FOR COACHES ONLY
WEEK OF MARCH 8, 2010

DIFFERENCES

READY:

“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of his Creator.  Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all in all.” – Colossians 3:9-11 (Holman Christian Standard)

SET:

The year was 1971.  A Virginia community was torn apart by resentment, friction and mistrust as the local high school assembled its first football team made up of black and white athletes.  Herman Boone, a successful black coach, had been named head football coach to replace Bill Yoast, a white coach, who had led his teams to 15 winning seasons at the very same school.  These two coaches would overcome their differences to turn the team of hostile young men into champions.  In the movie Remember the Titans, there is a scene that takes place while the team is attending pre-season camp at Gettysburg College.  Coach Boone has gotten his players up at 3 AM for a team run.  With the morning sun rising, the exhausted athletes arrive at a foggy cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield.  It is here that they receive some unforgettable words.  Coach Boone tells them of the 50,000 young men who died there fighting a war defined by hatred.  He told his young men that they did not have to like each other, but they would respect each another.  He expected them to put aside their differences and to become unified as a team with a common goal.

Colossians 3:9-11 reminds us when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we get rid of the old self and become a new creation in Christ.  As this new creation, we begin a journey attempting to become more like Jesus each day.  Like any great athlete, we should never be satisfied with where we are.  When we put our head on our pillows at night, we should be a little more Christ-like than when we get up in the morning.  Christ becomes our example and the ruler of our lives.  It is not important what we look like on the outside.  When all is said and done, we will be judged on how our life measures up to the life of Jesus.  It does not matter what we look like on the outside.  Race, social status and star quality will have no impact.  When we stand before God, all believers will be on the same level.  We must adopt the same attitude!

GO:

1.    What are some of the causes of prejudice?

2.    How can prejudice become destructive?

3.    How can we learn to see others as equals?

WORKOUT:

Galatians 2:20

Romans 14:7-8