How to Use This Book

 

 

 

Coaches,

 

This devotional book has been created for you! The layout is simple to make doing devotional easy every week at your practice.

 

Each devotional page includes the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday. You can read the Gospel or choose a player to read to the team.

 

After the Gospel are “Points of Reflection” about what is happening in the Gospel. If you have others you would like to add for you team please do!

 

Lastly, there are “Questions to ask” which are there to help get your team engaged and thinking about how the Gospel relates to their own lives, families, and team.

 

As a Coach for the CYO Program your mission is to develop Christian ideals in each player. This devotional will serve as a simple tool to help you form the youth through the Word of God and your personal willingness to take time to share the Gospel of Christ with your team.

 

 

 

 

Good Luck this season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Our Father

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

The Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of Grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

 

The Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, a world without end. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer for Athletes

Dear Father, may I compete with your love shining in my heart. May I push myself to be the best. I believe I can with your wisdom in my mind. May I have the strength, endurance and skills I need to be the athlete I know I can be. I worship you, I surrender to you. Lord, all that I do today is for you and your glory. Amen.

 

Prayer for Coaches

Heavenly Father guide me as I try to coach my team to build each player’s character and boost their self-esteem. May I keep an even temper and remember it’s a game. Grant me patient wisdom as I praise them or correct. Lord, whether we win or lose, may all who are watching see the kind of coach at every game that you would have me be. Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday August 3 , 2025

 

Luke 12:13-21

 

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”

 

Points of Reflection:

-      Jesus teaches here a lesson about what is really important in life

-      The main point of Jesus' story is to encourage us to continue to work hard in life even when it would be easier to be lazy

-      Jesus also reminds us that riches here on the earth are not what really matters

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      Why is it so easy to be lazy? 

-      What is one thing you have been lazy at lately? What can you do differently?

-      What are things in life that actually matter, not just being rich?

 

 

 

Sunday August 10, 2025

 

Luke 12:35-40

 

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have the servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”
 

 

Points of Reflection:

-      This is the second week in a row the readings remind us to not be lazy

-      Jesus tries to help us understand that if we are always ready and waiting for God to be in our life we will be ready for Him when He speaks to us

-      This is a reminder that we do not know when Jesus will return but if we are always ready for him to come back we have nothing to fear!

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      How can we be ready for Jesus in our lives?

-      What do you think it looks like to be someone who watches and waits for Jesus?

-      Did you work on being less lazy in some area of your life last week? How did it go?

 

 

 

 

Sunday August 17, 2025

 

Luke 12:49-53

 

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

 

 

Points of Reflection:

-      Jesus does not actually mean he wants to set the world on fire!

-      Jesus means that he wants everyone in the world to be fully alive, He wants to see the world how He created it to be

-      Jesus does warn us though that not all people want to live like they were created and that can cause division, keep following Jesus anyway

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      What do you think it looks like to be fully alive?

-      What are traits of someone you know who lives their life fully?

-      Why is it hard to follow your faith when other people think it might be weird? Why is it worth it anyway?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday August 24, 2025

 

Luke 13:22-30

 

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them,"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from. And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last."

 

Points of Reflection:

-      Jesus tells us that to live a holy life is not easy and many people do not do it

-      Jesus helps us understand that what we do here on earth does matter for eternity

-      We are given a big reminder that we should not wait until the end of our lives to follow and love Jesus

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      What do you think it looks like to be on the "narrow road"?

-      Why do so many other people take the road that is easier?

-      How do you think our choices now matter for the future?

 

 

 

Sunday August 31, 2025

 

Luke 14:1; 7-14

 

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

 

Points of Reflection:

-      In this story Jesus challenges our way of thinking

-      Jesus gives us the call to put others before ourselves

-      He then challenges us to consider that the people we should put first are those who have nothing

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      Why is it hard to put others before yourself?

-      What is one way this week you can serve someone else?

-      Why do you think serving those who cannot repay you is important?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday September 7, 2025

 

Luke 14:25-33

 

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

 

 

Points of Reflection:

-      Jesus does not actually want us to hate our families 

-      He just wants us to make sure that we put God above everything else, even our families

-      Jesus tells us that we have to understand what it will cost to follow after Him but that it will be worth it

 

 

Questions to ask:

-     Why is it usually easy for us to put things before God?

-     What is one way this week you can put God first?

-     What does Jesus mean when He says to carry our cross and follow Him?

 

Sunday September 14, 2025 (Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross)

 

John 3:13-17

 

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

 

 

Points of Reflection:

-      This is one of the famous passages of Scripture

-      It is so popular because it sums up the whole message of the Gospel, that God sent His Son to save us

-      The last line reminds us just how much God loves us, that He is not trying to just get us in trouble and be mad but He wants to save our lives no matter the cost 

 

Questions to ask:

-     Why do you think people like this passage so much?

-     How can you better live your life like you believe this passage to be true?

-     How can we share this specific message of hope with others?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday September 21, 2025

 

Luke 16:1-13

 

Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.' The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.' He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?' He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.' Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.' The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.' And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently."For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

 

Points of Reflection:

-      There is a lot to reflect on in this Gospel passage

-      One thing to focus on is what Jesus says about honesty. He makes it clear that those who are honest with small details are people that can be trusted with bigger moments of honesty

-      Another important part of this passage is the reminder that no one can serve God and man. If we spend our whole lives trying to just please people we will eventually be more worried about that than about doing what God wants

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      Why is it important to be honest even when it is something small? 

-      Do you think you are an honest person, why or why not? (do not answer out loud)

-      What are examples of ways we serve other people or things over God?

 

 

Sunday September 28, 2025

 

Luke 16:19-31

 

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied,
'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go
from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

 

Points of Reflection:

-      The message of this story is for us to not ignore those who need our help

-      Jesus has a special love for the poor and reminds us of that frequently throughout Scripture

-      In this specific story the man said he wished he had a warning that he should have helped the poor man and Jesus is very firm that we all have had a warning it just depends on if we listen to it or not 

 

 

Questions to ask:

-      Why is it sometimes difficult to take care of others around us?

-      How does a selfish person live their life?

-      What is one way this week you can be less selfish? 

 

 

Sunday October 5, 2025

 

Luke 17: 5-10

 

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
The Lord replied,
"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, 'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'"

 

Points of Reflection:

-      The Gospel invites us to take a look at our own faith

-      Jesus says if we really have even a little authentic faith God will be able to do the impossible in our lives

-      Jesus also gives us an example of what it means to be his follower, which is to follow along with whatever He asks because that is always what is best for us

 

 

Questions to ask:

-     What is faith?

-     How can you deepen your faith this week?

-     What is a way that you can know what God is asking you to do this week? (Prayer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday October 12,  2025

 

Luke 17:11-19

 

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you."

 

 

Points of Reflection:

-      In this story Jesus heals 10 people from their horrible illness

-      Only one of them comes back to thank Jesus for what he did

-      Jesus praises the man who came back to thank Him

 

 

Questions to ask:

-     Why is gratitude important?

-     Do you think you are a grateful person?

-     Everyone go around in a circle and thank God for one thing you are grateful for this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday October 19,  2025

 

Luke 18:1-8

 

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

 

Points of Reflection:

-      Jesus invites us here to not give up on going to God

-      His story is to help us better understand that prayer is not a one time thing and we should always be going to meet God every single day

-      He makes sure we know that God really does hear us when we go to Him

 

 

Questions to ask:

-     Why is prayer so important?

-     Why when we pray for something does it sometimes seem like we do not get it right away?

-     When in your day do you find time to pray? If you do not, how can you be better about that?






Sunday October 26,  2025

 

Luke 18:9-14

 

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

 

Points of Reflection:

-      This is a story about humility

-      Jesus explains that we do not have to be someone who is or looks perfect all the time, we have to be people who are always willing to turn back to God

-      Jesus makes it clear that whoever is willing to be humble will be great in Heaven

 

 

Questions to ask:

-     What is humility?

-     Why is it important to not judge other people?

-     What are ways you can be humble as a sports team?