Weekly Content for P.A.C.K. Meetings
P – PRAYER
Pray for your time together. Ask God to give you open hearts, open ears, and a willingness to be open and honest with each other.
Wrap up your time together by having guys share additional personal prayer requests and pray specifically for one another.
You can also pray this prayer as a follow-up to the topic: Heavenly Father, I pray that You’ll help me live a life of meaning and purpose as I seek You and enjoy everything with You. Teach me to keep an eternal perspective and not be consumed by selfish gain. You are worthy of my full devotion. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
A – ACCOUNTABILITY
Ask guys how their week was. Follow up on last week’s topic about loyalty!
Also, it can be an opportunity for guys to share any struggles or challenges from the week that need to be confessed or held accountable for.
If married, ask how everyone is intentionally serving their spouse…and if a parent, what the biggest challenge is right now.
C – CONVERSATION/CONTENT
Talk about weekly content that connects sports to life and faith.
UNPACKIN’ IT DEVOTIONAL CONTENT:
Is the Regular Season Meaningless?
We are less than 100 days until the start of the college football season and the first year of the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The expanded playoff will now include the five highest-ranked conference champions and the seven highest-ranked teams remaining.
A sport known for its traditions has experienced tremendous change in recent years, and this latest alteration to the postseason has provided mixed responses. The biggest question is whether or not the regular season will have more or less meaningful games.
On one end, more teams will fight for a spot in the playoff later in the year, resulting in more games where results matter at the end of the season.
Previously, many teams started the season knowing they weren’t going to be a top-four team that made it into the playoff, yet with more spots available, NOW additional teams start the season to make it to the playoff.
On the other hand, some teams will already have clinched a spot in the playoff earlier in the season with their final regular season games having the potential to be regarded as meaningless. That’s also true for any games involving matchups between teams eliminated from the playoff.
Another way to look at this is how every regular season game (even with the changes) can have meaning and purpose for the players, coaches, and fans.
As Ari Wasserman on theathletic.com writes, “The regular season will never be meaningless. This is college football. There’s too much passion around it.”
It’s true that when two college football teams step onto the field, there is passion and meaning. Win or lose there can be enjoyment in the journey, value in the process, and lasting relationships formed. With the right perspective, every game matters for some reason, even if the result doesn’t.
In our own lives, we also wrestle with similar questions about whether or not the “regular season” is meaningless. On one end, we understand Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 (NIV): “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher.
‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?”
Sometimes we wonder, does anything in this life really matter and we say what’s the point?
But, on the flip side, some people are so consumed with the “regular season” and find meaning and purpose in the results. For many, this life is a big deal and a huge amount of importance is placed on success, wealth, human wisdom, power and authority, accolades, and winning.
The truth is, in the end, anything in life apart from God or done without Him, is meaningless. Our selfish gain doesn’t matter and won’t truly satisfy us.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 (AMP) puts it like this: “Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher. ‘Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].’”
Like college football fans, however, we don’t have to disregard the “regular season” or view life as meaningless. As followers of Jesus, we’ve been given a purpose for this life, and with an eternal perspective, this life still matters.
The exciting news is, “win or lose” anything we do with Him and for His glory and purposes can be enjoyed and meaningful. We don’t need to focus on life’s results, but rather on the source of true life.
Later in the book, Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (ESV) says, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”
Today, let’s enjoy life with God as we delight in Him, finding meaning and purpose in pursuing what matters to Him. Let’s enjoy His gifts, but never more than the Gift-Giver…and orient our lives around Him so they’ll become fruitful and meaningful.
As the book of Ecclesiastes closes in 12:13 (AMP), “When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person.”
I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER OR EMPHASIZE OR OTHER DIRECTIONS TO GO:
- The impact on “meaningless” bowl games.
- As sports fans how do we find meaning and purpose in watching sports and talking about sports?
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV): “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Romans 1:25 (AMP): “… because [by choice] they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
Colossians 1:16 (NIV): “For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
PODCAST-LISTEN/WATCH:
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
K – KICKING Around Interesting and Relevant Sports Stories and Topics (You Can Start With This)
THIS WEEK’S SPORTS HEADLINES/TOPICS:
- NBA Playoffs – who wins it all now? Are you surprised the Nuggets are out?
- PGA Championship – Scottie’s adventures
- NFL Schedule released
- NFL OTAs taking place
