step one

This Weekly Bible Passage will be the basis of next Sunday’s sermon. Spend some time studying it prior to Sunday and see what God is revealing to you in it.

1 samuel 12:1-2 CSB

Samuel’s Final Public Speech

Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.  2 Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now. 3 Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken?  Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.”

4 “You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone,” they responded.

5 He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything  in my hand.” 

“He is a witness,” they said.

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron  and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness.  7 Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.

8 “When Jacob went to Egypt,  your ancestors cried out to the Lord,  and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.  9 But they forgot the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera  commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab.  These enemies fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies,  and we will serve you.’ 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal,  Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.  He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. 12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.

Step two

Join us on Sunday for this critical second step in encountering God through His word as we gather together as a church family.

As we work through the pages of 1 Samuel, we’ll be looking at the lives and examples of people like Hannah, Samuel, Saul, and David, and how they related to God. Some of them got it beautifully right, and others not so much. What does it mean to pursue the heart of God and live a life of full devotion and obedience, desiring His presence, His will and His ways? Let’s find out together!

step three

Questions to discuss and process as a Discipleship Group, based on the previous Weekly Bible Passage and Sunday Sermon.

Encourage one another towards a deeper, more vibrant relationship with Jesus.

These discussion questions are based on 1 Samuel 11 and the sermon on August 3, 2025.

1. Was there anything that stood out to you about the passage or the sermon that challenged you?

2. How do you discern when your anger is righteous and Spirit-led versus self-driven? How can you submit strong emotions to God and allow Him to use them for His purposes?

3. What do you think of when you hear the phrase "the terror of the Lord"? How does this passage challenge or affirm those thoughts?

4. What would it look like for you to respond worshipfully when God brings a victory in your life?