Super Bowl Sundae: God’s Team vs. My Team – From Jr. High Youth Ministry
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Super Bowl Sundae: God’s Team vs. My Team
What is the difference between God’s team and my team?
Let’s look at what the scriptures say before we answer this question!
Jeremiah 2:5-19 says, “This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels, and no one lives?’ I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.”
In this passage from Jeremiah, we see that the Israelites strayed from God, even though He rescued them from slavery in Egypt and brought them into rich and fertile land. The Israelites responded to God’s faithfulness by turning to worthless idols and trampling on the many gifts that He gave them.
Name some idols that people today have in their lives. What idols did you come up with, money? Fame? Famous people? Sports? An idol is anything you place above God or something you try to love like you love God. We encounter so many idols, and we often do not even realize they are in our lives.
Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Luke 16:13 repeats this same phrase word for word, so it must be pretty important. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
We learn from this passage that there is no loving God and money, nor devoting oneself to God and money. Rather, we come to understand that we either love one and hate the other or are devoted to one and despise the other. We cannot love or be devoted to both.
So how does this relate to being on God’s team? There is no “my friend’s team and God’s team” nor “my family’s team and God’s team.” Because with God, “there is only God’s team or my team.” When we are on God’s team, everything else falls into place where it should be. When we are on God’s team, God is at the top and center of all relationships or teams we are on. On the other hand, when we are on our own team, God is not at the center and head of the groups and things we are devoted to.
Matthew 4:4 says, “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Final thought: “I am on God’s team!” If this is a statement that you choose to live by, it is essential that you do not “live by bread alone” and that you do not try to “love money and God,” as identified in these verses. Yes, we should be on each other’s team and support one another; in fact, it says in scripture that our love for others, including our enemies, displays our love for God. I like to use the metaphor, “you may not be able to hold the door open for Jesus physically, but you can for the people He created.” And yes, we should love ourselves and our neighbors as ourselves, and yes, we even need food and sustenance, but “by every word that comes from the mouth of God,” we will be sustained. When we nourish the Holy Spirit within us by working and putting effort into our relationship with God, we will love God and be on His team, not an idol or our own selfish team that seeks something or someone other than God.
Let’s pray: God, thank you for inviting us onto your team! Thank you for always cheering us on and loving us, even when we place other things above You. Lord, teach us by Your Holy Spirit how to place You at the center and head of all we do. We trust that You alone will sustain us and provide all we need. And with any doubt or idols we may have, we give them to You. Thank you for sending Your Son so that we may be on Your team and have victory in You. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, AMEN!