SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL DAVID’S STORY: KEY MOMENTS SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL INTRO: PURPOSE OF O.T. STORIES 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:4-6 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL INTRO: A STORY OF IDENTITY WHO AM I? Donald Trump Tim Peters Harry Kane (d) Steve McClure SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Discuss together some of the things that you (or the people around you) place their identity in. What are the consequences of putting our identity in these various things? SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL (1) THE KIND OF PERSON GOD CAN USE For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war. 2 Chron 16:9 ‘You have done a foolish thing,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.’ 1 Samuel 13:13-14 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL (2) SAMUEL’S STORY (ISRAEL) In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” or “they did what was right in their own eyes. Judges 21:15 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL (2b) SAUL’S STORY He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than any of the others. 1 Samuel 9:2 The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbours – to one better than you. 1 Samuel 15:28 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. Acts 13:22 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL (2c) DAVID STORY But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ 1 Samuel 16:7 He [God] chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of His people Jacob. David shepherded the sheep with integrity of heart, with skilful hands he guided them. Psalm 78:70-72 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

“Character is what you are in the dark’ “Character is what you are in the dark’. When nobody is around, when nobody sees.” D.L. Moody

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Which character from this story do you most identity with and why? What does it mean today to have integrity, faithfulness and reliability in the unseen moments? (Consider your studies or work). How can you demonstrate faithfulness in the unseen moments? SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

(3) SERVING WITH HEART, VISION & SKILL 70He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; 71from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skilful hands he led them Psalm 78:70-72

(3) DEVELOPING HEART…WITH GOD’S PERSPECTIVE Heart gives ‘life’ & ‘vitality’ to our ministry; it’s the basic desire to want to do something that will have an eternal impact “He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skilful hands he led them” Psalm 78:70-72 God called David “a man after my own heart” Acts 13:22 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

(3) EXERCISING VISION …IN LINE WITH GOD’S PURPOSES If our ministry needs “heart” in order to keep it from being ‘dry’ and ‘lifeless’ – you need a vision to keep it from being aimless. “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed” Acts 13:36 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart […] it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” Proverbs 19:21 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

(3) USING SKILL …IN GOD’S STRENGTH You may have heart to do something and a vision to know where to do it, but without skill to know how to do it you’ll become very frustrated. “I laid a foundation as a wise builder” 1 Cor 3:10 “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it” 1 Sam 17:34-35 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What has God been saying to you about what it takes to be the kind of person He uses? How would you describe your heart, vision and skill right at this moment? How might others help you to grow in your heart, vision and skills for helping others? SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL

GOOD NEWS ACCORDING TO DAVID This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:2-3 SESSION 1: IDENTITY: DAVID, SAUL AND SAMUEL