Week 1: Samson
Taught by: Taylor Dawson

Samson was destined to be a Hero before he was even born. His mother was instructed by an angel to raise him as a Nazarite, committing to a vow to never cut his hair. In addition to having lots of hair Samson possessed unbelievable physical strength. This strength was given by God to Samson to accomplish Samson’s purpose in life — to begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.

As Samson was growing up and through adulthood he made some bad decisions especially when it came to relationships. One of those relationships was with a Philistine woman named Delilah. The Philistine leaders found out about their relationship and paid Delilah to find out how Samson got his strength. Delilah reported back that it was because of his long hair. While asleep, Samson’s hair was cut off.

Losing his strength, he was captured by the Philistines, who gouged out his eyes, and made him grind grain in prison. Later, the Philistines stood Samson in the center of a temple during a celebration. Samson was placed between the two main pillars of the temple. Samson humbly called out to God and asked to be strengthened one more time so that he could fulfill his destiny. Then Samson pushed against the pillars with all his might and the temple crashed.

Our relationships matter. Making wise decisions in whom we hang out with and date is an important part of our walk as Christians.

Share with your student a time when you made a bad relationship decision. Did those decisions affect your relationship with God? How did you come back from that?