Life Group - Leader Guides

This week we look into a time in Scripture where the Israelites wanted to be like all the other people around them. Other nations had kings, so they wanted one as well, so they asked God for a king. As you can imagine, and as we will see, this was not God’s plan or His best for His chosen people. But like we often do, they demanded their way and so begins a long journey of difficult consequences to the choice they made to have a king “like everyone else,” instead of God as their true King.

What in the world are prophets? They were chosen by God to be a spokesperson to deliver His will to the people. The prophets had to draw near to God, hear His voice, and know His will. God calls us to do the same—we need to spend time in the quiet listening for His voice. This week we learned from the prophet Samuel that listening isn’t just about hearing—it's about responding. The prophet Micah summed it up this way: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Samuel models for us how to hear and respond to God's voice, and Micah reminds us of what to do once we’ve heard it.

As we continue our journey from Eden to eternity through the Old Testament, we now arrive at the time of the judges. Moses has died, Joshua has faithfully led God’s people into the Promised Land, and he too has passed away. The Israelites are left without a central leader. And as you might guess—when the leader is gone, the people begin to wander. Instead of remaining faithful, the Israelites compromised with the nations around them. Sin gradually replaced obedience to God. Yet in His mercy, God raised up judges to guide, rescue, and call His people back to Himself. This week, we’ll pause here to see what God wants to show us about compromise, courage, and obedience in our own walk with Him.

Hang on tight this week—there's a lot of ground to cover! We’re going to trace God’s plan from the family of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel, meaning “to struggle with God”) all the way to how God set apart an entire nation to display His holiness. Israel was meant to be a light to the nations, pointing to the one true God, and ultimately Jesus. As we explore these passages, we will see how seriously God takes sin, how deeply He loves His people—offering mercy and grace—and how He calls them to honor Him and be set apart. We’ll also face some hard questions. God’s Word can sometimes be difficult to understand, but we will see how to dig deeper, read in context, and trust that God will honor our diligence as we seek Him.

This week we're kicking off a new series called Eden to Eternity. Sometimes we treat the Old and New Testaments like two completely separate stories, but when we step back, we see one seamless, redemptive narrative. God’s Words flow together—cover to cover—revealing His unfailing love for a broken world. Over the coming weeks, we’ll dig into foundational truths in Scripture that help us build a solid spiritual foundation—and maybe even bring some clarity to areas we’ve been struggling in.