1. SAMUEL is an example to us in knowing we are special.
Special to parents – “I prayed for this child and the Lord gave me what I asked for. So now I give him to the Lord.” 1Samuel 1v27
We can thank God for our parents who love Jesus. There may be particular ways in which we are special to them. Maybe they will tell us.
Special to God –So all the people knew that Samuel was indeed a prophet of the Lord. 3v20
Before we were born, God had ideas, thoughts and plans that he would like see happen through us, in ways that could not happen in the same way through anyone else. At the right time the Holy Spirit will show us what we need to know of God’s plans for our lives.
2. SAMUEL is an example to us in choosing to worship – to put God first.
She took Samuel, young as he was, to the house of the Lord at Shiloh…… And he worshipped the Lord there. 1v24, 28
Our parents have “taken us to the house of the Lord”, they have got us involved in church, but only we can decide whether or not we are going to worship – that is to put God first in our lives.
3. SAMUEL is an example to us in doing things for God.
serving alongside others –The boy Samuel stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord with the priest Eli. 2v11
There are Christians of different ages who can help us to grow as a follower of Jesus, and who we could be helping by being alongside them.
serving by praying – In the meantime, the boy Samuel continued to serve the Lord, wearing a linen ephod. 2v18
The ephod was put over the shoulders as part of a priest’s clothes, and was linked with praying and finding out what God thought about things.
There are many different ways that we can find to serve God in praying.
There are ways we can pray on our own and also ways we can pray with others.
serving by being available to help – Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 2v19
The robe was a priest’s clothes. When people saw someone with one on, they knew he was there to help them in knowing God.
They way we live and what we say should be like a robe that lets people see that we belong to Jesus and so they will see that they can come to us when they want to know more about him.
serving by doing ordinary jobs –Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then he got up and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. 3v15
Jesus said that people who do ordinary things to help others are very important in his kingdom, so we can be looking each day for simple things that we can do to show something of Jesus to others.
4. SAMUEL is an example to us in keeping on growing in living for God.
The boy Samuel grew up in the service of the Lord. 2v21
The boy Samuel continued to grow and to gain favour both with the Lord and with people. 2v26
As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and he let none of his words fall to the ground. 3v19
Whatever our experience of Jesus has been so far, we are meant to keep on growing. We should have things that we are doing in order to help us grow as Christians. If we are not sure what we can be doing, we can ask others for suggestions.
5. SAMUEL is an example to us in hearing God ourselves – and being ready for him to show us things.
Then the Lord called Samuel 3v4
The Lord called Samuel again. The boy did not know it was the Lord, because the Lord had never spoken to him before. 3v6,7
The Lord came and stood there, and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!” 3v10
Samuel answered, “Speak; your servant is listening.”
God wants to speak in ways that are particularly suited to each of us.
It is important for us to realise that the Holy Spirit does want to speak to us personally, and to invite him to do that, and to get used to the ways in which he speaks to us.
6. SAMUEL is an example to us in using what God has given us to help others.
“What did the Lord show you?” Eli asked. 3v17
Samuel told him everything; he did not keep anything back. 3v18
The Lord again appeared at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And when Samuel spoke, all Israel listened. 3v21
God gives each of us natural talents and abilities which can be used for him.
He also gives us Holy Spirit gifts which are ways of communicating his love to others. We can find from the Bible what these gifts are and we can ask the Holy Spirit to give us what Jesus wants us to use. There are some listed in Romans 12 and in 1Corinthians 12.