WEEKLY CONTENT FOR P.A.C.K. GATHERINGS
P – PRAYER
Pray for your time together. Ask God to give you open hearts, 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: "Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by Your truth and teach me, for You are the God who saves me. All day long, I put my hope in You. Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and unfailing love, which You have shown from long ages past" (Psalm 25:4-6; NLT).
A – ACCOUNTABILITY
Ask guys how their week was. Follow up on last week’s topic and ask if anyone had any further thoughts on it.
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.
Celebrate any wins, changes, and areas of growth.
C – CONVERSATION/CONTENT
Talk about weekly content that connects sports to life and faith.
UNPACKIN’ IT DEVOTIONAL CONTENT:
The final four NFL teams are set for Championship Weekend, as the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles, and Commanders all won this past weekend. Meanwhile, the National Championship game in college football is tonight, with Notre Dame taking on Ohio State.
All six of these teams have impressive players and are finishing up strong seasons with a great run in the playoffs. As we consider the six coaches leading these winning teams, I can't help but remember how fans have questioned and doubted their coaching abilities.
In many ways, it's surprising that Marcus Freeman has the Fighting Irish preparing for the National Championship. Many thought he was in way over his head when he took over the team in 2021 at 35 years old.
They doubted he was ready to handle such a prominent role and the pressure that comes with it when he had no head coaching experience. The doubts were intense early this season, too, when Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois despite being a 28-point favorite at home. However, they haven’t lost since!
The coach on the other sideline tonight, Ryan Day, has also experienced strong doubts from the outside during his time at Ohio State. Fans can't believe the Buckeyes have lost four straight games to archrival Michigan and continue to wonder if he has what it takes to win a National Championship.
Meanwhile, the final four coaches alive in the NFL playoffs have also faced plenty of doubts. At one point, there were doubts that Andy Reid could ever be a Super Bowl Champion, and boy, were we wrong about that.
The Washington Commanders have surprised many by making it to the NFC Championship game in Dan Quinn's first season with the Commanders. The critics wondered if being an NFL defensive coordinator suited him better than a head coach. He’s now one win away from taking a second franchise to a Super Bowl.
The Buffalo Bills wrestle with doubts because of their history and have had questions about their head coach, Sean McDermott, over the years. I've doubted him since his first season in this role when he started Nathan Peterman at quarterback, who went on to throw five interceptions in the first half.
I thought there was no way McDermott knew what he was doing, but it's probably time for me to let that go and embrace the reality that he has his team one win away from a Super Bowl appearance.
The Eagles keep winning as Saquon Barkley runs over defenses, but their head coach, Nick Sirianni, who was on the hot seat this season, heard the criticisms. After the team started 2-2, people doubted him and called for his firing. He sure did turn things around!
Doubts come and go throughout the football season. Still, when the doubts creep in, fans must remember the truth about the coaches involved and look back at what they've previously been able to do and the revealing of their character and abilities. We are often impatient and don't see the whole picture from our limited perspective.
Sometimes, we believe things about coaches or embrace different narratives that aren't reality and, many times, are lies about what the coaches can and are doing. Of course, some doubts will play out, as we were afraid they would, but many times, we must stop giving up too soon on coaches and keep believing in them.
Many of us today may have doubts about life, God, relationships, abilities, ourselves, and the future. Life is hard, and sometimes it feels like a roller coaster, so it's not surprising that we doubt that things will get better, that God really loves us, or that we can do anything significant.
We often allow some losses, confusion, or delays to intensify our doubts. We become critical when things aren't going how we want them to or as quickly as we want them to. We forget we don't see the whole picture from our limited perspective and buy lies or narratives that aren't reality.
When we have moments or seasons of doubt, we must remember the truth about God and His Word and look back at what history shows us about His faithfulness.
We must remember, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His Word and His righteous character], for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13; AMP).
His goodness and impact on our lives are evident, and He's repeatedly shown us His love. Ultimately, we know His power and goodness, considering He sent Jesus to die on the cross and rise again for the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting. (Of course, many had doubts when He was on that cross.)
So even if doubts following disappointments attempt to take over, it doesn't mean we give up or stop believing in God, His love, His promises, His guidance, and His faithfulness.
Instead, as Hebrews 10:23 (AMP) says, "Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His Word]..."
Today, when doubts inevitably arise from rough circumstances and things don't go as we thought, let's focus on what is true—or, more importantly, Who is true and trustworthy. He’s the “Coach” we can always count on to lead us to victory.
I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Of the coaches remaining in the NFL Playoffs, which one do you believe is most underrated, and why?
Why do you think football fans often turn on their favorite team's head coach so quickly?
How long should coaches be given to succeed before a front office contemplates firing them?
What doubts are you wrestling with right now?
How should you respond when you realize you are beginning to doubt God?
What truths and past faithfulness of God do you need to remind yourself of and encourage others with?
What are some things you can do in advance that might help keep you from falling into doubt in the first place?
In what way could having wrong beliefs about who God is or what God does drive you toward having doubts?
Why do you think it is a big concern to live with doubts in your walk of faith consistently?
How can you best minister to someone struggling with doubts as they follow Jesus?
What steps will you take this week to strengthen your faith and confidence in God moving forward?
K – KICKING AROUND INTERESTING AND RELEVANT SPORTS STORIES AND TOPICS
*You Can Start Your PACK Gathering Here...
This Week's Sports Headlines/Topics:
Discuss the National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Ohio State.
What will the Buffalo Bills need to do differently to avoid losing to the Chiefs in the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons?
Where would you rank Jayden Daniels as an NFL quarterback after leading his team to an impressive road win over the Lions?
Do you think the Ravens will ever be legitimate Super Bowl contenders with Lamar Jackson as their quarterback? Why or why not?
Do you believe the Lions will still be a Super Bowl favorite heading into next season? Why or why not? Has their Super Bowl window closed?
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