Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

I decided to bracket our study of prophets with Samuel and John - one born just before the first king, and one just before the one and only king. The second study in the series focuses on Samuel before King David. Afterward we'll look at which prophets' advice King David took or ignored. But here's Samuel, in a world at war. Some parts of Samuel’s story will be familiar; others less so. Try to answer the following before checking the references and see if there are any surprises: 1.        What was Israel like when Samuel was born? Read 1 Samuel 1:1-2 2.        Were the people at peace or at war? Read 1 Samuel 4:1-4 3.        How did people worship God? Read 1 Samuel 2:12-16,22, 7:3,4 4.        Where was the tabernacle? Read 1 Samuel 1:3 5.        What strange events surrounded Samuel’s birth? Read 1 Samuel 1:19-20 6.        How old was he when he was given to God? Read 1 Samuel 1:21-23 7.        Where did he live when he was given to God? Read 1 Samuel 2:

We're starting our new study at Coffee Break tomorrow, and we're launching into the Old Testament this time, with a view to finding out more about the Minor Prophets. But, of course, that kind of raises questions like "What's a prophet?" and "Why should we listen to them now?"... which raises the parallel question, "When were they prophets and why did people listen, or not listen, to them then?" So here are the questions for our first study. Enjoy. Rumor has it we’re going to study the minor prophets this year, so perhaps we could start by asking ourselves a few simple questions. Please write your answers before reading any further: 1.        What is a prophet? 2.        What’s the difference between a minor prophet and any other kind of prophet? 3.        Do prophets write books? So much for definitions. Here are some background questions. Again, please write your answers before reading further: 1.        Who do you