DISCUSSION For more resources like this, please visit mtbethel.org/media GUIDE

Heroes of the Faith Adult Sunday School Lesson September 28, 2014 Life as a Christian means complete dedication to God’s rule.

Instructions This Sunday school discussion guide provides background for your class. Through the deeper understanding of the Biblical message, our relationship with God may grow deeper, we may be transformed, and we may take action to make a difference in the lives of others in our community and our world. This study series is built on the relational method. Through study of God’s word, we grow in our relationship with God. By sharing our life ex- periences, we grow in our relationship with each other. This method of teaching adults came about through the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. Through putting our faith into action, we are able to learn from each other and spur each other on in our Christian walk!

Scripture Take time to read through the scripture and meditate on the words. Pray for God to open your heart and mind to what He has to say to you through His words. key verse Judges 13:7 “But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

Additional significant verses Judges 14:1-7 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” His father and mother re- plied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncir- cumcised to get a wife?”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” (His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over .) Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vine- yards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

Judges 13:1-5 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. A certain man of , named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was child- less, unable to give birth. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church / 4385 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, GA 30068 / 770.971.2880 / mtbethel.org

DISCUSSION For more resources like this, please visit mtbethel.org/media GUIDE are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” biblical background • God had a claim on Samson to be one of his special servants to rescue Israel from the Philistines. • Samson was given enormous strength in order to accomplish God’s plan. • Samson gave up his strength by revealing the source of his strength to the woman he loved, Delilah. • Although, he was one of the great judges of Israel, he spent the last years of his life in an enemy prison grind- ing grain. • Throughout the book of Judges, the Israelite’s experience the cycle of sin, judgment, and repentance over and over again. They would get to the depths of sin and death before they would turn their hearts over to God. When things started looking up, they would forget their God. They would ignore the One who redeemed them from their broken world. • In the final episode of his life, he began to save Israel from the Philistines. • In the New Testament, no comments are made about his failures or his great strength. Rather in Hall of Faith chapter in Hebrews, we read about Samson and others, verse 33, “These people all trusted God and as a re- sult won battles, overthrew kingdoms, ruled their people well, and received what God had promised them…” • For additional studies on Samson, read Judges 13-16.

SCRIPTURE STUDY KEY POINTS AND DISCUSSION Great strength in one area of life does not make up for weaknesses in other areas. • How did God call Samson to be set apart? • What were Samson’s strengths? What were his weaknesses? • When you look at your life, how do you separate yourself from the world? How are you set apart by God and for God? What traits are instinctively Godly? • How does great strength in an area of life supersede one’s weaknesses? • If we look at life like a balance sheet, we have our strengths column and our weaknesses in another column. How are we tempted to excuse our weaknesses due to the strengths we have recorded in the “plus” column?

God’s presence does not overwhelm a person’s will. • Samson was called by God to redeem the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. Although this was his call, God does not “make” him do it. Like Samson, each of us has our own free will that either works with or against God’s call on our life. • Although this was God’s call on his life, Samson’s will went a different direction. What were some of the wrong turns that Samson made? Who influenced him? Where was the tipping point? • God has a call for each one of His children. God’s presence along with our will, sets the stage for us to work in the same direction. But at the same time, often our will begins to creep into that plan. Recall a time in your life when you have had the experience. • It has been said, God gives us spiritual gifts; what we do with them is our gift to God. What gifts has God given you? What has God called you to do? How does that call mesh with God’s abiding presence in your life? What stop gates can you put into place to avoid your will over taking God’s call in your life?

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church / 4385 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, GA 30068 / 770.971.2880 / mtbethel.org

DISCUSSION For more resources like this, please visit mtbethel.org/media GUIDE

God can use people of faith in spite of their mistakes. • Samson took matters into his own hands, which was a mistake. How often to we do the same thing? What example can you think of in your own life? How can you tell if something is done “in the flesh” (of our own doing) versus being empowered by the Spirit? • What are some of the mistakes we see Samson make? • One is his choice of a wife. Why did Samson’s parents object to his choice for a wife?i • They wanted to make the choice? • Philistines were their enemies? • They were prejudiced? • She wasn’t a believer? • God told the Israelites not to marry Philistines? • Samson’s wife tried to get him to explain the riddle because she:ii • Loved riddles? • Didn’t want secrets between them? • Was blackmailed? • Was a nag? • Was scared? • Was a manipulator?

Additional Study • For those who read the supplemental scriptures from Judges 13-16, what were the key insights you gleaned from your reading? • What parallels can you see between Samson and Israel? • Where are these insights applicable? • How are these insights applied to your daily walk with Christ? • Who will you share these insights with this week?

CLOSING PRAYER As a group, close in prayer. Ask for God to take the lessons learned from this study to more fully commit your life to be filled with His presence and His service to others.

i Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. Serendipity Bible for Personal and Small Group Study, 523. ii Ibid, 525.

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church / 4385 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, GA 30068 / 770.971.2880 / mtbethel.org