Discussion Questions

When the speaker titles the message “Samson is Yoked,” linking Samson’s strength to his eventual bondage, what does that framing suggest about how God can let a “strong” man end up enslaved—and what does it reveal about the kind of strength God actually values? JumpstartAnother way to ask: By calling it “Samson is Yoked,” what is the speaker saying about how a “strong” man can still end up trapped? What kind of strength do you think God cares about most?

Samson demanded a Philistine wife “for she pleases me,” and later Judah’s men tell him, “Don’t you know that we serve these people?” How do those two statements expose an Israel that has adjusted to Philistine rule, and what early-Christian assumptions about being a “separate people” would make this adjustment feel intolerable rather than normal? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How do Samson saying “she pleases me” and Judah saying “we serve these people” show that Israel had gotten used to Philistine control? Why would early Christians see that kind of settling in as unacceptable?

The speaker repeatedly notes that “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him” during several violent episodes (lion, 30 coats, jawbone), yet Samson’s motives often look impulsive or retaliatory; how should a group wrestle with what this teaches about God’s sovereignty working through morally messy people without calling the mess “good”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If “the Spirit of the Lord” empowered Samson during violent moments, but Samson often acted out of anger, what does that say about God working through flawed people? How can we admit God is in control without calling Samson’s sin “good”?

The teacher calls Samson’s worldliness a slow erosion—“Samson flirted with the world until he finally caved… the world wore away at him… vexed to death”—so what does this teaching imply about sin as pressure and attrition rather than a single dramatic decision, and where do you see that dynamic in your own habits? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it mean that sin wore Samson down slowly instead of ruining him in one big moment? Where do you see that slow wearing-down in your own habits?

The speaker argues that Samson “did live obedient” to God’s Nazarite instruction (no wine, no cut hair) until Delilah, and then says Samson “knew that Delilah would cut his hair” and still told her “all his heart”; what does this expose about the difference between outward obedience and the inward surrender of the will? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Samson followed the Nazarite rules on the outside but still gave in to Delilah in his heart, what is the difference between outward obedience and giving God your will? How might someone look obedient but still be surrendering inside?

“The world will blind you, they will bind you and grind you”: how does the teacher’s three-word summary interpret Samson’s eyes being put out, his brass fetters, and his prison grinding as a spiritual pattern—and what modern “respectable sins” or pursuits most commonly produce that same blindness/bondage/grinding in Christians? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How do “blind, bind, grind” turn Samson’s story into a picture of what sin does to us spiritually? What “respectable” sins or normal pursuits today lead Christians into that same pattern?

The speaker connects “yoke/burden” language to rules: Pharisaic burdens (Matthew 23), the Jerusalem council’s “no other burden” (Acts 15), and Peter calling the law a yoke (Acts 15), then concludes that Jesus also has “rules… a law… and my way is kind”; how does that challenge common evangelical instincts that treat “rules” as automatically opposed to grace? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the Bible calls some religious rules heavy burdens, but the speaker says Jesus also has “rules” that are kind, how does that challenge the idea that rules always go against grace? How can grace and Jesus’ commands fit together?

The “dual yoke” image (two oxen) and the claim that Jesus invites us “to do what I do” portray discipleship as sharing Jesus’ direction and pace; what would have to change in your definition of “freedom in Christ” if freedom means being harnessed to Jesus rather than unyoked altogether? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If following Jesus is like being yoked to him and keeping his pace, how does that change what “freedom in Christ” means? What would it look like to be free while still being tied to Jesus’ direction?

In the dream illustration, the speaker says Jesus is moving forward in conquest and offers only two options: “join Jesus or get left behind”; what parts of modern Christianity does that confront (comfort-seeking, neutrality, endless self-improvement), and what would “getting left behind” look like in a church context rather than an obvious apostasy? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the only options are to join Jesus’ mission or be left behind, what parts of modern Christianity does that challenge (comfort, staying neutral, self-help)? What might “left behind” look like inside a church, not just someone leaving the faith?

The speaker argues Samson becomes a “hero of faith” not when “the Spirit… overpowered him” but when blind and humbled he prays, “Lord, remember me… strengthen me only this once,” and he also claims God used Samson’s failures strategically against the Philistines; how do you hold together (a) real accountability for Samson’s disobedience and (b) God’s purposeful use of his collapse—and where does that tension show up in how you interpret your own failures? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can Samson be held responsible for his disobedience while also saying God used even his failure for a purpose? Where do you feel that same tension when you think about your own failures?