Author: Tom

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1 Samuel: Lesson 5 — What’s In Your Box?

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 5 (What’s In Your Box)
1 Samuel 4:1-21

The Text:

  1. As chapter 4 opens, what do the Israelites set out to do?  Why would they do this?  How does it go for them?
      
  2. How did the elders of Israel take the news of what had happened?  What was their solution to getting the outcome they wanted?  Who are a part of that solution?
      
  3. What reaction do the Israelites have?  What is the reaction of the Philistines?  What was the result this time around?  Why do you think it didn’t’ go as expected?
      
  4. When the messenger returns from the battle line, where is Eli?  Why?  How did Eli respond to the news he received? 
      
  5. What do we learn about Eli’s daughter-in-law?  How did the news of the day affect her?  What does she do?  What is the name given her son?  Why?

The Application:

  1. How do you decide what “battles” to take on?  How do you approach your enemies?  How does that typically work out for you?
     
  2. Who do you go to when you are defeated in your “battles”?  What is their response?  What “Arks” might be suggested as the secret weapon in winning?
         
  3. How do people respond to the symbols of God’s presence that you may carry?  Does having a symbol of God’s presence mean that you have God’s presence?
     
  4. How valuable are the things of God to you?  Are there things of God that would cause you to “fall apart” if they were taken from you?  How can you avoid that?
     
  5. As you think about the boy Ichabod, how accurate was his name, “no glory” at that time in Israel?  Are there times you look around and feel the glory has left?  When there is no glory, what is really the reason?

Next week: 1 Samuel 5:1-12
The Right Thing In The Wrong Place 

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1 Samuel: Lesson 4 — Hearing Voices

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 4 (Hearing Voices)
1 Samuel 3:1-21

The Text:

  1. How does the Bible describe the frequency of God’s communication with His people?  Why do you think this was?
     
  2. Where was Samuel?  What was he doing?  Why was he there?
     
  3. Who did Samuel think was calling him?  Why do you think it took so long for Eli to realize who was really calling Samuel?  What instruction did Eli finally give Samuel about the voice?
     
  4. What message did God have for Samuel?  What was his reaction?  How did Eli respond to the message of God? 
     
  5. How is Samuel’s growing up years described?  Has the frequency of the Lord’s communication changed from the beginning of chapter 3 to the end of the chapter?  Why might that be?

The Application:

  1. Are there times in your life when it appears, or feels, like the Lord is silent?  What might be some reasons for that?
     
  2. When it comes to serving God, what has He called you to do to honor Him?   How easy/hard is it to stay in God’s presence when He seems silent?
     
  3. How do you distinguish between God’s voice and the voice of someone else?  Do you try harder to get people to listen to you or to God?
     
  4. Are there times that God still gives bad or negative messages?  How do you react to news that is not positive?
     
  5. What changes can you make that would increase your connection with God?  What importance is there to you about the way the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel? 

 

Next week: 1 Samuel 4:1-22
What Is In Your Box? 

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Give Me A BREAK!

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”  (Mark 6:30-32)

Ahhh . . . Vacation!  I have the privilege of being on vacation this week.  Technically, to use popular terminology, it is a “staycation” as I stayed home and rested, venturing out from time to time for food or shopping! 🙂  I think we all have times when our mind, body, and spirit cry out, “Give me a break!” 

It is refreshing to know that God understands, and agrees, with the need for times of rest in our life!  The concept of a sabbath rest was God’s idea, not man’s.  In the text above, Jesus recognizes the demands of life and ministry being placed on Himself and His disciples.  He insists they separate themselves from the crowds and get some much-needed rest.   While their rest was short-lived (the crowds followed them to the “solitary place” and needed fed 🙂 ), the teaching and practice of Jesus calls for times of rest.  The following are some elements of what God has been teaching me as I take this BREAK.  To me, it is a little rough because it is a work in process that God is teaching me — and my computer ate the original writing I did on this post. 😦

  • Breathe:  This is something you are already doing.  Breathing is something God designed us to do naturally — without really thinking about it.  The point here is to actually focus on the very breath you take, recognizing that it is God who sustains you in every detail of  your life!  As you breathe, realize that the God who knows the correct mixture of elements to make breathable air also knows the BREAK you need and the rest that is necessary.  As you rest, breathe in the freshness of the Spirit of the Living God through His Word!
     
  • Relax: When you reach the point that you cry out, “Give me a BREAK!”, relaxing does not usually come easily or naturally.  It is at this point you must “cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”   Discover or identify the things that help you relax and begin to practice them.  Slow down and pay attention to the hand of God working in, and through, and around you.  As you rest, relax in the arms and care of your creator God that loves you very much.
     
  • Enjoy:  The old adage tells us to “stop and smell the roses”.  That is good advice as you take a needed BREAK.  Take time to enjoy the surroundings God has placed you in.  Use your break time to allow God to refresh you and to restore joy into your life.  We are able to enjoy the beauty and scent of roses in spite of the thorns that exist.  We must also learn to enjoy the life we have in Christ in spite of the “thorns” that tend to poke and distract us.  As you rest, enjoy the presence of God and notice the “roses” He has supplied you with.
         
  • Acknowledge:  Accept that there is a God and it is not you!  There are times that we carry burdens and responsibilities that are not ours to carry alone.  In order to take a break and rest, you must acknowledge that you need one!  Jesus says, “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  For you and I to benefit from this promise we must admit that we are weary and/or burdened.  As we go to Jesus and learn from Him, He promises we will find rest for our soul.  As you rest, acknowledge your need for Jesus to give you what you cannot gain on your own.
     
  • Know:  Having a useful break requires that we know God can, and will, give us the rest that we need.  Our BREAK calls us to “walk by faith, not by sight”.  It is by faith that we know God “exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”  God calls us to both know Him and be known by Him.  We are able to rest even in difficult times because “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  We can take a needed BREAK because we know God is in control and the weight of the world doesn’t really rest on our shoulders.  As you rest, know that God knows the plans He has for you, plans to give you hope and a future.

So, Give Me A BREAK!  God calls us to set aside time to rest . . . to be still and know that He is God.

I pray that throughout your life you are able to experience a real  BREAK, allowing God to refresh your mind, body, and spirit as you rest securely in your relationship with Him.

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Be STILL . . . And Know That I Am God

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to share a message at Deer Run, Be STILL, based out of Psalm 46.  The chapter begins with a reminder that whatever happens in this world, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”  This is a very contemporary Psalm as we can look around us, and even within us, and see “the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”  We open the paper or turn on the news and we see “nations are in an uproar; kingdoms fall”.  But it is not just the earth, the nations, the kingdoms — the turmoil often hits on a personal level and much closer to home.  It is in these times of national and world turmoil — and yes, in personal turmoil — that God calls us to be STILL and know Him!

So, what does that mean?  How can you and I “Be STILL” and know God?  Let me spell it out for us.  🙂  Being STILL begins with us being Silent.  I know, uh-oh, can’t I start with something easier?  Many times we have an extreme dislike, even fear, of silence.  How often have I prayed for God to speak clearly to me but I’m not silent long enough to listen to that still, small voice?  The silence that I am talking about is more than just a lack of sound, it is a silence that has deliberately set aside all the distractions both internally and externally.  It is often in these times of planned silence that we begin to prepare ourselves to be Still and know God.

Secondly, being STILL involves our desire to be Teachable.  As we remove all distractions and become silent, we must open our heart and mind to God’s instruction.  Being Teachable is an attitude and a decision.  It requires a recognition that someone else knows more than I do and there are things they can teach me.  It also involves a willingness on my part to make changes based on what I am taught.  To be Teachable requires that we have an open and submissive spirit to both the content that is being taught and to the one doing the teaching.

As we move down the word STILL, we come to the letter “I”.  To be STILL and know God will require us to be Inspected.  Ouch!  In David’s desire to know God, he calls out for God to search him and know his heart — to see if there is any offensive way in him.  To be STILL requires us to come before God and allow Him to Inspect any and every part of us to reveal if there is anything that would interfere with our knowing God.  This Inspection isn’t really for God’s benefit, He is our creator and knows us more intimately than we know ourself.  It is for the good of our relationship that we pay attention as God points out to us the results of our Inspection. 

As we move along in our desire to Be STILL, we must also be Learners.  I think when I first preached this text I used the word Listeners.  Either way the point is the same — we must be intentional in our Silence, in our Teachable times, and in our Inspection in order to understand what God would have us to know about ourself and about Him.  This isn’t about collecting information, it is about having a personal relationship with the living God.  As Learners, we begin to connect the dots and make the application of what God reveals to us as we are STILL before Him.

And finally, we tie it all together with a willingess to be Led.  This amplifies our submission to God that has been growing in the previous aspects of being STILL.  It is at this point we must surrender everything to God so that wherever He leads us, we will follow.  Being led assumes that the direction, speed, and purpose of where we are going are not our own but that of the One leading us. 

While it is easy to spell out — Silent, Teachable, Inspected, Learner, Led — I recognize it is much more difficult to live out.  It is through God’s strength in the practice of these elements of being STILL that we can look at the chaos in and around us and state with king Jehoshaphat, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”!

I pray that you and I would grow in our practice of God’s command; “Be still, and know that I am God.”

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1 Samuel: Lesson 3 — Bad Boys

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 3 (Bad Boys)
1 Samuel 2:12-36

The Text:

  1. How does the Bible describe Eli’s sons?  Why was this?
     
  2. What were the priests doing when people would come to sacrifice?  What was God’s view of their actions?  Why?
     
  3. What blessing would Eli tell Elkanah and Hannah each year when they would travel to Shiloh for the yearly sacrifice?  How did God fulfill that blessing?
     
  4. What reports came back to Eli about his sons?  What did he do about it?  How did they respond? 
     
  5. What message did God send to Eli?  What did God want Eli to remember?  Did God lay all of the blame on the sons?  How was God going to make known His displeasure with Eli’s sons?  In the midst of this rebuke, what promise does God give for the future?

 

The Application:

  1. On a practical level, what does it look like in your life to “have regard for the LORD?
     
  2. How might the sinful actions of the priests look today?  What would it look like to “treat the LORD’s offering with contempt”?
         
  3. What do you think it means that “the LORD was gracious to Hannah?  How hard is it to give up something of great value not knowing if it will ever be replaced?  Is faithfulness always rewarded in this manner?
     
  4. How do you respond when you hear bad reports of people close to you?  Is there anything that can be done other than confront them?  How does it feel when they choose not to respond or change?
     
  5. How easy is it to forget God’s calling of you to Himself?  Are there times that your silence or cooperation may aid another person’s misconduct?  Who is the faithful priest God has raised up for Himself?

 

Next week: 1 Samuel 3:1-21
Hearing Voices 

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A God That Is MORE: Part 4 — Eternal

This article is the final post of a four-part series based on a sermon I preached at the Deer Run Church of Christ.  As Paul arrives in Athens, he finds himself in the midst of people that he describes as “very religious”.  They are constantly worshipping a variety of objects and gods.  In the practice of their worship, they set up an idol to an “UNKNOWN GOD” — perhaps so that they would not inadvertently ignore a god who could become angry with them.  It is within this context that Paul presents the case for “A God That Is MORE”!

“I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.  Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”  Acts 17:22b-23

What do you worship?  I know, the “church answer” for Christians is, “Of course, I worship God!”  But really . . . look beyond the proper answer and consider the things and/or people in your life that you give honor to . . . perhaps sometimes more honor than you give to God.  I live in a culture that surrounds me with many objects of worship — each calling out in its own way for me to give it my time, energy, treasure, emotion, and worship.  My guess is that you live in a culture much like that as well. 

So, what makes God MORE than all the other objects of worship calling out for you and I to come bow down to them?  Paul highlights throughout his presentation that the God who is unknown to them is Eternal.  As you read through Paul’s proclamation of who God is in verses 24 through 31 of Acts 17, you see God’s presence before time as the originator/creator of everything, God’s presence throughout time as the sustainer of all, and God’s presence after time as the one who will judge the world.

It is God’s eternal nature at work in the other characteristics we looked at that gives us great hope!  Because God is eternal, He is not only the maker of everything in the past, not only maker of everything in the present, but also maker of everything yet to come.  God’s handiwork in creation, and in your life and mine, gives us a glimpse into the work He continues to do in us and in preparing a home for us in heaven.

We observe God by gazing intently into His Word, by seeing His Spirit living in the lives of His followers, by looking in faith to the future God has in store for those He has given the right to be called children of God, for that is what we are.  God’s revealing of Himself through the prophets, through scripture, through Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, and through His children gives us confidence that He will be revealed to all at His promised coming.

Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we can have confidence in the power of the resurrection!  It is that power Abraham believed in when he offered Issac as a sacrifice to God reasoning that God could bring him back from the dead.  It is the power that gave Jesus victory over the grave.  It is the same power that gives us life today when otherwise we would be dead in sin.  God’s eternal nature gives us assurance of His promise of everlasting life to all those who believe and are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. 

I pray that you and I live in great hope and confidence because we have a God that is MORE!  May the people who observe us day in and day out recognize a God that is MORE living in and through us as we follow our eternal God to our everlasting home!

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A God That Is MORE: Part 3 — Resurrected

“I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.  Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”  Acts 17:22b-23

This article is part three of a four-part series based on a sermon I preached at the Deer Run Church of Christ.  As Paul arrives in Athens, he finds himself in the midst of people that he describes as “very religious”.  They are constantly worshipping a variety of objects and gods.  In the practice of their worship, they set up an idol to an “UNKNOWN GOD” — perhaps so that they would not inadvertently ignore a god who could become angry with them.  It is within this context that Paul presents the case for “A God That Is MORE”!

What do you worship?  I know, the “church answer” for Christians is, “Of course, I worship God!”  But really . . . look beyond the proper answer and consider the things and/or people in your life that you give honor to . . . perhaps sometimes more honor than you give to God.  I live in a culture that surrounds me with many objects of worship — each calling out in its own way for me to give it my time, energy, treasure, emotion, and worship.  My guess is that you live in a culture much like that as well. 

So, what makes God MORE than all the other objects of worship calling out for you and I to come bow down to them?  Paul continues his explanation with the fact that God is Resurrected: “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.  When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.'”  Acts 17:31-32

Paul continues his explanation of the God who is unknown to them with the fact that this God has resurrected Jesus from the dead.  He offers this as proof that God has the authority to judge and to administer justice.  Paul understood just how important the resurrection of Jesus is.  He wrote to the Philippians that he wanted “to know Christ and the power of His resurrection”. 

While it is often said there are two things you can’t avoid — death and taxes, we normally put a lot of energy into doing our best to sidestep each of them.  While taxes are a whole other issue ;), the power of death has been defeated through the resurrection of Jesus!  Paul continued his words to the Philippians with a desire to share in the sufferings of Jesus that in becoming like Him in His death Paul might somehow obtain a like resurrection. 

What about you and I?  Do we live a resurrected life now?  The Bible teaches that when we are immersed into Christ we die to sin and are resurrected to live a new life in Jesus.  We have a God that is more because He is resurrected and has the power to resurrect us from the dead life we are in.  Do your neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends see the power of the resurrection at work in your life? 

I pray that you will examine all of the things that call for your worship and realize that you have a God that is MORE because He is resurrected from the dead and holds the power of the resurrection!

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1 Samuel: Lesson 2 — Returning The Gift

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 2 (Returning The Gift)
1 Samuel 1:21-2:11

The Text:

  1. After Samuel is born, what does Elkanah do?  What did Hannah do?  Why do you think she made the decision she did?
     
  2. What does Hannah do when she finally returns to Shiloh?
     
  3. What attitude seems to stand out in Hannah’s prayer?  What is her view of God?
     
  4. In Hannah’s prayer, how does she acknowledge God changing the circumstances of people?  What seems to determine a negative change versus a positive one? 
     
  5. Who makes the trip home?  Where is Samuel and what is he now doing?  How do you think Hannah felt about that?  

The Application:

  1. How hard is it to keep your promises to God?  What things make it easier or harder?  How do you prepare for the fulfillment of your promises to God?
     
  2. When the “Lord confirms His word”, how tempting is it to put off what you know needs done?  How is your worship and the keeping of your promises to God connected?   
     
  3. How do you think Hannah can “rejoice in the Lord” at a time when she is “giving up” the answer to her prayers?  How hard is it to rejoice when you have to give something up to keep a promise?
     
  4. What does Hannah’s prayer say to you about pride and arrogance?  Do you typically find yourself feeling crushed by God or lifted up by God?  Does this say more about God or more about you?
     
  5. In keeping your promises to God, particularly in giving something to God, how hard is it to just let go?  When you know that things you have given up are being used by God, how does that make you feel about following through with what you promised?

     

 

Next week: 1 Samuel 2:12-36
Bad Boys