7.53 Mix

Facilitator: In advance of the session

Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)

Play the Cold is Contagious video and ask questions like:

In what ways has this video affected the way you feel about cold and why?
If you are influenced by the shivering around you, what does that mean you should do to avoid feeling cold?
How hard do you think it is to avoid the influence of cold and why?
How hard is it to avoid the influence of chaos, confusion, and distraction in our world today and why?

Read 1 Samuel 2:18-26 , then watch the Bible Background Video.

Ask questions like these:

Samuel would become an important figure in Israel’s history – anointing two kings (Saul and David) and leading the people into an era of political and religious renewal. What things might Samuel have learned as a boy serving in the temple that other boys his age would not?
What lessons – both positive and negative – might he have been learning from Eli?
As a high priest Eli had much responsibility for the spiritual welfare of God’s people. Why do you think he decided not to take action against his sons when they didn’t listen to him?
As sons of a priest, Hophni and Phineas, like Samuel, must have spent some of their childhood in God’s house. Why might they have turned out differently from Samuel?
What damage were Eli’s sons doing to the people and to God’s reputation by their actions?
In what ways was Eli implicated in his sons’ actions?
Why do you think that ministers and religious workers should be held to a higher standard of behavior than others?

Show the video of A Boy and A Man and ask

What most stands out to you as you view the interaction between these two people?
What do you think it meant to both people to actually be heard by someone?
In what ways is this kind of interaction important when we are raising young leaders?
The man expresses great sorrow and the boy reacts to it. Yet, even in sharing sorrow, the man nurtures the boy. Think about the “Eli” people in our churches. Do our “Eli” people get an opportunity to share their experiences, even their sorrows?
What might the “Samuel” people in our churches learn from this kind of interaction?
What do you think it would be like if young leaders were invited to congregational meetings and invited to serve alongside people who are decades older than them?
What might it be like if we asked them questions in those meetings, and responded to their answers?

Close by asking everyone to picture a child, one who is not their immediate family and pray silently for that child.