life-changing.

“However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth.” — Exodus 9:16

OVERTIME

Using the space below, write down the words “Joy,” “Peace,” and “Purpose.” Under each one, write down areas of your life where you would like to experience these benefits of a relationship with Jesus. Then, ask God to help you apply the Truth of His Word so that you might truly experience greater life.