It's Complicated(S1) : WK 2 - GROUP GUIDE

INTRODUCTION
The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.

OPEN QUESTIONS
Families can be complicated things at times. Share with the group your family dynamic (siblings, parents, relationships), along with one thing you remember fondly about growing up, and maybe something that was difficult or frustrating at times.

HEAD

1. Read 1 Samuel 16:1-12 and Psalm 21 together and share any wisdom, insights, or thoughts that come to you from the reading?
2. Knowing God had previously said that Israel shouldn’t have a king because He was their king (1 Samuel 8), why do you think God caved and chose a king for them?
3. Saul fell into the traps that God had predicted if Israel had a king, but God still finds another king for Israel, but one no one would have expected.  Why do you think God often chooses people we wouldn’t, to do His work?
4. How do you think it felt to be one of Jesse’s older sons who got passed up for the youngest?
5. Concerning Psalm 21, what are your takeaways from this Psalm about how God works with fallen human beings to bring about victory for His kingdom?
6. Psalm 21:8-12 sounds harsh for a God of love.  How do you reconcile the picture of God in the New Testament, with this one from the Old Testament?

HEART

1. What are some of the ways you think this story is complicated as it relates to God?  How about to Family?
2. Why do you think God chose a young shepherd boy to be king over Israel?  Recognize that the young in these times were not as respected or taken as seriously as those that were older and more mature.
3. As God continued to acquiesce to the requests of the Israelites, what can we learn about His grace, about His flexibility, and about His willingness to meet us where we are in hopes to bring us to where He is?
4. As a young shepherd boy chosen to be king, why do you think David was better positioned to write a psalm like Psalm 21 that recognizes that the king’s victory is God’s doing?
5. Any thoughts on why God would have anointed David at this time, even though it would be years before the people installed him as their king?

HANDS
Take a moment to look back over your life and reflect on the victories that God has given you.  How did you know it was God?  It’s always easier to look back and see how God worked, and harder to identify what He is up to in this present moment.  Pray together today for the eyes to see God at work, and the faith to know He is even when you can’t see it.

LIVING WORDS FOR YOUR WEEK
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT