Aims: to see how God spoke to Samuel to consider if and how God speaks to us today. Bibles; items for Response activity

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1 Theme: Samuel Title: Responding To God Target Group: Mainly Church Background Age: 14+ Aims: to see how God spoke to Samuel to consider if and how God speaks to us today Equipment: Print-outs: Bibles; items for Response activity Print-out 1: You Can t Say That; Print-out 2: Hearing God Speak To Us Print-out 3: 1 Samuel 3 Print-out 4: Response Activity Print-out 5: Going deeper Bible Base: 1 Samuel 3 Note to leaders: There is a lot of material here so make sure you select the activities best suited to your group. Alternatively you may wish to spread it over a couple of weeks. The Going Deeper section provides some activities to allow your group to explore further how we can hear from God and speak for him. You Can t Say That (5 mins) Print-out 1 contains some situations where saying the right thing could be very difficult. Print it and cut it into strips. Split the group into groups of three or four and ask them to arrange the situations in order. The top one would be the hardest to say, the bottom one the easiest. Then ask the groups to explain to everyone else the decisions that they have made. Hearing God Speak To Us (10 mins) Discuss (all together, or in small groups depending on number) in what situations we need God s guidance. Split into groups of five or six and give each group a copy of Print-out 2 (Hearing God Speak To Us). Ask them to fill in the table, discussing together what they write. If appropriate, ask people to talk about times when they have known God guiding them. What were the situations and how did God guide? It might help if you have thought of some examples yourself to get the ball rolling. Hard of Hearing (5 mins) Give a short talk, making the following points: We need God s guidance for so many different (almost every) decision that we make. Knowing that we have heard God speak to us is therefore very important if we are going to follow him closely and live for him. It is also very difficult and something that most Christians struggle with.

2 Why is it so hard? o We would rather trust our feelings or self-belief (if it feels good, do it). o We often think that our decisions are not that important ( live for today, don t worry about consequences ). o We think we can get by without God. o We think that letting God help us decide will spoil our lives. o Our sin is a barrier between God and us. o We may hear God, but we still have the choice to ignore him, pretend we have not heard him and we can still choose not to obey him. We sometimes think we know how God should guide us and so miss the obvious ways, namely: o God has spoken and revealed himself through the Bible. o God has spoken through creation (his general revelation). o God has spoken very clearly through Jesus (his specific revelation). Bible Bit (10 mins) Ask four people to read out the dramatised version of 1 Samuel chapter 3, Print-out 3. The questions below are also included on the print-out. Now answer these questions in small groups of five or six. 1) How does God speak to Samuel? Through an audible voice in the night 2) How does Samuel respond to God? At first he does not know that it is God; then when Eli explains that it is God speaking to him, Samuel says that he is ready to listen. 3) What does God say to Samuel and how does he respond? Something shocking was about to take place Eli s family is going to be judged as they committed evil, and Eli, although he knew about it, did not try to stop it. Samuel tells Eli what God has said, despite it being a shocking message link to You Can t Say That activity. 4) How did Eli respond to the message that Samuel passed on to him? He reaffirmed his belief that God is God and that he has the right to do whatever he pleases. What does this mean for us? 5) What can we learn from this story about hearing God speak? The better we know God, the easier it will be to discern his voice. We need to be available and listening; we need to respond with obedience and faith to what we hear. 6) If God had known that Samuel would not pass on his message, would he have spoken to him? What can we learn from this? Presumably not, so we need to respond in faith and obedience when we believe that God is speaking to us. 7) Today, one of the main ways that God speaks to us is through the Bible. What can we do to make sure we hear the Bible, understand it and then respond like Samuel did? If these ideas do not get mentioned, you could suggest some of the following: Read it regularly using Bible notes or guides to help you do this everyday; you could recommend

3 Study it on your own to get to grips with what it says. Study it with a group of friends either at school or church. Ask a youth worker or minister for some good resources to help you. Talk about it regularly with your friends and share with each other what you think God is saying to you; share the bits you don t understand and share the bits you find challenging. Go to a church where the Bible is taught faithfully and relevantly. Make sure you are like Samuel always coming to scripture with the attitude Speak Lord I am listening. Response (5 mins) Print-out 4 shows pictures of things that might be a distraction to us hearing God speak. It might be that we spend time using these things instead of reading the Bible; some may fill our lives with noise or they represent our attitudes. Lay a copy of Print-out 4 on a table where everyone can see it. Even better, bring in as many of the items shown as possible as this would be much more visual but be aware of the school s policy on having electrical goods in school!! Then ask the whole group to sit in silence and to look at each item in turn and to ask themselves to what extent this item stops, distracts or helps them hearing from God. Encourage them to pray that they would be like Samuel and be willing to say Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening. Ask them to decide on one action that they will take in response to the meeting today. Going Deeper (30 mins) Print-out 5 contains some activities to help your group look at how best to speak up for God at school. Here are some possible answers to questions 2, 3 and 4. 2) What is the secret about Jesus that we should want to make known? That God now lives in Gentiles (i.e. non-jews) by his spirit. This means that anyone who repents of their sin and trusts in Jesus death, can become a Christian and can have the Holy Spirit living within them. 3) Colossians 4:6 says that we should answer everyone in the way we should. What is that way? We should speak to people in gracious and gentle ways. Our words should be wholesome, tasty and preserving. Try to imagine how Jesus would speak to the person you are speaking to. 4) Why is the way that we speak to people as important as what we say? If our actions and manner do not match our words we will come across as hypocrites. If our manner is aggressive and argumentative, people will be put off and not listen. We must ensure we treat people with respect as we talk to them.

4 Print-out 1: You Can t Say That Telling your Boy / Girl friend that you no longer want to go out with them Telling your maths teacher that you have not completed your coursework Telling your parents that you have badly scraped the car door Telling your brother / sister that you read some of their s Telling your best friend that their new haircut looks REALLY bad Telling your granny that you can t come over to see her this weekend Telling your best friend that you are moving to a new school Telling your parents that you accidentally wiped the hard drive of the home PC nothing was backed up Telling someone the bad news that they are seriously ill. (Imagine you are doctor)

5 Print-out 2: Hearing God Speak To Us The table contains several ways that Christians can claim that God speaks to them. Discuss what are the disadvantages and advantages of each method, and then fill in the table. Advantages Disadvantages Circumstances The Bible Creation An audible voice Other Christians (Things they say and do) Conscience Emotions

6 Print-out 3: 1 Samuel 3 Narrator: The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often; there were very few visions. Eli's eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed. Samuel was in bed in the Lord's house. Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, I am here! Narrator: He ran to Eli and said, I am here. You called me. I didn't call you. Go back to bed. Narrator: So Samuel went back to bed. The Lord called again, God: Samuel! Narrator: Samuel again went to Eli and said, I am here. You called me. I didn't call you. Go back to bed. Narrator: Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the Lord had not spoken directly to him. The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, I am here. You called me. Narrator: Then Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy. So he told Samuel, Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening. Narrator: So Samuel went and lay down in bed. The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, God: God: Samuel, Samuel! Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening. Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will shock those who hear about it. At that time I will do to Eli and his family everything I promised, from beginning to end. I told Eli I would punish his family always, because he knew his sons were evil. They acted without honour, but he did not stop them. So I swore to Eli's family, Your guilt will never be removed by sacrifice or offering. Narrator: Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, but Eli called to him, Samuel, my son! I am here.

7 What did the Lord say to you? Don't hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you. Narrator: So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best. Narrator: The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel's messages fail to come true. Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord. And the Lord continued to show himself at Shiloh, and he showed himself to Samuel through his word. Based on the NCV (anglicised edition) text used with permission from Authentic Media Questions: 1) How does God speak to Samuel? 2) How does Samuel respond to God? 3) What does God say to Samuel and how does he respond? 4) How did Eli respond to the message that Samuel passed on to him? What does this mean for us? 5) What can we learn from this story about hearing God speak? 6) If God had known that Samuel would not pass on his message, would he have spoken to him? What can we learn from this? 7) Today, one of the main ways that God speaks to us is through the Bible. What can we do to make sure we hear the Bible, understand it and then respond like Samuel did?

8 Print-out 4: Response Activity Your ipod?

9 Print-out 5: Going Deeper Read the following to the group: Samuel became a great prophet who was used by God to speak his message. This message was often uncomfortable (for example, God s judgement on Eli) and not always well received. God has given us the fantastic message about Jesus to share with those in our schools. However, parts of this message do not always seem like good news (for example Judgement) and are not always well received or welcomed in a school setting. How we communicate this message is therefore really important. This activity will help you look at some guidelines in the Bible about how we share the good news about Jesus with our friends. Read the following passages: Colossians 4:2 6 2 Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God. 3 Also pray for us that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret that God has made known about Christ. This is why I am in prison. 4 Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. 6 When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should. 1 Peter 3: But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have, 16 but answer in a gentle way and with respect. Keep a clear conscience so that those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. 17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong if that is what God wants. NCV (anglicised edition) text used with permission from Authentic Media Now discuss the answers to these questions: 1) To what extent do you pray for opportunities to talk about Jesus at school? If you don t, why not? 2) What is the secret about Jesus that we should want to make known? 3) Colossians 4:6 says that we should answer everyone in the way we should. What is that way? 4) Why is the way that we speak to people as important as what we say? 5) Peter says that we should be ready to answer everyone.

10 Activities Make a list of the sort of questions that people ask you, or might ask you, about your faith. Work together on some reasoned, biblical and gracious answers to them. Now get into pairs and role-play answering these questions. This might seem false, but by practising in a safe environment, you will become confident to answer the questions for real when the opportunity arises. In your role plays, were your answers always gentle and respectful (1 Peter 3:16)? If not, try harder at making sure they are. Caution: Check It Out It might be tempting to think that God wants us to speak prophetically to those in our schools in the way that Samuel did bringing a message of judgement. However, before saying anything of this nature, make sure: You are very sure it is from God have you prayed about it? You have checked it out with the Bible. You have checked it out with the other Christians in the group. You have checked it out with your youth worker or minister. You have asked For who s benefit am I saying this? You speak as you should i.e. respectfully, gently, kindly, pleasantly and clearly. Now end by praying together for: Opportunities to speak about Jesus at school. The courage to take the opportunities when they arise. Wisdom in knowing what to say. Gentleness and respect as you speak.