Using popular games as a metaphor for our temporal lives, this six-session small group Bible study, When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box, by John Ortberg, neatly sorts out what’s fleeting and what’s permanent in God’s kingdom.
Today is the day you choose…which game you want to win…which prize you want to collect…which priorities you want to set. It’s a thrill to win at checkers or Clue or Trivial Pursuit. You sweep aside the other players and you “own” the board. It’s also a thrill to win a promotion at work … the new house you wanted … that sports car you’ve always eyed.
But just like the game cards, the tokens, and the timer, those prizes are temporary. When the game is over, they all go back in the box. Games can cast a powerful spell, says bestselling author John Ortberg. But the wisest player remembers that the game is always going to end. So when everything goes back in the box, you’ll have made what is temporary a servant to what is eternal, and you’ll leave this life knowing you’ve achieved the only victory that matters.
When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box will teach you to:
• Live passionately and boldly
• Learn how to be active players in the game that pleases God
• Find your true mission and offer your best
• Fill each square on the board with what matters most
• Seek the richness of being instead of the richness of having
This Participant Guide is designed for use with the companion DVD (sold separately). When used together, they work as a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth.
Sessions include:
1. When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box
2. Keeping Score Where It Really Counts
3. Resign as Master of the Board
4. Calling or Comfort? Choose Your Moves Wisely
5. Playing the Game with Greatness and Grace
6. The King Has One More Move
John Ortberg is the senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (MPPC) in the San Francisco Bay Area. His bestselling books include Soul Keeping, Who Is This Man?, and If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. John teaches around the world at conferences and churches, writes articles for Christianity Today and Leadership Journal, and is on the board of the Dallas Willard Center and Fuller Seminary. He has preached sermons on Abraham Lincoln, The LEGO Movie, and The Gospel According to Les Miserables. John and his wife Nancy enjoy spending time with their three adult children, dog Baxter, and surfing the Pacific. You can follow John on twitter @johnortberg or check out the latest news/blogs on his website at www.johnortberg.com.
Stephen and Amanda Sorenson are founders of Sorenson Communications and have co-written many small group curriculum guidebooks, including the entire Faith Lessons series.
