Read 1 Samuel 7.

Things to think about:
v2-4 – Samuel encourages the people to turn fully back to God by getting rid of their idols. What about you? Do you want to be sold out for Christ? What does that mean for you?

Complete Samuel’s sentence in v3 for your own life:
“If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourself of ………..and commit yourself to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of……………”

v7-9 – As part of your committment to God, are you committed to intercession? What do you do when times get tough? How high a priority is prayer?

Look at how Samuel prayed for the Israelites – it was pretty intense! What can you take from his example?

v17 – even when Samuel went home (interesting to note that it was where his parents lived, so I guess his mom got to spend some time with the son she gave up after all! But that’s a side-track issue – sorry!) Even when Sam went home, he continued to serve and worship God. He judged the people and built an altar.

Do you take holidays from God? Is that Biblical? How do you measure up living full-on for Christ and having a ‘life’ at the same time?

Read 1 Samuel 6. – The Philistines Return The Ark

Things to think about:

What does the Ark of the LORD mean to you today?

Do you view God as Holy? If so how does that change your behaviour as a follower of Christ?

vs19 – what things are tempting to us that are not honoring to God?

Read 1 Samuel 5.

Things to think about:

Read about all the trouble that followed the ark in the Philistine towns. Why do you think this happened?

What does this tell you about God?

Read 1 Samuel 4.

Things to think about:

v3 – The Israelites were defeated, so they tried to gain victory again through taking the ark with them to battle. God hadn’t told them to do this, but they did what they thought would work.
v4 – Eli’s sons went along with this idea and accompanied the ark as the Israelites took it to battle. Eli seemed nervous about the idea. (see v13).

So why did the Israelites decide to do this, and why did the priests go along with their idea? Did they feel the ark was like some kind of magic charm?

In the end, the ark didn’t help them. They were beaten and the ark was taken by the enemy.

Do I have anything like this in my life? Am I trusting in any ‘arks’ – things which seem great and good and right – even Christian – but expecting God to do what I want because of that?

When things go wrong with me, who or what is the first thing I turn to? Is it someone or something good, that has proved their worth in the past? Or is it God Himself?

Any other thoughts?

Read 1 Samuel 3.

Things to think about:

v7 – Samuel didn’t know the Lord yet. But we know already that he ministered before God (2:11) and grew in God’s favour (2:26).
So what’s the difference between working for God and being dutiful, and KNOWING God?
How about you? Do you really feel that you KNOW God? Why? How?

v5-9 – Samuel didn’t know God himself, but he knew who did, and went to Eli for help. If Samuel hadn’t listened to Eli’s advice, he may never have realized that the voice of God was speaking to him.
Who do you know who knows God? Are you able to go to them for help in your relationship with God? Maybe you don’t know what to do in a certain situation. Who has God put in your life to help you get closer to Him?
If you could make time with that person, what would be the main thing you’d want to learn from them?
Why not try going to them this week?

v11-14 – When God speaks, what He says may not be what you want to hear. How do you deal with that? What does that tell you about how you understand God?

v18 – How did Eli respond to the difficult news? Can you say this in all areas of your life? In what areas of your life is this the most difficult thing to say?

v21 – How did God reveal Himself to Samuel? Do you want God to reveal more of Himself to you? How? What do you have to help? Share your ideas with the rest of us!

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?

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?

Tonight Denise & I will be at Encounter – it’s a church-run gathering for teens that only happens during the summer, and tonight is the first one for 2007! We’re heading down there with our new Rturn banner to hang out with teens, talk to them about missions, and worship together with them. Each week there will be an awesome speaker, a worship band, and time to hang out with other Christian teens in the area.

This word “Encounter” gets me thinking… What does it mean to have an “encounter” with God? How should having an encounter with God affect me – my attitude, my actions, my LIFE?

Anyone out there have any thoughts on this? Leave a comment!

A lot of what we do at OM USA teen ministries is plan and lead summer mission trips for youth. You can check out some of our upcoming trips at our website: www.rturn.om.org/rturn/short-term/. This summer we’re leading trips to several of the OM fields we partner with, including Ireland, Canada, Germany, England & Holland. We think it’s so cool that we can go all around the world and take part in what God is doing in other countries!

So that’s a bit about what we’re up to this summer… Now it’s YOUR turn – what about YOU? What are YOU doing this summer? We want to hear what you’re up to, how you’re planning to make a difference this summer in your job, with your friends, on mission, whatever! Leave us a comment or even a question, and we’ll get back to you!

Now I’m off to go stare out the window a bit more…