Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
Ice-Breaker:
- What is one sports team, hobby, show, or personal project you held out massive hope for, only for it to completely crash and burn?
Scripture
1 Samuel 7
7 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the Lord. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the Lord had abandoned them.
Samuel Leads Israel to Victory
3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.
5 Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)
7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8 “Don’t stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.
12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah.[a] He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”
13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. 14 The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.
15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. 16 Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. 17 Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.
7 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the Lord. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the Lord had abandoned them.
Samuel Leads Israel to Victory
3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.
5 Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)
7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8 “Don’t stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.
12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah.[a] He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”
13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. 14 The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.
15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. 16 Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. 17 Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.
Discussion Questions:
Israel’s restoration begins when they finally recognize where they are spiritually and mourn their distance from the Lord. Brandon described recognition as ownership and remorse as grieving what sin has done to our relationship with God.
Samuel doesn't tell Israel to simply be sorry. He tells them to get rid of their foreign gods, turn their hearts to the Lord, and serve Him alone. Repentance involves both turning away from sin and turning toward God and that genuine repentance will produce different choices.
When Israel gathered at Mizpah to fast, confess, and rely on the Lord, the Philistines immediately mobilized for war. Brandon highlighted that taking steps toward spiritual health almost always invites enemy resistance, yet Israel’s response shifted from their old ways of self-reliance and empty ritual to genuine prayer and dependence on God.
Samuel placed a stone between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer, “the stone of help”, at the very place where Israel had previously suffered defeat. The same spot that reminded them of their great failure has now became a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Charles Spurgeon warned that we are prone to “engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand,” allowing painful experiences to become permanent memories while quickly forgetting the ways God has helped us.
1 Samuel 7 ends with Israel experiencing something they had not known for decades: peace, recovered territory, and victory over their enemies. But true restoration was not a return to the "old way", the broken routines of Shiloh and doing whatever was right in their own eyes, which caused their collapse in the first place. Restoring things to the "old way" only produces the same old failure; true restoration means being put back God's way; a completely rebuilt, better way of walking with Him.
In 1 Samuel 7, Samuel offered a lamb on behalf of Israel, but Hebrews 10 reminds us that these sacrifices were only temporary shadows pointing toward something greater. Our redemption was ultimately accomplished because Jesus made the first move... He pursued us, offered Himself as the final sacrifice, and secured our forgiveness once and for all. That changes the way we understand restoration: God is not the One who is lost and waiting to be found. We are the ones who wander, and He is the One who comes looking for us. We aren’t finding our way back to Him; we are waking up to the wonder that, in Christ, we have already been found.
There should be a rhythm for our Christian walk: Repent, Remember, Repeat.
Not a pattern of constantly trying to earn God's acceptance, but a lifelong cycle of recognizing sin, turning back to God, remembering His faithfulness, and continuing to grow. Brandon said that as we grow, the time between sin and repentance should become shorter and shorter.
- What are some of the ways we can acknowledge that something is wrong without actually taking ownership of it? Where is the line between conviction over sin and just feeling bad because we don't like the consequences of our sin?
- What usually drives you to remorse? The consequences of your sin, the effect it has on other people, the way it has changed you, or the distance it creates between you and God?
Samuel doesn't tell Israel to simply be sorry. He tells them to get rid of their foreign gods, turn their hearts to the Lord, and serve Him alone. Repentance involves both turning away from sin and turning toward God and that genuine repentance will produce different choices.
- As you consider the things competing for your devotion, what specific idols or habit patterns come to mind that require drastic boundary-setting rather than simply good intentions? Why do we usually just settle for being sorry about our sin instead of putting real guardrails in place to flee from it?
- Share something God is calling you to remove, change, or bring into the light. How can our group help hold you accountable to following through with that commitment?
When Israel gathered at Mizpah to fast, confess, and rely on the Lord, the Philistines immediately mobilized for war. Brandon highlighted that taking steps toward spiritual health almost always invites enemy resistance, yet Israel’s response shifted from their old ways of self-reliance and empty ritual to genuine prayer and dependence on God.
- Where in your life are you currently experiencing spiritual warfare or resistance as a result of stepping closer to God or stepping out in obedience?
Samuel placed a stone between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer, “the stone of help”, at the very place where Israel had previously suffered defeat. The same spot that reminded them of their great failure has now became a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Charles Spurgeon warned that we are prone to “engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand,” allowing painful experiences to become permanent memories while quickly forgetting the ways God has helped us.
- Think about a season when you were convinced something was a loss, failure, or setback, but looking back, you can now see God’s faithfulness in the middle of it. What has that season taught you about the danger of interpreting your present circumstances without remembering what God has already done?
- What could you intentionally put in place to help you remember His past faithfulness when uncertainty or fear makes you question what He is doing now?
1 Samuel 7 ends with Israel experiencing something they had not known for decades: peace, recovered territory, and victory over their enemies. But true restoration was not a return to the "old way", the broken routines of Shiloh and doing whatever was right in their own eyes, which caused their collapse in the first place. Restoring things to the "old way" only produces the same old failure; true restoration means being put back God's way; a completely rebuilt, better way of walking with Him.
- When you pray for God to restore a season, relationship, or area of your life, do you find yourself wanting Him to bring back your old circumstances, to take you back to how it once was... or are you asking Him to restore your life to His way, a better way?
- What old habits, mindsets, or routines are you tempted to carry into new seasons that risk pulling you right back into what God rescued you from?
In 1 Samuel 7, Samuel offered a lamb on behalf of Israel, but Hebrews 10 reminds us that these sacrifices were only temporary shadows pointing toward something greater. Our redemption was ultimately accomplished because Jesus made the first move... He pursued us, offered Himself as the final sacrifice, and secured our forgiveness once and for all. That changes the way we understand restoration: God is not the One who is lost and waiting to be found. We are the ones who wander, and He is the One who comes looking for us. We aren’t finding our way back to Him; we are waking up to the wonder that, in Christ, we have already been found.
- How might remembering that Jesus pursued you before you ever pursued Him change the way you respond to God on the Road to Restoration?
There should be a rhythm for our Christian walk: Repent, Remember, Repeat.
Not a pattern of constantly trying to earn God's acceptance, but a lifelong cycle of recognizing sin, turning back to God, remembering His faithfulness, and continuing to grow. Brandon said that as we grow, the time between sin and repentance should become shorter and shorter.
- Looking honestly at your walk with Jesus right now, where does this rhythm tend to break down for you: recognizing your sin, actually turning from it, depending on God instead of yourself, remembering His faithfulness, or returning to Him quickly after you fail? What tends to keep you stuck there?
- What is one specific boundary, habit change, or step of obedience do you need to take this week and how can this group hold you accountable to real action rather than just words?
Prayer Topics:
- Pray for hearts that are quick to repent.
- Pray that dependence on God would become our first response to spiritual resistance.
- Pray that the places where we have experienced failure, disappointment, or hardship would become reminders of His faithfulness rather than reasons to doubt Him.
- Ask God to restore what sin has damaged; not simply by returning things to the way they were, but by bringing our hearts, relationships, and walk with Him into greater alignment with His will.
- Ask God to form in us a lifelong rhythm of Repent, Remember, Repeat.
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