Josh was a talented high school basketball player who worked hard to overcome his lack of size. Despite being only 5-foot-8, he was able to lead his team in scoring and assists. He spent extra time after each practice to improve his 3-point shooting. In fact, during his junior season, he made a commitment not to leave the gym until he had made at least 20 straight 3-point shots. Just one miss would mean starting over. That’s commitment! I should know, because that was my son, and the only reason he was allowed to stay late in the gym was that I had the key.

As both his coach and father, I tried to help Josh understand that his childhood dream of playing basketball for Kansas was unlikely to come true, given his size. He had above-average athletic ability, but nothing that would help him stand out to D1 college coaches. I wanted him to be satisfied with the gifts and opportunities God had given him. I taught him that he would never bring as much glory to God as when he was doing sports God’s way, using the way he was created and gifted to play. I didn’t want him longing for gifts or opportunities that might not be available.

1 Corinthians 12 – Built Different

The Corinthian church faced problems with spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul provides a biblical understanding of spiritual gifts. Some Corinthians viewed individual gifts as a measure of their spiritual level. They thought some gifts were more important than others. Paul taught them the value of all spiritual gifts and declared each gift came from the same source—the Holy Spirit. He focused less on the details of each gift than on how the gifts together could produce a healthy, functioning church.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete exercise the gifts they have been given and take hold of the opportunities to serve God with them. They are satisfied with the gifts they have been given and do their best to honor the Giver.

Bible Memory Verse – “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13  (LSB)

Click HERE for the Kingdom Sports Minute: Doing Sports God’s Way.

Our featured book this week is: Nameless (Lessons of Faith From the Unnamed in the Bible). Written by Sarah Roberts

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