Raise your hand if you’ve signed up for a sport before? Or your parents signed you up? I bet we have some baseball players and some soccer players and some football players maybe even some ballerinas or cheerleaders or softball players!

 

Well, tell me. Just because you sign up for a sport and get the uniform, does that make you a professional player of that sport? Like are you the best player ever just for signing up? No!

 

You sign up so you can go to the practices and play in the games so that you can get better and better over time. By going to the practices and games you improve your skills and HOPEFULLY you are a better player at the end of the season than you were at the beginning, right?

 

In the same way, just because someone says they are a Christian or just because you pray and ask Jesus to come in to your heart doesn’t make you a perfect Christian immediately, does it? No!

We have to think of reading our Bible and praying and talking about Jesus with other believers like our sports practices and games. These things are there in order to improve our skills of what it means to LIVE as a Christian! As we read God’s words and learn about Him, we will start to live a different way. The point of all of that is not just to fill our heads with fact but it’s to start doing things Jesus would do in our own life. Or maybe it’s to STOP doing things that Jesus wouldn’t do.

 

I mean this so literally! If you’re a Christian and growing in the Lord then you should find yourself being more kind and loving to others. Seeing them as Jesus sees them. Maybe that’s you seeing someone who needs a friend on the playground and you being willing to go over and be that friend. Or maybe it’s that you start becoming more obedient, more quickly when your parents tell you to do something. Or maybe it’s NOT doing something you know you’re not supposed to. The options are endless for how you will start to live it out day to day as you walk with Jesus.

 

But I just want you to understand the importance of taking the things we learn about the Lord and letting it change your behavior and attitudes and actions – just like we let our practices and lessons and games in our favorite sport improve our skills.

The Bible says in Philippians 4:9a, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.” Will you try and do that with me? Let’s look for something this week, some way we can put our love for Jesus and the way He wants us to act in to action this week!

 

Here are some questions to talk about. Remember, there’s no wrong answer, so don’t overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing:

1.     Can you tell me of a time where you acted like Jesus? Maybe you did something or didn’t do something and you know that it would have pleased the Lord for you to act that way. Tell me about it.

2.     Why do our actions matter when we are a Christian?

3.     How do we make our actions more like Jesus’ actions?

 

Let’s practice our verse one last time before we go. You can repeat after me. “Whatever you have learned - or received - or heard from me - or seen in me – put it into practice.” Philippians 4:9a

 

Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org

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