Youth Sport - Update

NEWS AND VIEWS

Sports Plus Conference: 7-10th April:

26 Young People attended the conference including this year’s academy intake. It was a really precious time of encouragement, investment and great fun. The main teaching looked at Romans Ch 4-8 under the title of ‘Uncovering the truth’ challenging the Young People to view there position as God would see them ‘righteous through faith’ and encouraging them through the help of the Holy Spirit living in them to fight against the temptations of sin which are ever so great especially in the world of Sport. They also received training in ‘Play’ and ‘Say’ with plenty of time for discussion and small groups. Every afternoon we got out and played sport, Team Challenge style alongside footie, volleyball and the traditional skittleball championships.
One young person was found muttering to his mother "best time ever" as she picked him up at the end and so we hope it really was! Encouraging times!!

PLAYER PROFILE

Introducing the Academy 08...

Name: Tom Guy
Nickname:
Sport: Running and Football. Bring on Barcelona
Why the Academy?: The cool tracksuit. no seriously what an opportunity. Sport and God. awesome!

Want to appear in the Player Profiles? Send yours to: (sarah@christiansinsport.org.uk)

BIBLE BIT

Series: A Marathon not a Sprint

In this 8 week series we are considering what will help us to persevere in the race of life and to last the course:

Week 1 – ‘A Stable Core’ – Jesus, the firm foundation!

This week – ‘Tripping Up’

Hebrews 12v1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

I took part in my first marathon in Rome in 2007 and it tested my perseverance to the absolute limit!! Imagine though that I had decided to run the marathon in a pair of wellies and a duffel coat! After all, I’ve seen people in all sorts of fancy dress completing other marathons. Well I know I would never have made it. Running a race like the marathon is already hard, why make it harder?

When I ran last year I was aware of things that could hold me back in the race. Little things like blisters, cramp, dehydration and I had to put counter-measures in place to stop these things becoming a hindrance. It’s exactly the same in the Christian life.

v1 ‘Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…’

There are things in our lives that could trip us up and hold us back and even stop us finishing this race. We must identify them and deal with them before this happens.

• What areas are tripping you up now?

• What are the hindrances in your life – the things that weigh you down and hold you back?

• What is the sin that is entangling you now?

Spend a moment identifying these things.

My friends, you cannot afford to be hindered in a race of eternal consequences! These things need to be thrown off and cut loose from your life. How do we do this?

1. By confessing our sins and struggles to God.
2. By asking him for His power to overcome them.
3. By preventing them tripping us up so often - we need to put counter measures in place.

Finally friends, do not be discouraged. We are all ‘works in progress’! As Robert Louis Stevenson said, ‘Saints are sinners who kept going.’

The Youth Department.

DIARY

20 Apr Liverpool PPS group
21 Apr Oxford PPS group
23 Apr Aberdeen PPS group
23 Apr Edinburgh PPS group
25 Apr Leeds PPS Group
26 Apr Bath PPS group
26 Apr Oxfordshire One Day Sports Plus camp

2 May Belfast PPS group
4 May Letchworth PPS group
4 May Birmingham PPS group

For more dates click here

PRAYER POINTS

Pray for yourself - tell God about the areas that trip you up and ask him to help you overcome them.

Pray for Tom Guy, that his time on the Academy would help him in the Christian marathon.

Thank God for all the young people and leaders who came to the one day Sports Plus camps and the conference.

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