Our Calvary Men will be going through the books of 1st & 2nd Samuel highlighting the lives of men in those books and what we can learn from them—the good, the bad, and the ugly—about being a Godly man today.

Every 1st & 3rd Monday of the Month
6:46p - 8:30p
Dinner included

Eli was the high priest of Israel at Shiloh. He judged Israel for about 40 years. He wasn’t a villain—he knew God, served faithfully, and even mentored young Samuel. But his leadership collapsed at home. Here are his core failures and where we can learn from him:

1. Passive Fatherhood — His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were corrupt priests (stole offerings meant for God, slept with women serving at the tabernacle.) Eli knew—and only gave soft verbal warnings. He confronted, but never corrected — he was too passive and it destroyed him and his family.
2. Fear of Man Over Fear of God — God’s verdict (through a prophet and later Samuel) was brutal: Eli “honored his sons above God.” He chose: family comfort, avoiding conflict, and maintaining peace over obeying God. If you won’t lead your family under God, your family will lead you away from Him.
3. Spiritual Authority Without Personal Discipline — Eli functioned as priest but lost moral authority at home. He wore the role—but didn’t enforce the standard. You can’t outsource spiritual leadership. Your title means nothing if your house is out of order.
4. Delayed Obedience = Disobedience — Eli didn’t act decisively when it mattered. By the time judgment came, it was irreversible: his sons died in battle, the Ark was captured, he fell backward and died when he heard the news. What you tolerate today becomes what destroys tomorrow.

SAMUEL – A SHADOW OF CHRIST.
Emerging during a dark and desperate time in the history of God’s people, Samuel arrives as an answer to Hannah’s prayers and turns the tides of Israel’s spiritual and political depravity. Like others found in the pages of our Old Testament, the life and ministry of Samuel presents to us images of what the Lord Jesus Himself would later do. As we study the life of Samuel, we’ll see the following similarities to the life and ministry of Jesus:

• His miraculous birth (1 Samuel 1:5 / Luke 1:34)
• His life dedicated to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11 / John 6:38)
• He came as a result of prayer (1 Samuel 1:17 / Luke 2:36–37)
• His mission was to deliver a nation (1 Samuel 7:3–17 / Luke 15:24)
• He sets the stage for the Davidic Kingdom (1 Samuel 6:13 / Luke 1:32)

Interesting facts: Hannah is derived from the Hebrew word “Hanan” meaning grace or favor. Samuel is a Hebrew name meaning “God has heard” or “name of God,” derived from “Shemuel.” In the Bible, the name signifies a direct answer to prayer.

Samuel was a faithful man and although all of us sin there is no notable recorded sin in the Biblical record of Samuel, perhaps giving us a picture of the future life of Christ who never sinned. Samuel ministered to Israel on a circuit which took him throughout the nation. During his ministry, King Saul’s disobedience would result in Samuel walking away from him and, at the Lord’s direction, anointing David as King (1 Samuel 13:14). Failing to obey God would lead Saul into a troubled and dark time in his life and in the history of Israel.

Here's the situation during Samuel's ministry:

• National rejection of God. Israel demanding a human King was seen as a rejection of God as their true ruler.
• Corrupt Leadership. Samuel's sons, Joel & Abijah, whom he appointed as judges, were corrupt, taking bribes and perverting justice.
• Desire for Conformity. Israel wanted to have a King to be like, "all the other nations," instead of being a unique nation set apart to the Lord.
• Lack of Faith. They also wanted a King to go out before them and fight their battles, showing a lack of trust in God's ability to protect them.
• Spiritual Disobedience. The people often fell into sin, forcing God to send judges, and struggled to remain faithful throughout this transition period.

Summary coming soon.

Table questions coming soon.