Read Time: 3 min 57 sec | Reading Level: 7th Grade

OLYMPICS

That’s a Wrap

The Olympic flame has been extinguished in the City of Light. 

After last-minute wins for U.S. women’s soccer and women’s and men’s basketball, the 19-day summer Olympics wrapped up in Paris on Sunday. The U.S. and China finished the Games in an unprecedented tie, with 40 gold medals each. With 44 silver and 42 bronze, Team USA had the most medals overall. 

It’s one less than expected… The Court of Arbitration for Sport told gymnast Jordan Chiles to return the bronze medal she won for her floor routine. They said the inquiry that raised her score and put her on the podium was submitted four seconds too late. The U.S. lost its appeal, putting Chiles back down to fifth.

Closing Ceremonies were Sunday, and it was… a party. There were the (usual) fireworks and artistry, and then hundreds of Olympians jumped on stage with the rock band Phoenix. The athletes ignored requests to return to their seats in the massive Stade de France.

Sports lovers, there's no need to despair now that the Olympics are over: football's coming. The NFL's regular season starts September 5th, and college games start August 24th (from Ireland!).

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Getting the gold gives athletes a taste of glory, but it’s a temporary delight that sometimes has a bitter aftertaste. God’s glory, however, will never be challenged, and it never ends. Jesus is the center of a glory powerful enough to light the new heavens and new earth eternally.

“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” 
Revelation 21:23 (CSB) (read full passage)

What do I want to make sure my kids know in light of this story?
Keep the big things big and the small things small.

Gymnast Jordan Chiles had an Olympic medal in her grasp, then lost it on a technicality. If our hope and joy depend on successes like where we stand on the podium, we’ll be disappointed… a lot. 

The apostle Paul writes that our identity as believers in Christ should affect what we give our focus to: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3 CSB). The big things are the things that matter in God’s eyes.

What gospel lesson can be taught through this story?
The kinds of things God gives medals for.

Winning an Olympic medal sure sounds like the success of a lifetime, but the rewards are temporary. Obedience to God in things like loving others can feel mundane and not very glamorous, but it’s an accomplishment with eternal rewards.

Remember that everyday, mundane things like praying for or serving someone earn an infinitely valuable, forever reward. Our Father sees the things we do quietly, “in secret” (Matthew 6:4), and he’s the one giving out the medals that really matter.

• Throw a party—your own Closing Ceremony—celebrating a mundane act of obedience that pleases God.

• Memorize Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (CSB).

• Pray by name for those in your life who don’t have eternal hope and rewards to look forward to.

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What We’re Downloading
Forward Edge’s prayer guide*

When was the last time you didn’t know where your meal would come from? Parents like Walter are praying for God to miraculously meet their hungry family’s needs every single day.

His story is told in a new prayer guide from Forward Edge, an organization that provides Christ-centered, holistic care for families trapped in poverty. The guide encourages kids to turn to God as they face challenging circumstances and provides practical suggestions for how to put your faith into action. 

Download Forward Edge’s prayer guide to disciple your kids from fear to faith.

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