Strength. Praise. Faith.

This week (24-30 September) we’re diving deeper into the book of 1 Samuel to learn more about God through the lives of people like Hannah, Samuel & Eli. As always, we welcome your thoughts – leave them in the comments section!

Read 1 Samuel 2.

(You may want to break it up into sections: v1-11, v12-26, v27-36)

Some thoughts:
v1 – Hannah sings that in the LORD her horn is lifted high – in other words, she finds her strength in God. Can you say that? Is the LORD your source of strength? What else takes His place at times?

v1-10 – What qualities of God’s does Hannah praise Him for? Write a list of what the most special things about God are to you. Why are these things special? Can you put them into a song like Hannah did?

v6-8 – These verses are really similar to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Why does God allow all ‘seasons’ in our lives?

v 17 – What was the sin of Eli’s sons? How can this be a warning for us?

v28-30 – Just like Samuel was chosen to serve God without having any say in it, did you know Eli and his sons were in the same position? They were all, in a way, MKs. But God still held them each responsible for the roles He had given them. What role do you think God has you in now? How do you think He wants you to serve Him? Are you taking it seriously? Joyfully? How can you develop a sense of ‘yes, this is where God has me – I’m going to go for it!’?

v29-30 – What was Eli’s sin? What are you in danger of honouring over God? How do you justify it?

v35 – What does God want in a faithful priest? How can we be like this?

Something to think about…

Hey guys! We’re going to start posting a Bible study each week – something you can do on your own but actually loads of people all over the world will be doing it at the same time! There’s a chapter from the Bible to read, then some questions for you to think about.

Leave your thoughts, comments, questions, etc. here on this site – would be great to hear what God is doing in you…

This week (17-23 September):
Read 1 Samuel 1.

Some thoughts:
v3 – Penninah had children, Hannah had none.
What do I see others having that I hunger for?
What did Hannah do about it? What can I do?

v5 – The LORD had closed her womb.
It’s possible for God to not let me have something, but still let me have the desire for it. Why?

v13 – Eli thought Hannah was drunk.
How do others misunderstand and / or misrepresent me? What do I do about it?

v22 – Hannah chooses to dedicate her son to God even before he is born. It’s not Samuel’s choice. As soon as he could chew, he left his parents and went to live with Eli. So while he had no say in his situation, was he still chosen by God?
How about you?