Fruit Of The Spirit Sports Devotional Sample

Leaders Guide: Lesson 1: Fruit of the Spirit 

Theme:

To bear fruit of the Spirit, you must first trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord. 

Coaches' Notes:

I see it every year with Christian coaches. They feel like they need to teach something from the Bible to the players. On more competitive teams, it is highly likely some or many of the players are not Christians. What does the coach do? He remembers the fruit of the Spirit is somewhere in the Bible, looks it up, and sees it’s in Galatians 5.22–23. He decides he’ll tell the players that God wants us to be loving, kind, have self-control, etc. The lesson I’ve heard over and over is this is important to do because it’s in the Bible and it’s right, so do it.

The biggest problem with this approach is that these are “fruit of the Spirit,” meaning they come directly from God. These aren’t just goals for good living. They are what should grow inside of Christians as a result of having the Spirit live inside of us. One must first be a Christian to bear fruit of the Spirit.

I might know what you’re thinking right now because I’ve been in your shoes. I don’t know if all my players are Christians, or if all my parents are Christians. What if I make a parent mad by telling their kid they need to accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord? What if this is the parent of my best player? (Maybe I’m the only one who has thought this). I get it. I’ve been there. But here’s the deal. If you are a Christian coach, you have been called to not just coach your players in the sport itself, but also to share your faith with them. In fact, a player may be on your team by God’s divine placement so you can witness to him or her. Do it. It’s your calling and responsibility to coach kids. Share your faith with them where God has uniquely placed you.

Discussion Questions:

1.) Read Galatians 5.22–23 to the group. Are these are good qualities to show? You might even get disagreement if you give examples of what it means to show these qualities. That’s ok and not worth dwelling on now. Just seek consensus that these are good characteristics to strive for.

2.) Why does Paul mention fruit? In the analogy, where does the fruit come from? So, what is Paul saying we need to bear or produce this fruit?

3.) Share your faith or testimony with the team. What led you to Christ? How has it impacted your life? Make sure the players know just how important this decision is and that you’re available to talk to them about it afterward.

Study Guide Lesson 1: Fruit of the Spirit 

We all want to be good people. Nice. Kind. Loving. Almost everyone strives to be a decent, good person who is nice and kind to others, and who generally tries to do the right thing. Galatians 5.22–23 lists qualities most would agree are good to strive for. We certainly want our kids to exhibit these. We want to be friends and work with people who exhibit these. We’d probably also agree we need a lot more of these in society today. More love. More joy. More peace. More patience. More kindness. More goodness. More faithfulness. More gentleness. More self-control.

Let’s look closer at what the list is, though. They’re not qualities or characteristics, like something certain people naturally have. They’re not goals, like something you work hard to try and achieve. Instead, they’re called “fruit of the Spirit.” What does that mean?

Fruit comes from plants and trees. But not just any plant or tree. A fir (think Christmas tree) will never produce fruit, no matter how much it grows. A plant or tree can only bear fruit if it is a fruit-bearing tree or plant. To bear fruit, it must be from fruit.

So “fruit of the Spirit” means fruit coming from the Spirit. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, who is God. To bear fruit of the Spirit then, we must first have the Spirit of God living in us. In the same way that only fruit trees or plants can bear fruit, we can only bear fruit of the Spirit if we are of God.

Is this possible? Not simply from God, but of God, meaning God inside of us. The Bible tells us how we receive the Spirit of God so God is inside of us. The only way to do this is to trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord (John 3.16; Romans 8.9; 1 Corinthians 3.16). Trust that He died for our sins then rose from the dead to defeat death. Trust that He forgives our sins if we confess them and ask for forgiveness. And ask Him into our heart.

When we do this, we are saved and will forever be with God, even after we die. And even right now, once we trust Jesus, we’re promised to receive the Holy Spirit—God living inside of us. Then, and only then, we can bear the fruit of the Spirit.