Greater Team

WELCOME

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:12–13

You love your teammates, and you’d do anything for them. But when you understand your greater purpose, you’ll realize that your team is much bigger than you’ve ever imagined— and God wants that team to experience His love through you!

WARM-UP

NO TEAM

We’re going to have a relay race with a twist. One team will have four runners. The other team will be one person running all four legs on his or her own.

Q: For the person running alone, how difficult was it racing with no team?

Q: For the people who ran as a team, how did having four people working together make the race easier?

WORKOUT

DREAM TEAM

In 1992, the International Olympic Committee allowed NBA players to compete in the Summer Olympics for the first time ever. USA Basketball assembled one of the greatest collections of athletes ever, and they became known as “The Dream Team.” To no one’s surprise, they dominated the competition all the way to the gold medal.

But there are more aspects to a team besides athletic ability and talent. In fact, a team can be very gifted and not be successful if its individual members don’t have chemistry and unity—two important factors determined by loyalty, selflessness, sacrifice, honesty, and trust.

Q: Who are some of the athletes you would want to play on your “Dream Team,” and why?

Q: Other than athletic talent, what other elements of the team do you think are important to long-term success and impact?

GOD’S TEAM

One of the first things Jesus did when He began His ministry was put together a team. He found 12 ordinary men to become His disciples. Several others also joined the team—men and women who gravitated towards Jesus because of His wisdom, compassion, and miracle-working power and believed He was the Messiah.

But Jesus’ team was never meant to be limited to just a handful of people. When Jesus went back to Heaven, there were around 120 followers who were ready to take on the challenge of building the Church.

In Acts 2, a smaller group gathered to pray for God’s direction during the Jewish faith’s annual Feast of Weeks. The promised Holy Spirit arrived to empower them to witness to the many people in Jerusalem at the time. Within a matter of hours, God’s team grew to more than 3,000 people!

Now, with billions of Christ-followers worldwide, there is still room on God’s Team. Because of His love for you, God wants you on His team. This is how Jesus prayed to God on your behalf in the days before His death and resurrection:

“I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.” — John 17:23

And as part of your greater purpose, He wants you to invite more teammates to do the same.

Q: Why do you think Jesus assembled a team?

Q: What does being a part of God’s team mean to you?

WRAP-UP

GREATER TEAM

Understanding your greater purpose means you spread God’s love to others to glorify God’s Kingdom. Here are three ways that the world will know that you are a part of this greater team:

1. Sacrificial team. People will see a difference in you and God’s team when they see your love for others.

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:12–13

2. Limitless team. People will see a difference in you and God’s team because of the people you have invited to be on His team—limited to no one and open to everyone who chooses to follow Jesus.

“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.” — Galatians 3:28

3. Powerful team. People will see a difference in you and God’s team because of the greater things you will do together.

“Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.” — Romans 15:5–6

OVERTIME

Come up with some ideas on how you can be a part of God’s greater team:

Ways to Reach Your Athletic Team | Ways to Expand God's Team