EMPOWERED Self Control: Takes discipline

1 Corinthian 9:24-27 | Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

• In what ways does an athlete discipline (or train) their body? (For younger kids— can someone do their best at a sport, like running, basketball, or football if they are eating junk and being lazy? Why not? What do they do instead? — That’s discipline or training your body to do its best!)

• God’s followers use self-control to discipline or train their bodies, not to be good runners, but to be good lights that point to Jesus. What does this discipline look like?

• Self-control is takes discipline. How do you discipline yourself in each of the following ways:

  • What you say?

  • Where you go?

  • What you do?