Author: Tom

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1 Samuel: Lesson 20 — A Boy To Do A Man’s Job

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

Here Comes A King:
A Study of the Book of 1 Samuel

Lesson 20 (A Boy To Do A Man’s Job)
1 Samuel 17:1-58

The Text:

  1. How would you describe Goliath?  What challenge does he issue to Israel?  What effect does this have on the Israelites?
     
  2. Where are David’s three oldest brothers at?  What is David doing at this time?  What task is given to David by his father?
     
  3. When David reaches the camp of the Israelite army, what reaction does he have to Goliath?  How does David’s oldest brother feel about him talking to the soldiers about Goliath?
     
  4. What message does David have for Saul?  How does Saul respond?  What is David’s defense?  How does David go out to meet Goliath?   
     
  5. What reaction does Goliath have to David coming out to meet him?  How does David explain his courage and actions.  What happens that day?  Who gets the credit?

        

The Application:

  1. Who/What is your Goliath?  How does that look in your life?  When your “Goliath” challenges you to a “winner take all” battle, how does that make you feel? 
     
  2. Do you do things because it is your duty to do so?  How much heart do you put into those tasks?  How willing of a servant are you?  How can you keep from developing an attitude that serving is beneath you?     
     
  3. How do you feel when you hear people mock and ridicule God and the people of God?  Is there anything you can do about it?  What is your attitude when someone attempts to stand up for God in the midst of a group that no one else is willing to?      
     
  4. How bold are you in speaking up when God calls you to?  What excuses might be used to keep you from doing that?  How confident are you in God’s ability to work through you?  
     
  5. Thinking back to your “Goliath” from question 1, how often does it claim to be undefeatable?  Do you believe God can use you to defeat your Goliath?  Whose strength do you rely on for victory over temptation?

        

Next week: 1 Samuel 18:1-30
The Rise To Fame

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What’s In Your Box?

“What’s In Your Box” was the title of lesson 5 in the Bible study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  In this study, we found the Israelites heading out to battle against the Philistines only to get thoroughly defeated.  Their solution is to regroup and take the ark of the covenant with them into battle.  The ark represented God’s presence among them and although they had been given very specific instructions from God on how to treat the ark, their desire to have God with them in battle seemed to outweigh any obedience to His instructions.  Rather than seek God and listen to His plan, it appears they thought that if they could take “God in the box” (an ark is by definition simply a box, or chest) with them into battle then victory would be assured.  We know the result though — the Philistines not only defeat them again but they capture the ark and take it away from the Israelites.

It is easy to look at that from our point in history and think, “What did they expect?  You can’t contain God in a box.”  Yet how often do we have a “box” that we try to keep God in so that we can bring Him out on special occasions and when in desperate need?  Sometimes our box is a physical item.  If we just have our Bible, that special cross necklace, a sacred keepsake, then God is with us — He has to be because we have the item that we carry him around in.  Sometimes our box is a little less tangible.  Perhaps a talent or ability, a giftedness or personal strength, even a friendship or relationship with another person — we think if this is present then we know God is with us.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with any of these — remember the ark of the covenant was God’s idea! 

The problem is that when we allow them to become more than reminders and tools to know God — they become our god.  When we replace a relationship with the living God with anything else, we have settled for a cheap (and ineffective) substitute.  If we carry our Bible to show God is with us yet never open it, nor read and do what it says, we will likely find that our “box” does us little good when we face temptation and the enemy.  If we carry our giftedness from God as a badge of honor yet never seek out His wisdom in how and when to use it, are we really worshiping God or just ourself?

So, what is your box and what is in it?  Do you spend time with God or just with the objects that remind you of God?  When trouble comes, and it will come, do you find strength in the confidence and faith that God is really with you or are you left defeated and wondering why God didn’t show up when you have “His” box with you? 

I pray that the “box” of your covenant with God is a constant reminder of the vibrant and growing relationship that you have with Him.  I pray that when the day of trouble comes that your box is not empty but it is filled with the tools necessary to draw you into communication with God for the purpose of knowing Him, His plans, His will, and His direction in your life.

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1 Samuel: Lesson 19 — A Helpful Tune

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

Here Comes A King:
A Study of the Book of 1 Samuel

Lesson 19 (A Helpful Tune)
1 Samuel 16:14-23

The Text:

  1. What change takes place in Saul?  Why?
     
  2. What conclusion does Saul’s attendants come to?  How do they propose helping the situation?  What is Saul’s response?
     
  3. How is David described by Saul’s servants?  What does Saul do with this information?
     
  4. What is Jesse’s response to Saul’s request?  Why would he do this?   
     
  5. How well does Saul get along with David when he finally arrives?  What role is David given in addition to his music playing?  How is his music helpful to Saul?  Is this relationship helpful to David also?  (What did David know that Saul didn’t know?)

       

The Application:

  1. Does the “Spirit of the LORD” leave people today?  Why/Why not?  Does God send an evil, or harmful, spirit to people today?  Why/Why not? 
     
  2. Have you ever concluded that a harmful spirit was tormenting someone?  What can/did you do about it?  What things might help a person who needs a change of spirit?     
     
  3. How would someone describe you?  Would they focus on your abilities, training, character, looks, etc or on your relationship with God . . . Or both?      
      
  4. How do you respond when someone requests something from you that can help them?  Does it change your response if you see helping them as a privilege rather than a responsibility?  
     
  5. How meaningful to you are people who can lift your spirit?  When you feel a change in your spirit, what things can restore you to a better spirit?  Who knows that?  Who do you know that you can be a part of restoring their spirit?  How has God used the unexpected in your past to prepare you for the present?  What might that tell you about the unexpected you face now?

       

Next week: 1 Samuel 17:1-58
A Boy To Do A Man’s Job

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1 Samuel: Lesson 18 — Looking Beyond The Visible

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

Here Comes A King:
A Study of the Book of 1 Samuel

Lesson 18 (Looking Beyond The Visible)
1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Text:

  1. How does Samuel react to Saul being rejected as king?  Is this the reaction you would have expected?  What does God tell Saul to do?
     
  2. Why is Samuel hesitant to do what God asks?  What instructions did God give Samuel to alleviate his fear? 
     
  3. What reaction do the elders of Bethlehem have when Samuel arrives?  What was their concern?  What might this say about Samuel . . . Or about them?
     
  4. Who does Samuel invite to join him as he sacrifices to the LORD?  Who is Eliab?  What does Samuel think when he sees Eliab?  What does God say to Samuel about Eliab?  Who does Jesse present to Samuel for consideration?   
     
  5. What is Samuel’s question when none of the 7 sons Jesse presented to Samuel was the one God had chosen?  Who was missing?  Why wasn’t he there?  What happened when he was brought before Samuel?

      

The Application:

  1. How do you react when God says it is time for a change?  Why do we tend to hold on to, or mourn, the old?  How important is it to know God is the one behind a change?
     
  2. When you think of something that you know God wants you to do, who/what comes to mind as being behind the fear that keeps you from doing it?  How might God use your worship of Him to overcome your fears?     
     
  3. Are there times that people are concerned about what your presence might mean?  When would that be?  What does that say about you . . . About them?      
     
  4. What should worship of God do to a relationship?  Have you ever seen someone who you thought was perfect for a task God was calling to be done only to find out they weren’t God’s choice?  Why do we have a tendency to pay so much attention to the outward appearance of a person?  
     
  5. How important is it to you that you are God’s person regardless of what others think?  What was/is God looking for?

       

Next week: 1 Samuel 16:14-23
A Helpful Tune

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1 Samuel: Lesson 17 — To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

Here Comes A King:
A Study of the Book of 1 Samuel

Lesson 17 (To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice)
1 Samuel 15:1-35

The Text:

  1. Who does God tell Saul to attack?  What was the reason?  What does God want done with them?
     
  2. How many men did Saul gather to do battle?  How victorious were they in battle?  What did Saul save?  What is God’s response? 
     
  3. When Samuel goes to meet Saul, what message is he given?  When Samuel catches up with Saul, what does Saul tell him?  In response, what does Samuel ask?
     
  4. What was Saul’s reasoning for his actions?  When confronted with what God had actually said, how does Saul respond?  What is his justification for his actions?  Who does Saul claim to be sacrificing to? 
     
  5. What does Samuel say God really wants?  How does this compare with what Saul was willing to give?  In what manner does Saul finally admit his wrongdoing?  What message does Samuel have for Saul?  How did this affect Samuel’s attitude toward Saul?

     

The Application:

  1. Are there things that have waylaid you (or attempted to) in your walk with God?  What does God want you to do with those?  Have you?  Will you?
     
  2. How does it feel to be victorious in a battle with the enemy?  How do you choose who fights the battle with you?  How tempting is it to save “mementos”  of the enemy God has helped you defeat?  How would God feel about that?     
     
  3. When you experience victory, who gets the credit?  Do you ever try to claim obedience when you’re still holding on to things you know you shouldn’t be?  How obvious do you think that is to others?      
     
  4. Do you ever try to justify your disobedience by claiming it is for God’s benefit?  What influence do others have on your obedience?  Why do you think Saul used the phrase, “the LORD your God” in his conversation with Samuel? 
     
  5. How much do you pursue obedience over sacrifice?  What should this look like in your life?  What should your attitude be toward a person who chooses to disobey?

      

Next week: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Looking Beyond The Visible

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1 Samuel: Lesson 16 — Not Such A Sweet Deal

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

Here Comes A King:
A Study of the Book of 1 Samuel

Lesson 16 (Not Such A Sweet Deal)
1 Samuel 14:24 – 52

The Text:

  1. What condition were the men of Israel in?  Why?  What had Saul said?  What was his stated motive?
     
  2. What did the army find in the woods?  What did they do with it?  What did Jonathan do?  What effect did it have on him?  What response did he have when told of his father’s command? 
     
  3. What was the condition of the Israelite army when evening finally came?  What did they do?  Why did they do this?  What was the problem with it? What did Saul do about it?
     
  4. What was Saul’s plan after they had eaten?  What was the response of the army?  What response did the priest have?  What response did God have?  What was Saul’s assumption?   
     
  5. What does Saul announce will be done to the one who has sinned?  Who does the lot fall to as they seek the guilty person?  What is Saul’s response?  Who intervenes?

    

The Application:

  1. How hard is it to live up to the expectations of others?  In what ways have you put expectations on others in order to satisfy yourself?  How is this harmful to the individual, and to the body of Christ?  Are there ways in which expectations can be good?
     
  2. Have you ever done something only to be told that someone else said it was wrong?  How did it make you feel?  How did you react?     
     
  3. What effect does being deprived of something for any amount of time have on you?  What is the problem with being so “hungry” for something that you don’t care how you get it?  In what areas might you need to show restraint in your life?      
     
  4. How do you feel when people like a plan that you have?  What if God doesn’t approve, or is silent about it? 
     
  5. Why are rash statements so dangerous?  Do you think Jonathan did wrong?  How can you stand up for someone who feels condemned for doing the right thing?

     

Next week: 1 Samuel 15:1-35
To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

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1 Samuel: Lesson 15 — Mighty To Save

The following are discussion questions from a weekly study I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel.  We meet each Wednesday evening at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

 

Here Comes A King:
A Study of the Book of 1 Samuel

Lesson 15 (Mighty To Save)
1 Samuel 13:16 – 14:23

The Text:

  1. What occupation was missing from Israel?  Why?  How did this impact the Israelites readiness for battle?
     
  2. What were the Philistines doing?  What did Jonathan decide to do?  Who went with him?  Who else knew about this “trip”? 
     
  3. As Jonathan approaches the base of the cliff where the Philistine outpost is, what does he propose to do?  What is his reasoning?  How does his armor-bearer respond?
     
  4. When Jonathan and his armor-bearer show themselves to the Philistines, what do the Philistines say to them?  What had Jonathan decided in advance to do if this is what the Philistines said?  What was the immediate result at the top of the cliff?  What did God do beyond that?  How widespread was it?   
     
  5. What was Saul’s response when he saw the Philistine army in retreat?  When Saul took his men into battle, what did they find?  Who won the victory that day?

   

The Application:

  1. Do you always have everything that you think you need?  Does not having certain “necessary things” keep you from doing what you know God wants?
     
  2. How does knowing people’s lives are being raided by the enemy make you feel?  Who would you trust to go with you to confront a specific “raiding party”?     
     
  3. What does it mean in your life that “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few”?     
       
  4. What do you do when someone mocks you or ridicules your faith?  Why is it important to decide ahead of time how you will respond to such behavior? 
     
  5. When victories are won, why is it so tempting to look for a person or group to give credit to before we look to God?  When you are rescued from the enemies you face, why is it so important to recognize God as the rescuer regardless of what means He uses to accomplish it?

    

Next week: 1 Samuel 14:24-52
Not Such A Sweet Deal

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Hearing Voices

“Hearing Voices” was the title of lesson 4 in the 1 Samuel study I am leading on Wednesday evenings at Deer Run.

Have you ever answered a phone call where the caller immediately launches into a full-speed conversation assuming you know who they are — and you don’t?  You listen intently for clues to the caller’s identity.  There’s a familiarity to it but you just can’t place it.  Your mind races through a mental checklist of the people you know.  The name . . . the name is on the tip of your tongue but it just won’t quite come out of your mouth.  And then it happens.  The pause.  The awkward silence just before the inevitable statement/question that you know is coming, “You don’t know who this is, do you?”.

“Wow!  I should have known.”  “How did I not know?”  “I’m so embarrassed.”  “How could I have not known?”

Granted, sometimes it is all about the phone connection and poor acoustics which make the person not really sound like themself . . . sometimes.  More often than not, we must admit that we were not as familiar with the person as we thought.  Regardless of the amount of time spent together, we’ve not really listened to them.  We’re not used to the sound of the voice.  The words spoken do not flow in a manner that we recognize.  The “voiceprint” is strange and unrecognizable to us.

While this can be mildly embarrassing and somewhat awkward when it takes place between friends, what about when we don’t recognize God’s voice?  This was the case with Samuel as he came to serve God as he lives with Eli the priest.  We read that “the word of the LORD was rare” in those days.  It is in that setting that God calls to Samuel with a message.  As God calls Samuel’s name, he does not recognize the voice and assumes that it must be Eli calling him.  It took three attempts before even Eli surmised that it must be God calling to Samuel so on the fourth call Samuel finally acknowledges God and listens to what He has to say.

Before we come down too hard on Samuel, what about us?  How often do we miss the message God is trying to speak into our life?  How often do we struggle with the questions of life and how God should be involved in each aspect of it?  We have the advantage of God’s Word and His Spirit to lead us and teach us about the very nature of God.  Yet still we wonder, we question, we even doubt if God has anything to say at all.  

We hear many voices in our life but struggle to recognize which belongs to God.  So many of them sound reasonable, but which one sounds most like God?  Which one really is God?  If we’re trying to figure it out with our own reasoning or intellect, we will likely fail every time.  The way we know isn’t that complicated.  We spend time with God.  We read His Word.  We listen to what He says to us through it.  We allow His Spirit to fill us and continually remind us of the nature of God revealed through His Word and the life of His Son, Jesus.  The more we know God, the easier it becomes to recognize His voice.  In John 10, Jesus calls himself the “good shepherd”.  He says that the sheep will follow the shepherd that they belong to, and that cares for them, because they recognize his voice.  It is time with the shepherd, and the shepherd with the sheep, that makes this recognition automatic and without question.

As you consider the direction of your life, are you hearing voices?  Are you spending deliberate time with God with the purpose of knowing Him?  I pray that you and I are “sheep” that hear His voice, recognizing and obeying it because it is a voice we are very familiar with.