• Welcome everyone and particularly any newcomers this week.
• Remind each other of the vision of CIS and the purpose of the weekly group meeting. (Consider using CIS videos and resources to keep this fresh each week).
• Remind those graduating to fill in this form using a non-university email address so Christians in Sport can stay in touch with them after they leave university.

1. In pairs look back on your week of sport and discuss how last week’s group meeting helped you. Follow up with anything people asked for prayer about.
2. In pairs share prayer points for the week of sport ahead and spend time praying for each other.

Some weeks pray more widely for other clubs and teams in your university which are not represented in the group. Alternatively, you can also use the CIS prayer diary to pray for the whole mission of CIS.

You might also want to use this slot to discuss and plan your evangelistic event for the term and pray specifically about it.

Week 22 | Dealing with Pride

Introduction

As Christian students worshipping Christ and witnessing for him in our university sports club this session will help us deal with the topic of pride.

Read

Read Philippians 2:3-11

Reflect

How do you see pride reflected in your sport and in yourself?

Explain

In sport, coaches, parents and other teammates can encourage us to be proud. Sometimes this is for self-esteem and encouragement but other times it is done deliberately to inflate our ego, assert dominance over another team/person due to our superior skill or to drive our ambition. But how should we view our sporting talents and achievements as a Christian?

We know from Acts 16 that the church in Philippi was made up of a group of very different people. In this chapter Paul urges them to “have the same mindset of Christ Jesus”, and he does this by helping them see themselves in a new way, and by viewing others differently.

Pride is not necessarily thinking too much of yourself, but thinking of yourself too much. Jesus being ‘very nature God’ humbled himself to become a human and even to die in our place, on the cross. His love for all people drove Him to obediently and willingly follow God’s plan of salvation. Therefore, as followers of Jesus through the Holy Spirits help, we too can humble ourselves in order to obediently serve God and willingly love others.

Being a Christian sportsperson should not mean that we are falsely humble or proud, rather we train and play with a God-confidence that comes from reminding ourselves of Christ’s sacrifice for us and recognising where our gifts to play sport come from. We are created beings, and we can use our God given talents to glorify our Maker and not ourselves.

Discuss

1. What do you learn about the mindset of Jesus Christ from these verses?
2. When do you find it hardest to have this mindset in sport and why?
3. How might these truths from Philippians change the way you view yourself in your sport and those you compete alongside and against?

Pray

• Praise God for Christ’s obedience and humility through his life, death and resurrection.
• Ask God to help you imitate Jesus and play your sport in a God glorifying way.
• Pray that with God’s help you can place the interests of others above yourself and compete with humility and love which lead to opportunities to speak about Jesus.

Update everyone on the key messages for the week. These might include:

• Sharing the student sign up link
• Encourging graduates to fill in this form using a non-university email address so Christians in Sport can stay in touch with them after they leave university.
• Promoting your evangelistic event for the term
• Plugging Sports Plus leader applications

Share these resources with your group at the end or immediately after the meeting to encourage them.

Listen

Thinking about pride in sport

Watch

What does the Bible say about pride in sport?

Read

How do I deal with pride as a sportsperson?