Portable mock villages shifted along the Dnieper and crowds of peasants in costume, all so the empress would see exactly what she was meant to see. From that story the sermon turns to David, who set out to build God a house and heard an answer he never expected (2 Samuel 7). A plan can have the right person, the right place, the right moment and honourable motives, and still not be what God asked for. Listen if your best plans have just collapsed.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- What in 2 Samuel 7 makes David's plan to build God a house look completely right at first glance, and why do you think even the prophet Nathan approved it?
- How do you understand God's question in 2 Samuel 7:7 about whether He ever asked for a house of cedar, and what was the tent of meeting meant to remind Israel of?
- The speaker noted that even good plans for God can grow out of the belief that we are the ones doing something for Him. Where do you notice that attitude in your own service or devotion?
- God answers David: you will not build Me a house, I will build a house for you. What does this promise, fulfilled in Jesus, tell you about God and His plans for you?
- In his prayer David asks "Who am I?" and repeatedly calls himself a servant. How can God's "no" restore the right proportions in how you see yourself and God?
- Think of a plan God did not fulfill in your life, like the woman who raised four children instead of going to the mission field. How can you entrust that area to Him with confidence this week?
