Gathering 

Choose one of these to share. It’s okay to brag or embellish when you recount the story.

  1. Some fantastic exploit or achievement told over and over in your family lore
  2. A time when you “risked it all” to defend someone’s honor or “take one for the team”
  3. A time when you were vulnerable or in need, and someone heroically stepped up for you

 

Backstory

After killing Goliath (1 Samuel 17), David never again had to fight alone. This chapter, placed at the end of David’s life, highlights the exploits of mighty men who ran with David over several years. These men were inspired to fight by his side: two groups of three warriors (23:8-12 & 23:13-23) and one group of 30 warriors (23:23-39). Their exploits contribute to David’s military success but without dateable references. They happened either (a) while David (king-in-waiting) flees a jealous King Saul (events recorded in ch 18–30) or (b) after Saul’s death (ch 31), when David’s “Mighty Men” helped him consolidate and extend his kingdom in war with the Philistines (2 Samuel 5–9). 

 

God’s Story

Read aloud 2 Samuel 23:8-23. Do your best to pronounce the names of the men involved. Give them nicknames instead, if you want.

 

Finding My Story in God’s Story

Where in this story do you find yourself?

  1. A curious bystander, wondering if I’m reading fact or fiction.
  2. One of the renegades, courageously joining David.
  3. Jealous of David. Wish I had such faithful friends at my side.
  4. What I wouldn’t give to be a war correspondent in David’s day.
  5. Other _______.

 

What do these spear-raising, sword-fighting, water-fetching, lion-killing, club-wielding guys sound like to you? 

  1. Superheroes or comic book characters—like in some movie
  2. Royal bodyguards—willing to take a bullet for David
  3. Rogue outcasts—out for individual glory
  4. Imitating David—defeating Goliath, all over again
  5. Other _______.

 

The Big “Three” did the seemingly impossible. What great feat most impresses you:

  1. Breaking through the Philistines lines, twice, without spilling the gathered water!  
  2. With raised spear, killing 800 men—all in one encounter!
  3. Wielding sword with nonstop fierceness—such that it froze to his hand!
  4. Striking down the spear-wielding Egyptian—with sleight of hand!
  5. Other _______.

 

Do you think David’s men were inspired by God, or enamored with a charismatic leader? Why do you think so?

  1. They envisioned a Mighty Fortress of God—the same God we serve today.
  2. In David, they saw a guy who let his guard down, admitted when he needed help.
  3. David lived the rugged life, more than a royal life, and “like attracts like.”
  4. God does the transforming, making a man accomplish more than flesh alone can do.
  5. Other _______

 

Who are the “mighty men” who have done “mighty” things for you in the past?

 

Describe something “mighty” that God may still need to change in your life. Which “mighty men” (or lifelines) would you want at your side to help assure the next breakthrough? 

  1. Family: ______________.
  2. Friends: _____________.
  3. Guys in this men’s group
  4. Other _______.

 

Our Story

Where might you act courageously as a lifeline on behalf of some friend or heroic cause?

  1. I will “love my neighbor as myself—but more sacrificially than before.
  2. I will serve as a sacrificial servant or mighty man on the home front.
  3. I will take my fighting spirit into cross-cultural mission work.
  4. I will share my heart-felt need for other faithful men, beginning with ____________.
  5. Other _______.

 

What “next steps” would it take to build even “Three Mighty Men” for your group/church?

  1. I see myself as one of God’s Mighty Men.
  2. I see this group as a possible “Three” that God could use mightily.
  3. I do not feel up to it—let’s recruit some other guys.
  4. Other _______.

 

Pray for one another as you take “next steps” to be that lifeline that others can depend on.