Group Notes | August 6

Flannelgraph of Faith: Fighting the Giant
August 6, 2017
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Open:

It seems everyone you spend quality time with reveals they are fighting some sort of “giant” in their life, whether it’s physical, spiritual or emotional. Can you share an example?

We continue our series this week, looking at the characters taught us in our early years, using the decades-old idea of a flannelgraph. This week we are looking at a story familiar to almost everyone: the story of David, the Israeli youth who had the courage to take a slingshot and a stone, killing an enemy giant, Goliath. We are looking for deeper lessons resting under the top layer of this piece of history. As we re-examine this narrative, we lay the groundwork for finding the giants in our own lives, and hopefully David’s example can help us as we seek to slay our “Goliaths.”

Focal Passages: I Samuel 17

The Background:

There’s probably no one in your group who can’t tell the story of the life of David! Could someone give an overview of what was happening with King Saul and the Israelite army when David came on the scene? Then someone else relate the events that led David to the area where Israel was encamped against the Philistine army. Those two accounts will set the background as David entered the war zone, with Israel and the Philistines getting into position for a coming battle.

Discuss:

The Greatest Challenge in Life is Rarely the Actual Challenge:

  1. Read 1 Sam. 17:22-24. What was the first thing David heard as he entered the camp?
  2. His immediate response is in verse 26b (read). If you can imagine the situation, what was probably some of the ridicule hurled at him? Verse 28 records the words of his older brother; how would that make you feel?
  3. What were the attackers trying to accomplish? Why was such an attack made by the men who were seasoned warriors? Which was the real challenge here that David had to overcome?

Facing Opposition While Doing God’s Will Should be Expected

  1. Where did David get his confidence to go against Goliath?
  2. Which is harder: going against our peers, or sitting among them saying nothing? Why?
  3. Read Matthew 5:10-12, and 2 Timothy 3:11b-13. Why does God record these passages for us?

Your Success or Failure is Directly Related to How You Handle that Opposition

  1. Can you achieve a desire you might have to serve God in a certain capacity, if you let fear hold you back? Why or why not?
  2. Can someone share a fear you have, and tell how it has affected your life?

Depending on God’s Power in the Face of Your Biggest Giant is Always a Winner:

9. Who was Goliath trusting in? Who was David trusting in? Do you think it even crossed David’s mind that he could lose? Why?

Close:

What a marvelous gift, to have a trust so great in our Holy God that we will go up against the most evil giant we can encounter.  David, even though young and surrounded by men, found himself angered as he saw the fear paralyzing the soldiers. His amazing faith in God, developed through his experiences in the wilderness watching sheep and worshiping his Creator, left him stunned that others would take no action against someone insulting the Living God. It would have been so easy to give in to the jeers of men much older than himself, and run back home. But David was convinced in his soul that God would win the victory for him, and failing to act was not an option David even considered.

How about you? Have you let the giants in your life dictate your choices? They can be your friends, criticism, your appearance, a disability—so many possibilities. Some physical traits perhaps were given to us by God to make us stronger! Think for a moment of those you know in your church who are such a great example of being strong for Christ, though weak by the world’s standards. Follow David’s example and work on trusting God with everything you are, so that you can eliminate the giants that want to take you down and render you incapable of service. You will soon be able to tell you are succeeding: whenever you are doing God’s will, you will have opposition. You will never have spiritual warfare unless you are doing something spiritual!

Memory Verse: I Samuel 17:47: Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands. (NKJV)

Ask Yourself: Are my giants destroying my effectiveness as a Christian? Am I giving in to the persecution and fear, or am I trusting without question? How can I trust more fully? Am I praying to God for more faith?

 

/by