An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1 Samuel 2:11-36 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!
To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca
DIVE IN QUESTIONS
What trends of polarization, individualism, and immaturity do you encounter in your world these days? How do you participate in those trends yourself?
What are some of the harder implications of this immaturity in our society and lives these days? Have you ever experienced any of these implications?
What was the deal with Eli’s boys? What were they judged for and how?
How does Samuel’s story form a contrast to the story of Eli’s boys? How does Samuel “grow in stature and in favour with the LORD and with people”?
What does Luke want to say about Jesus as he compares Jesus’s growing up to Samuel’s? (See one of the parallels between 1 Samuel 2:26 and Luke 2:52—note 1 Samuel 2:35 as well!)
What does it means to grow up to maturity in the Christian life? How might you concretely go about doing that this week? And: what part does Jesus play in it?