A mother in a shop queue patiently calms her wailing little girl, until it turns out that the name she keeps repeating does not belong to the child at all. That scene opens a reflection on self-control, which Paul lists alongside power and love (2 Timothy 1), and leads us into the story of Samson (Judges 13-16), a man given everything, who lacked one thing. The sermon shows where unguarded eyes, feet and words will take a person. Listen if you want to know why self-control is a spiritual matter and not a question of willpower.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- The book of Judges keeps repeating that there was no king in Israel and everyone did as they saw fit. How does Samson's story illustrate those words?
- Samson was set apart for God from birth, yet he went through the vineyards, tore apart a lion and took honey from its carcass. What do these details reveal about how he lost self-control?
- In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul places self-control right next to power and love. What happens to power and to love when self-control is missing?
- Proverbs compares a person without self-control to a city whose walls are broken down. In which areas of your life is that wall weakest right now?
- Samson wakes up sure he will do what he always did, not knowing the Lord has left him. What makes it easy to miss how we are drifting away from God?
- Samson was led by his feet and his eyes. In what specific situation this week do you want to ask the Holy Spirit for self-control, and how can you practice it?
