Discussion Questions for Sunday 09/06/26
Pastor Craig emphasized the difference between “Saving Grace” and “Training Grace.” How have you experienced both the saving and the training aspects of God’s grace in your own life? Can you share a specific example?
Stand Alone Sermon: The Foundation for Godly Living
You know grace when you see it. You know humility when you see it, when you experience it, and it's compelling. It's compelling. Those are compelling traits that we experience— grace and humility. It's the grace of God that both creates and sustains a heart that's willing to be interrupted.
Exiled Pt 4 - A Rock of Separation
We're going to look at a story where The immense pressure put on David in this season of life put him into this escalating spiral of terrible situations. Like, for weeks on end, it goes from bad to worse. And I think when we read stories like this, it just reminds us of seasons in our own life when things kind of fall apart. And I think the problem is that the temptation for us, for most of us anyway, when that happens is simply despair, right? My life is falling apart.
Exiled Pt 3 - Turn and Kill the Priests
As we jump into 1 Samuel 22, things are falling apart around David. He seems stuck with no resources, nowhere to go, and things are getting worse. He is surrounded by injustice. He has done right by his people, right by his king, and right by his God, yet he experiences injustice after injustice. This highlights a vital truth for us today: God leads us even in the midst of evil.
Exiled Pt 2 - A Shortage of Crazy
I don't know if you consider your own journey of faith to be one of "exile," but scripturally, it is! Peter says as much in 1 Peter 2 when he addresses us as "strangers and exiles" in this world. As Christians, we are not of this world. Innately we know this, but practically, we often forget it. To make life even more challenging as exiled Christians, we are all still a "work in progress." We are being sanctified, but we are still sinful. We still do and say things we don't want to do, because sin still lingers in us until the day God glorifies us with new bodies.
Exiled Pt 1 - David Wept More
If you missed last week, let’s quickly get up to speed.
King Saul, the first king of Israel, has tried to kill David several times. You would think just one attempt would make David run, but since it was the king, it took multiple attempts for David to finally flee. He went to the prophet Samuel at Ramah, hoping Samuel could hide him.
Hard Mode Pt 5 - A Naked Prophet
We'll be in 1 Samuel 19 today if you want to go ahead and turn there. If you don't have a Bible with you today, we have physical copies of God's Word around the room—just look under the chairs. We really believe in the importance of access to God's Word here at Immanuel Fellowship. I say this every week, but if you don't own a Bible, please take one or talk to us. Let us get you a nicer one. It's really, really beneficial for your faith journey to have access to God's Word.
Wrath in the Old Testament
If you’ve spent any time reading the Old Testament, you’ve probably hit a wall at some point. Maybe you grew up in church, but as you got older and began to pay attention, certain stories started to feel less like Sunday school lessons and more like moral dilemmas.
Hard Mode Pt 4 - I’ll Pin David to the Wall
1 Samuel 18 is where we're going to be today. If you don't have a Bible with you today, we have house Bibles around the room—just look under the chairs. We really believe in the importance of access to God's Word here at Emmanuel Fellowship. If you don't own a physical Bible, I would strongly encourage you to take one.
Hard Mode Pt 3 - The Battle is the Lord’s
Today, we're going to look at one of the most famous verses in our scriptures and in all of the Bible—one of the most famous stories in all of Western society. We're going to be in 1 Samuel chapter 17. This is an extremely long passage, so we're going to do our best to get through it quickly.
Hard Mode Pt 2 - God Goes Ahead of Us
we’re continuing our Hard Mode series. We’ll be in 1 Samuel 16 if you want to go ahead and turn there in your Bibles. Note - on house Bibles. We’re taking time in our study of 1 Samuel to talk about how God uses trials and difficulty to train and forge us into the people who can engage his call on our lives. We’re looking at these series of narratives that deal with David’s life after he was anointed king, but before he actually took the throne. These stories tell us of years of David’s life when he clearly knew God’s call on him, but was still living in obscurity and difficulty.
Hard Mode Pt 1 - What the Lord Sees
We're starting a new series today that I'm calling Hard Mode. Yes, that's a video game reference, but I think it's helpful. We're going to spend this chunk of 1 Samuel talking about the movement in Israel from Saul's reign as the first monarch to David's reign as the second monarch. We'll be focusing on this incredibly awkward in-between time where Saul is still physically reigning as king, but God has rejected Saul's kingship and anointed David as his replacement.
Earthly Kings Pt 4 - The Lord Regretted Saul
We are finishing out our little micro-series within 1 Samuel today: Earthly Kings. We've been talking, we've been zooming in specifically on the reign of Saul, the first king of Israel. There's a short section of the book that focuses just on Saul and his failed monarchy, his poor leadership.
Earthly Kings Pt 2 - Nothing Can Keep the Lord From Saving
We are continuing this series in 1 Samuel that we're calling "Earthly Kings." In this chunk of First Samuel, we're looking at the early monarchy period—specifically King Saul's reign before David enters the scene. The reason this particular piece is important is that we see really clearly how this has worked out.
You Can't Experience Forgiveness If You Won't Confess Your Sin
I have a certain child who shall remain nameless for the purposes of this blog. And we have the same conversation every single time they get in trouble. Every. Single. Time.
Discussion Questions 05/17/26
Pastor Sam talked briefly about the cliche of the hero who swoops in in the nick of time.What's your favorite movie or book scene where the hero arrives just in time? Why do you suppose this storytelling device resonate so deeply with people? When have you hoped for this in your own life?