Bible Lessons For Youth - Underdogs

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Bible Lessons
For Youth -
Underdogs
Are the giants too big
or is your God too
small?

1 Samuel 17:45-47 ‘David said to
the Philistine, “You come against
me with sword and spear and
javelin, but I come against you in
the name of the LORD Almighty,
the God of the armies of Israel,
whom you have defied. This day
the LORD will hand you over to me,
and I’ll strike you down and cut off
your head. Today I will give the
carcasses of the Philistine army to
the birds of the air and the beasts
of the earth, and the whole world
will know that there is a God in
Israel. All those gathered here will
know that it is not by sword or
spear that the LORD saves; for the
battle is the LORD’s, and he will
give all of you into our hands.”

When you think of underdogs one
can’t help but think of sports. Their
are so many stories in the sports
world of teams who were told they
never have a chance of winning and
yet they went on to beat the odds
and end up shocking the world. I’m
sure I could list tons of teams who
were told they never had a chance,
or why even show up? but as they
say in the sports world “that’s why
they play the game”

Now to be called an underdog you
have to meet certain criteria, you
have to lack more skill than your
opponent, you have to be weaker,
or you have to make less money
than your opponent. Payroll seems
to be everything in the sports
world these days so if your team
doesn’t have a high payroll or
enough star talent and you some
how walk into the playoffs then
you might be an underdog. If one
of your star players is injured and
can’t make the big game you could
be an underdog. If you don’t have
home field advantage and a first
round bye that could make you an
underdog too.

With so many possibilities out
there any team could be an
underdog on any given day. So why
do we make such a fuss when it
comes to underdogs? Why do we
find them so hard to not route for?
Probably because we love to hear
stories of people or teams who
beat the odds when everything
was stacked against them. We like
knowing that some times the little
guy can come out on top in the
end.

We all have experienced moments
when it seemed like their was no
use in trying, when we felt like we
should just cut our loses and run.
But underdogs never give up, they
never throw in the towel, they
always have hope leading them on.
I mean that’s what being an
underdog is all about isn’t it? It’s
about having hope even when
everyone else has given up all
hope. It’s about believing in
yourself and God when everyone
else chooses to throw in the towel.

Take David for instance. Here’s a
guy who by the worlds standards
never had a chance when he went
up against Goliath. I mean Goliath
was huge, he was over 9 feet tall.
His armor and his helmet alone
weighed about 125 pounds. That’s
probably more than what David
weighed soaked and wet. The shaft
of Goliath’s mighty spear weighed
another 15 pounds. This is crazy!
Who in their right mind would even
want to take a shot at this giant
Philistine

Goliath would come out
every day for 40 days and
shout at the Israelites
mocking them and how did
they respond? verse 11 says
Saul and all the Israelites
were dismayed and terrified.
They wanted nothing to do
with this giant.

Luckily for the Israelites David
enters the scene. David was a
man who feared know one,
except God that is. He knew that
it was God who determined the
victor not man. It’s hard to
believe that of all the people who
would dare to stand up against
the giant it would be a lowly
inexperienced shepherd boy. I
mean other than protecting
some sheep in the field from wild
animals his resume was pretty
small. It’s not like he had a long
list of past experiences he could
fall back on. Yet he got the job to
take on this Philistine.

The king offered David his best
armor but David was so young
and small that he could hardly
move with it on. Instead he
decided he was going to take on
this giant with God as his shield
and protector. He didn’t need any
armor because God was going to
fight for him, God was going to
give him the victory. I love his
words in verse 47 All those
gathered here will know that it is
not by sword or spear that the
LORD saves; for the battle is the
LORD’s, and he will give all of you
into our hands.”

If only we could have as much
faith as David did when we face
our giants. If only we believed
that God could help us overcome
any obstacle like David. We know
what God has done in the past,
we’ve seen what he can do in the
present, why do we doubt what
he can do in the future. He’s the
same God yesterday, today and
always.

The problem is that we are not
the same as we were yesterday,
today, and always. We allow our
faith to falter, we get out of step
and out of touch with God and
we like the Israelites get scared
when the giants come on the
scene. The giants only look big
when we allow our God to
become a small part in our lives.
When you’re not giving God the
time he deserves then be sure
that even the smallest of giants
can look GIGANTIC.

1 Samuel 17:46 This day the
LORD will hand you over to me,
and I’ll strike you down and cut
off your head. Today I will give
the carcasses of the Philistine
army to the birds of the air and
the beasts of the earth, and the
whole world will know that there
is a God in Israel.

Creative Youth Ideas
Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible
Study Series with an Olympic Theme?
What is salvation all about? What does it
mean to be saved? This sports themed
Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the
Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of
sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle),
purity (white background), spiritual growth
(green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and
(Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/goforthegold.html

Creative Youth Ideas
Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series
on ”Running the Christian Race”?
The race as a metaphor for the Christian
life is used in several places in the Bible.
This series is a great follow up for new
Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of
our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This
Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a
sports theme and is great for athletes as
well as a tie in to the youth Olympic
Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/destinedtowin.html

Bible Lessons For Youth - Underdogs

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Bible Lessons For Youth - Underdogs