DEVOTION WEEK 2: BASEBALL May 2nd or 4th

BIG IDEA: “God created the heavens and the earth” MEMORY VERSE: “And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very

good” [Genesis 1:31]

How many of you like to visit new places and discover new things? Discovering new things is an exciting part about life. God made us to want to know more, see more, and learn more. During this season, we are going to meet after every practice and take a journey. We are not going on a real journey, but instead a journey through time to learn and think about what God has done for us. I hope you enjoy our journey as much as I will in leading you. We are going to take a journey through history, exploring things that happened long ago. We call it a journey through the “7 C’s of History.” We’re going to learn 7 words that begin with the letter ‘C’ that mark important events in History. Near the end of our season, we will talk about how important these events are for you, personally. Let’s begin with the first ‘C’ – CREATION. Most people look at the Bible as a book with lots of good stories. While that is true, the Bible is much more than that. It’s a history book that tells us about things that happened before we got here. When we understand more of how we got here, then we can understand how to make better decisions today. The very first event that was ever recorded in history is the Creation of everything you see around you. Think of all the animals there are in the world; which one is your favorite? (give them time to mention a few) Do you ever wonder where all those animals came from? There are some people that have their own ideas about where we came from and how everything got here. You will hear their ideas on TV, in books and movies, in school, and even in museums. However, the Bible says that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In the book of Genesis (which means ‘beginnings’), God tells us He created everything in six days. Let’s take a quick look at what happened on each of those days. Day 1—God said on the first Day of Creation, “Let there be light,” and there was! He separated the light from the darkness and called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” God also created the Earth, covered completely with water. Day 2—On the Second Day of Creation, God took some of the water on Earth and made clouds. Look up at the clouds way up in the sky. What are clouds made of? (Water) God put them way up high.

Day 3—The Third Day of Creation is when God caused the water on the Earth to come together to form seas and oceans. When the water moved around, dry land appeared and God created the plants, trees, flowers, and vegetables. Day 4—On Day #4 of the Creation Week, God made the sun, the moon and the stars. The sun was made to rule the day, and the moon and stars to light the night. How many stars do you think God made? Day 5—The Fifth Day of Creation is when the first living animals were created. God began by creating all the fish that live in water and all the birds that fly in the air. Day 6—It’s Day #6 of the Creation Week. Although God has been working all week, He’s still not finished yet. God created the land animals, like cows, cats, and caterpillars. He even made large land animals that we call dinosaurs. However, God’s most special creation was people. Adam and Eve were the first people that God created. They are our great, great, great, great, great, great, great … grandparents! For food, God gave man and all the animals plants to eat – even the dinosaurs ate plants in the beginning. Day 7— God created all things in six days and rested on the Seventh Day. This became the first “week.” Today, most people follow God’s example by working for six days and resting for one day. We rest on Sunday, using that day to worship God. When God had completely finished creating everything, He called all that He had done “very good.” Imagine a perfect place with no disease, no sickness, no thorns, no fear, no crying, and no hurting! This is what life was like when God first created everything. Let’s look at our Bible verse for this week. Read the Scripture verse several times. Encourage them to say it with you. “And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” [Genesis 1:31] Read the “Big Idea,” and encourage them to say it with you (the Big Idea is a summary of the verse): “God created the heavens and the earth”

WRAPPING UP:

1. Repeat the verse – ask them to repeat it with you, and the Big Idea. 2. Pray 3. Hand out the Parent Page to all players. 4. Tell them the Game Schedule is on the back of the Parent Page 5. Make sure they know what FIELD to go to, what TIME to meet on the field (15 minutes

BEFORE game), and to wear their uniform. 6. Thank them for coming!

DEVOTION WEEK 3: BASEBALL May 9th or 11th

BIG IDEA: “Adam corrupted God’s Creation” MEMORY VERSE: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by

sin...” [Romans 5:12a]

We are continuing today with our series of seven different words that begin with the letter ‘C.’ We call it “The 7 C’s of History.” Who can remember the first ‘C’ of history that we discussed last week? (Creation). That’s right! When we last met, we learned that God had created everything in six days, and rested on the seventh. At the conclusion of the Creation Week, God looked over His creation and said that it was “very good.” That meant that God’s original creation was perfect. Things like disease, sickness, sadness, death, fear, anger, and violence didn’t exist. Today, we’re going to learn how all those bad things became a part of our world, ruining God’s perfect creation. For a while, things were perfect in the Garden of Eden, where the first man and woman lived. God had created for the first couple a perfect relationship with Him, a perfect marriage and a perfect place to live. The animals, which Adam ruled over, got along perfectly. Adam and Eve lived in this beautiful place and God gave them only one command. They could eat of any tree in the Garden, except one. God had forbidden Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from one of the trees. He warned them that in the day that they ate of it, they would die. The devil, in the form of a serpent, caused Eve to question God’s words and lied to her. Eve believed the serpent, rather than trust God, and ate the forbidden fruit. When Eve ate the fruit, Adam was nearby and also ate of it willingly. Their sin caused them both to be separated from God and ruined God’s perfect creation. As a result, God cursed the world, making life much more difficult. The world we see today has been corrupted by sin. To be corrupted means – something which once was clean has been made dirty; what once used to work has now been broken. For the very first time in history, death, disease, anger, fear, and violence began to ruin God’s perfect creation. This is the result of Adam’s sin. Another result of Adam’s sin is that all of his descendants (including you and I) are now born with sin in our nature. That means that we naturally desire to disobey God rather than obey and follow Him. For example, how many of you have ever told a lie? OK, who taught you how

to lie? You see, lying is natural and it is a sin against God. Adam’s sin not only ruined creation, but it ruined us too. Lying, and other sins just like it, separate us from a perfect and holy God. The good news is that God did not leave us separated from Him! He loves you and promised that one day He would send us the Savior, to fix what sin has corrupted. This Savior’s Name is Jesus, and we will talk more about Him in a later devotion. Read the Scripture verse several times. Encourage them to say it with you. [Romans 5:12] “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Read the “Big Idea,” and encourage them to say it with you (the Big Idea is a summary of the verse): “Adam corrupted God’s Creation”

WRAPPING UP:

1. Repeat the verse – ask them to repeat it with you, and the Big Idea. 2. Pray 3. Hand out the Parent Page to all players. 4. Tell the parents what they need to know about their NEXT game. 5. Thank them for coming and that you look forward to seeing them next week.

DEVOTION WEEK 4: BASEBALL May 16th or May 18th

BIG IDEA: “All sin must be punished” MEMORY VERSE: “Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

[Romans 5:12]

We are continuing today “The 7 C’s of History.” Who can remember the first ‘C’ of history that we talked about? (Creation). That’s right! God created a perfect world in just six days. What do you think the world looked like then? How did God describe His creation? (“very good”) Does anyone remember the ‘C’ of history that we talked about last week? (Corruption) Adam disobeyed God and corrupted His perfect world. Adam’s corruption brought sin, death, and disease on everything. The corruption even affected Adam and Eve’s children. Every one of their children was born with a sin nature, which means that they all naturally disobeyed God. God was very sad with His creation, which brings us to the third “C” of history. To punish man’s sin that filled the Earth, God caused a CATASTROPHE (that’s the next “C” of history). God used a catastrophe called the Flood, to cover the Earth with water. Because sin was everywhere on the Earth, God used the Flood to destroy everything that lived on the Earth. Only one righteous man, Noah, found favor in God’s eyes. God made a way for Noah and his family to be saved from the Flood. How did you think God saved Noah and his family? God told them to make the Ark. Noah and his family spent many years building the Ark. During that time they began warning everyone that God’s judgment was coming. However, no matter how hard they tried, only Noah’s family believed. When they finished building the Ark, God brought two of every animal (even the dinosaurs!) and seven of some animals, into the Ark. After everyone in Noah’s family was on the Ark, the “fountains of the great deep” broke up and the “windows of heaven” opened. This provided the water that would cover every spot on the whole earth. While the water covered the Earth, Noah and his family were safe in the Ark. After all the water had left and the Earth dried, Gold told Noah and his family to leave the Ark. Everything must have looked very strange to Noah and his family when they left the Ark. Noah built an altar to worship God and thank Him for saving them. God promised never again to flood the entire earth. The sign of His promise is the rainbow we see today. God told Noah that whenever he saw the rainbow to remember His promise. However, after Noah lived, people still continued to sin, disobey God, and displease Him - even until today. We all sin. We all do things that disobey God and displease Him. Have any of you heard of the Ten Commandments? One of God’s Commandments is not to lie. We have all told

a lie; we talked about that last week. Another one of God’s Commandments is to always honor and obey your parents. Have you ever disobeyed your parents? We all have done that, too - making all of us sinners in the eyes of God. The Bible tells us that one day in the future, God will judge the Earth like He did in Noah’s day, except it won’t be with water. But just like God saved Noah on the Ark, God has provided a way for everyone to be saved from this future judgment. We’ll talk more about that after another practice. Read the Scripture verse several times. Encourage them to say it with you. [Romans 5:12] “Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned sin.” Read the “Big Idea,” and encourage them to say it with you (the Big Idea is a summary of the verse): “All sin must be punished”

WRAPPING UP:

1. Repeat the verse – ask them to repeat it with you, and the Big Idea. 2. Pray 3. Hand out the Parent Page to all players. 4. Tell the parents what they need to know about their next game: 5. Thank them for coming and that you look forward to seeing them next week – same

time and place.

DEVOTION WEEK 5: Baseball May 23rd or 25th

BIG IDEA: “Man will always fail without God” MEMORY VERSE: “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there

confuse the language of all the earth.” [Genesis 11:9]

Most people look at the Bible as a book that contains many interesting stories. While this is true, the Bible is so much more. It’s a history book that reveals the major events of history that influence all of our lives. We are learning together the 7 C’s of History. Each of these seven C-words represent an event that makes a difference in your life. At the end, I will show how all these events fit together and how you benefit from them. We began the 7 C’s with Creation. That’s where we learned where everything came from. Then next C was Corruption, were Adam and Eve corrupted God’s perfect place by disobeying Him. This explains where all our pain, suffering, death and disease came from. It’s all a result of sin. The Corruption also resulted in every one being naturally against God. This saddened God so much that it brought about the Catastrophe of the Flood, where God had to punish the wickedness of man. Noah and his family were saved from this judgment by the Ark. This is where we first see God’s grace. God will save from judgment anyone who trusts in Him. However, the descendants of Noah still continued to sin against God. This time instead of spreading all over the Earth, they remained in one place and in one city. One day they had an idea to build to great tower. This tower was to prove that man was bigger, mightier, and smarter than God. It was supposed to show God what man could do on their own; that they didn’t need God. When God saw their disobedience, He was displeased—as He is with all disobedience. In order to save man from himself God brought Confusion (the next “C” of history) among the people by giving them all different languages. Up until this time in history, everyone spoke one language. However, the judgment of Confusion of the Languages caused people for the first time to not be able to understand one another. The people were so confused, they could not stay together and were scattered all over the earth. Because of this, the place was called Babel (pronounced like ”babble”), and the tower is referred to as the Tower of Babel. As people scattered all over the Earth, small groups of people developed their own language and culture. As they continued to remain together, they developed similar physical characteristics, like size, skin color, eye color, hair color, and more. From this one event in

history, came every culture, tribe, and nation we know today. There is no such thing as different races of people. We are all of the same race, the human race. We are all related to one another. Different people groups may look different but in the eyes of God we are all the same. We should learn to see people as God sees them. As members of the human race, we all carry with us the same ability to sin, and we all need God to save us from judgment of our sin. Read the Scripture verse several times. Encourage them to say it with you. [Genesis 11:9] “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confuse the language of all the earth.” Read the “Big Idea,” and encourage them to say it with you (the Big Idea is a summary of the verse): “Man will always fail without God”

WRAPPING UP:

1. Repeat the verse – ask them to repeat it with you, and the Big Idea. 2. Pray 3. Hand out the Parent Page to all players. 4. Tell the parents what they need to know about their next game 5. Thank them for coming and that you look forward to seeing them next week.

DEVOTION WEEK 6: Baseball May 30th or June 1st

BIG IDEA: “Christ took our place on the Cross” MEMORY VERSE: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting

life.” [John 3:16]

We are almost done with our 7 C’s of History. Let’s do a little review of where we have been. First of all, God began with a perfect CREATION (that was our 1st C). God’s creation suffered CORRUPTION (our 2nd C) when Adam disobeyed God. This disobedience brought sin and death into the world. As man continued to disobey God, He sent a CATASTROPHE (our 3rd C) using a worldwide Flood to judge mankind. Noah and his family were the only ones willing to follow God, so He saved them with the Ark. However, Noah’s children and grandchildren chose to also disobey God. He scattered them from the Tower of Babel with CONFUSION of their languages (our 4th C). Through all of this we have learned that every person naturally disobeys God. Disobedience brings separation from God and His judgment. Since we have all sinned we are all deserving of the God’s judgment and need a Savior. Today’s lesson focuses on God’s great love for us. God knows what we deserve but promised to send a Savior that would one day take away the penalty for all our sin. In the beginning, instead of God judging Adam and Eve with the death penalty, He sacrificed an animal. God Himself made the first sacrifice for sin by killing an animal after Adam disobeyed. From then on, animal sacrifices were God’s way of covering man’s sin. That continued until the day that God sent the Savior - Someone that would take the place of the sacrificial lamb and ultimately pay the penalty for all of our sin. God sent the promised Savior at just the right time. Our Savior was His very own Son, Jesus CHRIST (our 5th C of History). Jesus was born to a virgin over 2,000 years ago in a town near Jerusalem called Bethlehem. Although Jesus was born as a baby, He was no ordinary baby – He was completely man and completely God. Think about that, God Himself came to Earth to save us! While Jesus grew up, He never once sinned—He did nothing wrong. He healed many people, fed huge crowds and taught thousands of listeners about their Creator God and how to be a part of His family and be saved from His judgment.

Because God is perfectly holy, He cannot be in the presence of sin. God must punish sin—either the sinner must be punished or a substitute. Because of God’s great love for us, He sent His only Son, Jesus to save us from our sin, taking our place and punishment. Because Jesus was perfect, He earned the right to take our place and be our substitute to die for sins that He did not commit. Jesus died on a cross for the penalty of all our sin. That’s our next “C” in history – the CROSS. Jesus died in order to restore the relationship with God that was broken by Adam’s sin. Adam brought death into the world through his disobedience, but Jesus brought eternal life with God through His perfect obedience. Adam separated us from God, but Jesus has restored us to God. Only through Jesus Christ can we have a relationship with God, become His children, and be saved from future judgment. Jesus was not defeated by death. He arose from the dead three days after He was crucified, showing that He is God and has power over all things, including death! The Bible tells us that anyone who believes this and understands what Jesus has done for us can be saved from God’s judgment. If we trust what God said, that Jesus is our substitute that died on the Cross for our sin, then later when we die, we are promised to live with Him forever in Heaven! Read the Scripture verse several times. Encourage them to say it with you. [John 3:16] “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Read the “Big Idea,” and encourage them to say it with you (the Big Idea is a summary of the verse): “Christ took our place on the Cross” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WRAPPING UP:

1. Repeat the verse – ask them to repeat it with you, and the Big Idea. 2. Pray 3. Hand out the Parent Page to all players. 4. Tell the parents what they need to know about their next game 5. Thank them for coming and that you look forward to seeing them next week. 6. Next week’s practice will be a game, so come next week in your uniform.

DEVOTION WEEK 7: Baseball June 6th or 8th

BIG IDEA: “God wants everyone to be in Heaven with Him” MEMORY VERSE: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt

believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” [Romans 10:9]

NOTE TO COACHES: This is the conclusion of the 7 C’s of History and is our Gospel presentation – the highlight of our season. Take your time to go through this carefully. At the end of the devotion you will give the players and cheerleaders a Gospel Tool to help them remember this lesson. This year it is a bracelet with all the 7 C’s of History written on it and a booklet with added details. Follow this lesson carefully during your devotion time, especially in how to conclude it. Tonight is the last time we will discuss the 7 C’s of history together and find out the last C-word. Let’s begin with a quick review. To help me remember the C’s of History, I have this bracelet with each C-word on it. As we review each word, I will point to it on the bracelet. In the beginning, God created a perfect world. His CREATION was a beautiful place—full of life, without death, disease, pain or suffering. Adam’s disobedience changed all that. When he ate the fruit God had told him not to eat, sin and death entered the world. This CORRUPTION changed the world so much that what we see today is only a reflection of the world that was. Adam’s sin, and others’ sins after him, led to the CATASTROPHE of Noah’s Flood, the CONFUSION at the Tower of Babel, and ultimately led to the death of Jesus CHRIST on the CROSS. And that leaves us with just one more C-word. During most of our devotions, we have talked a lot about death, God’s punishment and judgment on man because of sin. In fact the sins that we commit every day bring more death and separation from God. God, however, in His great mercy, has promised not to leave His creation in its sinful state. He has promised to do away with the corruption Adam brought into the world. One day in the future, God will make a new heaven and a new earth —something we can’t even imagine. In this new place there will be no death, no crying, no pain, no hurt, and no sadness. This will be God’s CONSUMMATION (final C of History). Consummation means, “a perfect ending.” God’s consummation will be a perfect ending to what sin corrupted long ago. How can you be a part of God’s perfect ending? You must be a part of God’s family. If you are a part of God’s family then you have His promise to be saved from the judgment of your sin and instead live with Him forever in His perfect home called Heaven.

How can someone become a part of God’s family? Let’s review our Scripture verse this week to find the answer. Read the Scripture verse several times. Encourage them to say it with you. [Romans 10:9] “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The last 4 words are a promise to be saved from Hell – it’s a promise telling us how we can be sure we are a part of God’s family and going to His perfect home in Heaven. According to this verse, Heaven is for those that FIRST, confess (“admit”) that Jesus is their Lord. This means that Jesus is your boss and you let Him lead your life. You must understand that you are a sinner that sins every day. What are some examples of sins that you might commit every day? (lying, disobeying parents, anger, etc). In your sin, you cannot find your own way to Heaven but instead will be separated from God forever. In order to go to Heaven, you FIRST must admit that Jesus, God’s perfect Son, is your Lord. SECOND, Heaven is for those that believe that God’s perfect Son, Jesus, died on the cross. He took your punishment for your sin. After Jesus sacrificed Himself for you, since He is God, He rose again from the dead, promising victory over death and Hell for all who believe in Him. God promises that if you,

Admit to Him (tell Him) that because of your sin you need Jesus as your Lord, and Believe that Jesus died and rose again from the grave, that you have His promise to be in His Consummation (God’s perfect ending) in Heaven one day.

Read the “Big Idea,” and encourage them to say it with you (the Big Idea is a summary of the verse): “God wants everyone to be in Heaven”

WRAPPING UP:

1. Repeat the verse – ask them to repeat it with you, and the Big Idea. 2. Tell them if anyone has questions about knowing for sure that they are going to Heaven,

to speak with you right after practice or contact you this week.

If anyone desires more information, you can either (1) make an appointment to meet with them and their child at home or some other location, or (2) say that Kent will contact them about making an appointment with them and their child.

3. Pray 4. Tell the parents what they need to know about their last game and Award Celebration. 5. Hand out the Parent Page, bracelets, and booklets to all players. Any player absent,

needs to receive these items on Saturday.