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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Digging Deeper in the David Series




Sojourn Small Group Study



Message Series: David:  Lessons from the Life of a Renegade King
Session:  1
Title: The Nobody Nobody Noticed

INTRODUCTION
The life of King David is a remarkable study.  David is a central character of the Old Testament. One scholar said if he had to name a single Renaissance man in human history, somebody with extraordinary capacities on multiple fronts, David would be at the top of the list for all of humanity.  One of the reasons God gave us dedicated so many chapters of the bible to this one man, is to show us the inner workings of our soul and our creator.  Think about it--66 chapters devoted to the life of David in the Bible! 

BACKGROUND

The best backdrop to the life of David is to read the first 15 Chapters of First Samuel.  In the first 7 Chapters, you will meet the last Judge, Samuel, who becomes known as a "King Maker" because he anoints both Saul and David.  You will also meet the “Peoples Choice” for King, Saul, in Chapters 8-15.  David, mentioned by name for the very first time in I Sam. 16:13,  is then followed through the remaining chapters of I Samuel and II Samuel. 



UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

With Chapters 1-15 of I Samuel as background, read  I Sam. 16:1-3 and answer the following questions.  

         1.  Why is Samuel so fearful of going? 



         2.  Why would the people be nervous about the presence of Samuel? 



Now read the next 10 versus of I Samuel 16 (through verse 13) and discuss these questions.

         1.  What do you think God is specifically looking for in a King of his choice? Compare this with the people's choice of Saul in I Sam. 9:1-2. 




         2.  Why does God make Samuel go through this long drawn out process of 7 “nos”  before he reveals his choice? 




         3.  Why do you think David was not asked to be at the “Parade of Sons” (I Sam. 16: 6-11)?




         4.  Read I Sam. 1:13 again.   Now that David is anointed King, what predicament is he (and perhaps all of Israel) now in? 


BRINGING IT HOME

         1.   Can you think of any examples where external qualifications are more important than a persons heart?  What impact does television have on shaping our view of what is most important in life?  




         2.  Is God calling you to something and you're asking "how?"  How would you apply I Sam. 16:2-3 in your specific situation?




         3.  If you’re a parent, take a few moments and ask your son or daughter what are the three most important characteristics in a godly man or a godly woman.  What major influences do you see shaping their thinking?  



         4.   What other lessons or applications can you take away from I Sam. 16:1-13? 



PRAYER TIME

Spend some time praying with your group.   Spend part of your prayer time in “kingdom centered” prayer.  Kingdom center prayer  focuses on God’s work among the lost and marginalized of Greensboro, other parts of the world,  and the work of our local church community.  In other words, prayer that goes beyond our own needs.  As you pray, try and imagine  how God sees our world.  

MEMORY VERSE

Psalm 119:11 says to "hide the word of the Lord in your heart".  In other words, encouraging us to commit scripture to memory. 

For this week, try and memorize this verse and think about it throughout your week.  

For the Lord sees, not as the man sees; man looks at the outword appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”   I Sam. 16: 7 (ESV)



Remember that you can listen to this message series online by going to the podcast at www.sojourncommunity.org.

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