Week 1: Wrestling – God’s Sport. (Genesis 32:9 – 10:22 – 30)
God used the sport of wrestling as part of the Christian heritage in the Bible. For instance, in the 32nd Chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis (meaning “In the beginning”), verses 24 thru 28, Jacob wrestles with the Angel of God all night. Afterwards, the Angel blesses Jacob, saying: “ Your name will no longer be Jacob…it will be Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed. ” The nation of Israel, was named for Jacob through our sport. Irenaeus, one of the most important theologians of the 2 nd Century, referred to the Apostle Paul as “an able wrestler.” Paul wrote much of the New Testament, and in many analogies he referred to the struggles of life as analogies to sport. He knew first hand the wrestler’s life
Questions:
1. How can the lessons we learn in wrestling help us in our daily lives?
2. Do we wrestle with temptations?
3. Spiritually speaking, who is our greatest opponent in life, and how can we prepare to win as we wrestle every day with this opponent?
CONCLUDE WITH A SHORT PRAYER