1Samuel 16 / Leader Guide week of 11-16-08

Small Group Leaders Guide
November 16, 2008

Series: Go Big
Message: Be Willing To Start Small
1Samuel 16

Getting Started:
1. Have you ever made a judgment about someone that turned out to be exactly the opposite of what the truth about that person was?

Going Deeper:
2. Read verse 1. In this verse, God asks Samuel a question and then gives him something to do. Read Exodus 14:15 and describe the similarities of the two passages.

• God doesn’t allow His work to cease because of the failure of a man. God’s sovereign will is accomplished regardless of the limitations of people. Samuel may have been paralyzed with mourning because of Saul’s disobedience, but even though God was grieved over Saul, He was not paralyzed. It was time to move on.

3. Read verse 2. Did God answer Samuel’s question or ignore it? In verse 4, we find out that Samuel did what God told him to do and traveled to Bethlehem. Why do you think the elders of Bethlehem were afraid of Samuel?

• Could it be that Samuel had just killed the king of the Amalekites.1sam 15:32-33
• I guess if the king wont be obedient to God, someone has to!

4. In verse 6, why do you think Samuel was so sure that Eliab was the one God had chosen to be the next king?

• He was tall and handsome. He looked like the kingly type. I know this is a funny answer but isn’t that the way we usually judge people, by looking at them?
• In verse 7, the Lord says to ignore the fact that from the outside Eliab looked like a leader (apparently part of this was his “height”). Saul, the king that David was replacing, was also someone tall (1 Samuel 9: 2), but didn’t have what God most valued, a heart for Him.

5. Read verse 7. What does it mean to look at someone’s heart? Is that something only God can do? How can a person see someone’s heart?

6. In verse 7, Samuel is told not to consider “his appearance or his height.” Why not? Isn’t a person’s character on the inside shown in some way on the outside? Only God can see hearts, but in life we need to make decisions about people we’re going to hang around, go into business with, and who to marry. Since we can only see the outside, can we go by observable behavior to tell us what a person is like on the inside? Is it Biblical? Can we get it wrong?

• John 7:24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
• Luke 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
• Matthew 7:20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

7. To refrain from judging by appearances is good advice. What about when judging yourself?

8. In verse 3, God gives Samuel part of His plan but not all of it. Later, even though Samuel had anointed David as king, David wasn’t immediately put in charge of the kingdom. Discuss the way these verses describe the way God leads us.

9. In verse 14, we learn some bad news about Saul. Read Romans 8:9-11 and 1Corinthians 6:19-20. Would the Holy Spirit ever leave a Christian in our present age?

• Saul clearly had the Spirit of the Lord upon him at one time (1 Samuel 10:10). Yet, Saul resisted the Holy Spirit. Finally, God gave Saul what he wanted. But Saul never realized the price he would pay when the Spirit of the Lord departed from him. He didn’t realize he would be in even more bondage.

Putting it into practice:
10. Do you feel like God has something bigger for you? What can you learn from this passage about how to respond? Pray about that in your groups.

Quote Of The Week:
The world is full of idolatries, but I question if any idolatry has been more extensively practiced than the idolatry of the outward appearance.
--William Blaikie