Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
Ice-Breaker:
- What is the funniest song lyric, phrase, or instruction you completely misheard or misunderstood for years before someone corrected you?
Scripture
1 Samuel 3
The Lord Speaks to Samuel
1 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. 4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”
Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
Samuel Speaks for the Lord
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. 16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. 20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.
The Lord Speaks to Samuel
1 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. 4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”
Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
Samuel Speaks for the Lord
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. 16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. 20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.
Discussion Questions:
Samuel was serving faithfully in the tabernacle, but he had never experienced God speaking to him in this way. When God called his name, Samuel initially assumed Eli was calling him. Brandon pointed out the contrast: Eli was physically losing his sight while Israel was spiritually losing its ability to see and hear from God. Samuel, however, was positioned near the presence of God, faithfully serving, and learning to recognize His voice.
Brandon emphasized that Scripture is the primary and most dependable way God speaks to His people. God does not contradict what He has already revealed in His Word, which means learning to recognize His voice requires first becoming familiar with His Word. This also protects us from confusing our own desires, emotions, impressions, or the words of others with God's voice. We should always begin with: “What has God already said?”
Samuel did not recognize God's voice immediately. He needed Eli's help to understand what was happening. Brandon emphasized the importance of godly wisdom and spiritual community. God can use mature believers to help us discern what He is doing, but their counsel should function as confirmation rather than replacing Scripture or becoming the reason for major decisions by itself. We do not have to discern God's will all by ourselves.
Samuel's first message from God was not easy to deliver. God entrusted a young Samuel with a message of judgment against Eli's family, and Samuel was afraid to tell him. But when Eli demanded to know what God had said, Samuel “told him everything” and held nothing back. Samuel's faithfulness meant that he valued God's approval more than Eli's. God's Word does not merely comfort us; sometimes it confronts us, corrects us, and requires us to say things that are difficult to hear or obey.
Samuel's posture was, “Speak, your servant is listening,” but the purpose of listening was not to just receive information. God spoke to Samuel so that Samuel would respond and eventually speak faithfully to others. We can spend years studying Scripture, listening to sermons, discussing theology, and asking God for direction while still avoiding the obedience He has already made clear.
- What competes most for your attention right now? When you look at your life, are you ever quiet enough or still enough to hear from God, or are you filling every empty space with something else?
- What might you need to change, not because God has stopped speaking, but because you have become too distracted or too busy to listen?
Brandon emphasized that Scripture is the primary and most dependable way God speaks to His people. God does not contradict what He has already revealed in His Word, which means learning to recognize His voice requires first becoming familiar with His Word. This also protects us from confusing our own desires, emotions, impressions, or the words of others with God's voice. We should always begin with: “What has God already said?”
- How has knowing Scripture helped you recognize when a thought, desire, piece of advice, or “open door” was not God's direction?
- Have you ever been more interested in receiving a specific answer from God about your future than you were in obeying what He has already clearly said in Scripture?
Samuel did not recognize God's voice immediately. He needed Eli's help to understand what was happening. Brandon emphasized the importance of godly wisdom and spiritual community. God can use mature believers to help us discern what He is doing, but their counsel should function as confirmation rather than replacing Scripture or becoming the reason for major decisions by itself. We do not have to discern God's will all by ourselves.
- Is there anyone in your life that not only has access to you, but also has the spiritual maturity to recognize something in you that you might be missing?
- If so, who and how are you giving them freedom to call you up?
- If not, is there someone you need to ask to become a spiritual mentor?
- How are we as a group holding each other accountable and calling each other into a deeper relationship with Christ?
Samuel's first message from God was not easy to deliver. God entrusted a young Samuel with a message of judgment against Eli's family, and Samuel was afraid to tell him. But when Eli demanded to know what God had said, Samuel “told him everything” and held nothing back. Samuel's faithfulness meant that he valued God's approval more than Eli's. God's Word does not merely comfort us; sometimes it confronts us, corrects us, and requires us to say things that are difficult to hear or obey.
- Why is it tempting to receive the parts of God's Word that comfort us while resisting the parts that confront us?
- Where are you most tempted to soften, explain away, or ignore something Scripture says because obedience would be uncomfortable or costly?
Samuel's posture was, “Speak, your servant is listening,” but the purpose of listening was not to just receive information. God spoke to Samuel so that Samuel would respond and eventually speak faithfully to others. We can spend years studying Scripture, listening to sermons, discussing theology, and asking God for direction while still avoiding the obedience He has already made clear.
- What is the difference between wanting Scripture to inform your life and allowing Scripture to form your life?
- Is there something God is calling you to obey, but you have been delaying because you are afraid of the cost, the outcome, or what someone else will think?
Prayer Topics:
- Pray for God to quiet distractions that compete for your attention, and ask Him to give you a deeper desire to spend time with Him and listen to His Word.
- Ask God to give you a greater hunger for Scripture, the wisdom to recognize what He has already said, and the humility to obey even when His Word challenges your desires or plans.
- Pray for godly people in your life who will speak truth, expose blind spots, and help you grow in your relationship with Christ.
- Ask God to reveal where you may be hearing His Word without obeying it, and pray for the faith and courage to surrender control.
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