Life Group Questions

1. If you could not hear this week’s sermon, consider going to the church website and listening to it. What main ideas or observations did you gain from the passage? Do you have any questions?

2. Why do you think the Lord “downsized” Gideon’s army the way He did? If you were in Gideon’s position, how do you think you would have responded to God’s plan? What does this tell us about the Lord?

3. It’s apparent that God’s ways of doing things are not man’s ways (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9). Recall some stories in Scripture that remind you of this idea. Are there any circumstances in your life that you can recall where only God could have worked to bring it about?

4. We can see divine instruction given to Gideon in the text (vv 2,4,5,7). What does this tell us about the relationship between the Lord and Gideon (cf. Judges 6:12,34)? Consider these passages: Genesis 12:1, Joshua 1:2-6, Matthew 28:19-20. What instruction was given by the Lord? What divine instruction might the Lord be giving you?

5. What examples of obedience do you see in our text? What is the benefit of complete obedience (cf. Deuteronomy 30:16-20, Daniel 1:8-9)? Do you ever struggle with obeying what the Lord has called you to do?

6. We can see in the text a willingness on the part of Gideon and several of the men (of the 32,000 original 10,000 remained). Why do you believe these were willing and ready to fight? Contrast Gideon’s excuse in Judges 6:15 to where he is now? What has changed? What causes believers to have a willingness to serve the Lord?

7. The downsizing that takes place in our text is a test from the Lord (v4). Look up these passages and recall the testing that the Lord gives (Genesis 22:1-2, Job 1:7-8). What does Paul mean in Philippians 1:29 the we should “suffer” for His sake? What testing has the Lord allowed you to experience? How has it changed you?

by Dan Jarmon  /  Music & Young Adults