Week of June 26, 2016: David Was Anointed and Fought Goliath

Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 16–17

Big Picture Question: Who gave David power to defeat Goliath? God gave David power to defeat Goliath.

Key Passage: Psalm 51:10

Unit Christ Connection: God provided the first kings to rule His people Israel; Christ, the final King, rules over all people as Savior. Through David’s family, God sent Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to meet Jesse and his sons. God had chosen one of Jesse’s sons to be Israel’s king.

Jesse had many sons. Eliab was Jesse’s oldest son. When Samuel saw Eliab, he thought, “This must be the one God has chosen!” Eliab was likely tall and good-looking. Why wouldn’t God choose someone like that? But God doesn’t make decisions like people do. 

Jesse’s sons took turns passing before Samuel, one by one. Samuel was probably eager to hear which son God had chosen to be Israel’s next king! 

Jesse had one more son; his youngest, David, was out tending the sheep. David came in and God said, “This is he.” Samuel anointed David, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David.

David was still a youth and was not yet king when he found himself at the battle where the Philistines had gathered to fight the Israelites. The story of David and Goliath is one of the most well-known accounts in the Old Testament. When the Israelites cowered in fear, David stepped up and defeated the enemy with just a sling and a stone.

Apart from Christ, we are powerless before our enemies of sin and death. David reminds us of Jesus, the greatest hero, who came to save us. When we look

Week of June 19, 2016: God Rejected Saul as King

Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 13:1-14; 14:18-48; 15:1-35
Big Picture Question: How does God feel when His people obey? God delights in total obedience, but we all sin and need a Savior.
Key Passage: Psalm 51:10
Unit Christ Connection: God provided the first kings to rule His people Israel; Christ, the final King, rules over all people as Savior. Through David’s family, God sent Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

By all appearances, Saul was a good king. He was handsome, taller than most people, and God had blessed him. But Saul forgot that it was God who gave Saul his throne.

Saul sinned by burning offerings in Samuel’s absence. That moment was an important test for Saul. According to Samuel, the Lord would have permanently established Saul’s reign if Saul had obeyed. Instead, God would appoint a king who was loyal to Him.

Before battle, Saul vowed that anyone who ate before sunset would be cursed. When the battle was over, the Israelites were so hungry they ate the livestock before the meat finished cooking. Saul’s oath resulted in the people sinning against God, and it almost cost him his son Jonathan’s life.

Finally, God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely. But Saul spared Agag the king and kept the best livestock and cattle.

Samuel arrived. “I have carried out the Lord’s instructions!” Saul said. Samuel asked him about the sheep, the cattle, and King Agag. Saul still insisted that he had obeyed; he planned to offer the sheep and cattle to the Lord as a sacrifice. “To obey is better than sacrifice ... Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king!”

All earthly kings like Saul are imperfect. But we can see how those kings point us to the perfect King, Jesus, who carried out His Father’s instructions without fail. Thank You, God for sending us the King we needed—a King who loved us enough to give His life for our salvation.

Week of June 12, 2016: Israel Demanded a King

Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 8–10
Big Picture Question: What kind of king did God plan to give Israel? God planned to send a perfect king.
Key Passage: Psalm 51:10
Unit Christ Connection: God provided the first kings to rule His people Israel; Christ, the final King, rules over all people as Savior. Through David’s family, God sent Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Israel began to seek God again, and Samuel led them to remove their foreign gods and worship God only.

Up until this point, Israel had relied on God to give them judges to lead them. The elders of Israel spoke to Samuel about his sons and demanded a king. All the other nations around them had kings, they pointed out. Samuel knew their request was sinful, and he prayed to God.

Samuel explained to the Israelites what rights a king would have over them; he warned them that when they regretted asking for a king—and they would regret it—God would not help them. The people insisted on having a king, so God told Samuel to appoint

God had chosen Saul to be the king, so Samuel explained to Saul what God had said. Samuel anointed Saul by pouring oil on his head. Samuel presented Saul to Israel.

God knew Israel would want a king, but the kind of king Israel wanted was not the kind of king they needed. They wanted a king like the other nations. The problem was that every human king would fail them. God had a plan to give them Jesus—a perfect King who would reign with justice and righteousness forever.

Week of June 5, 2016: The Ark Was Captured

Session Title: The Ark Was Captured
Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 4–5
Big Picture Question: Why was the ark of God important? The ark reminded the Israelites of God’s promise to be with His people.
Key Passage: 1 Samuel 2:35

Unit Christ Connection: God used people and visual elements in history to give us pictures of Christ.

The ark of God (also called “the ark of the covenant”) was an incredibly important symbol in the lives of God’s people. Not only was the ark the original container for the Ten Commandments, it symbolized God’s presence with His people.

God would speak to Moses from between two golden cherubim on top of the ark, which was called the mercy seat.

The Philistines were a near-constant threat to Israel during the time of the judges. Under the leadership of Samuel, the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. But the Israelites were defeated because of their sin.

The elders of Israel realized that it was God who allowed them to be defeated. God hadn’t fought for them against the Philistines. So they did what seemed logical; they took the ark—the symbol of God’s presence—and carried it to the battlefield. But the ark was not a good luck charm. Not only was Israel defeated, the Philistines captured the ark.

With the victory, the Philistines concluded that their god, Dagon, was better than the God of Israel. They moved the ark to Dagon’s temple, where God showed His power over Dagon. As the ark moved between Philistine cities, God afflicted the people and made them sick. Though the Philistines won the battle by capturing the ark, God afflicted them to show His power over their god. God received glory through the Israelites’ defeat. This points to the victory of God’s Son on the cross. The people thought they had stopped Jesus by killing Him on the cross, but by His death, Jesus saved the world and brought glory to God

Week of May 29, 2016: Eli and Boy Samuel

Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 1–3
Main Point: God spoke to Samuel.
Key Passage: Isaiah 33:22

Big Picture Question: Whom does God use in His plan? God uses people in His plan.

 

Christ Connection: Samuel told people what God is like. Jesus came to earth as a human. His life showed the world what God is like.

 

Hannah—an ordinary Israelite during the time of the judges—wanted nothing more than to be a mother, but the Lord had closed her womb. (1 Sam. 1:5) Hannah went up to the house of the Lord. She wept and prayed, asking God to give her a son and vowing to dedicate him to God. Hannah’s cries to the Lord were so fervent that Eli the priest rebuked her because he thought she was drunk.

 

I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord,” Hannah explained. Eli blessed Hannah and said, “May God answer your prayers.” God answered Hannah’s prayers. Hannah had a son. She named him Samuel, which means “requested from God.”

 

Hannah glorified God for His sovereignty. Samuel faithfully served God. Hannah visited Samuel each year and brought him a robe. Samuel responded to God's call: "Speak, for Your servant is listening".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week of May 22, 2016: Ruth and Boaz



Bible Passage: Ruth 1–4

Main Point: God gave Ruth a family.

Key Passage: Isaiah 33:22

Big Picture Question: Whom does God use in His plan? God uses people in His plan.

 

Christ Connection: Boaz helped his close relatives. Boaz was a family redeemer. He bought back what his relatives lost. Jesus is our Redeemer. He bought our salvation from sin by dying on the cross.

 

Only two books in the Old Testament bear the name of a woman: Ruth and Esther. Ruth’s story occurs at the time when judges ruled over Israel. God’s people were characterized by rebellion and immorality. At a time when the Israelites desperately needed a king to lead them back to God, Ruth’s story of faithfulness points us to Jesus Christ, a coming Redeemer who will make all wrong things right again.

 

Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, a woman from Bethlehem who settled in Moab with her husband and two sons to escape a famine. Naomi’s husband died, and her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. They lived in Moab for 10 years; then Naomi’s sons died.

 

Naomi heard that the Lord had provided food for His people during the famine, so she decided to go back to Judah. Naomi encouraged Orpah and Ruth to return to their families. Orpah returned home, but Ruth clung to Naomi. Ruth said, “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16). So Naomi and Ruth traveled back to Bethlehem together.

 

Naomi permitted Ruth to gather fallen grain in a field. The owner of the field was Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s late husband and a family redeemer. Boaz noticed Ruth and told her she could safely gather grain in his field. At Naomi’s urging, Ruth sought to be redeemed by Boaz. Boaz bought back the land Naomi and Ruth had lost when their husbands died, and he married Ruth. They had a son named Obed, whose grandson would be King David.

 

God gave Ruth—a foreigner—a special place in the lineage of Jesus Christ.  He bought for us salvation, paying the price with His very own blood.

 

Week of May 15, 2016: Samson

Bible Passage: Judges 13–16

Main Point: God made Samson strong.

Key Passage: Isaiah 33:22

Big Picture Question: Whom does God use in His plan? God uses people in His plan.

 

Christ Connection: Samson died because of his sin, but God used Samson’s death to help His people. Samson reminds us of Jesus. Jesus never sinned, but He died for our sin. Jesus died and rose again to rescue God’s people from sin and give them eternal life.

 

Samson was the last of the major judges of Israel. He was born to parents who dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazirite after the Angel of the Lord announced that Samson would be born to save the Israelites from the power of the Philistines. Samson grew up, and God blessed him with great strength. But when Samson requested to marry a Philistine woman, his parents were confused. Samson was supposed to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. Why would he want to marry one of them? But God had a plan in all of this.

 

As Samson prepared for the wedding, he gave a riddle to the men with him about an event that occurred on his way to Timnah. Days passed, and the men convinced Samson’s wife to tell them the answer to the riddle.

 

When the men solved his riddle, Samson was so angry that he torched the fields of the Philistines. He used the jawbone of a donkey to kill 1,000 men, and he left his wife. The Philistine leaders determined to kill Samson. When Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, the leaders bribed her into telling them where Samson’s strength came from.

 

A man came and shaved the braids from Samson’s head. He lost his strength and became helpless. The Philistines gouged out his eyes and took him prisoner. They had him stand between the pillars of a pagan temple. In a final plea to God, Samson asked for his strength back. God gave him strength, and Samson knocked over the pillars, collapsing the temple. In his death, Samson killed more Philistines than he had killed in his life.

 

Though Samson disobeyed God, God used him to accomplish His purpose of delivering the Israelites from the Philistines. Jesus would come as the last Deliverer, saving through His life and His death those who would trust in Him.