Covenant Friendship & Costly Loyalty // Pastor Daniel Mills

Devotional

Day 1: Moving From Loneliness Into Deep Covenant Community

We live in a world where loneliness has become an epidemic, leaving many of us feeling isolated despite our online connections. While social media offers many "friends," it often lacks the depth of a community where we can truly lay out our hearts. God calls us out of these siloed lives and into something much deeper than casual friendship. He invites us into covenant community, a place where we are known, loved, and supported. You were never intended to walk through this life alone, but to journey alongside others in faith. [05:33]

And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David because he loved him as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed that pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.

Reflection: When you consider the pace and pressure of your daily life, what spiritual practice could you adopt to create more space to recognize God's presence through the people He has already placed around you?

Day 2: Embracing the Sacrifice That True Community Requires

Entering into a deep relationship with others will inevitably cost you something. It might require your time, your comfort, or even the laying down of your own personal ambitions. Just as Jonathan prioritized his covenant with David over his own claim to the throne, we are called to put the needs of others before our own. Relationships can be messy and difficult, requiring us to work through offenses and hardships. Yet, it is within this sacrifice that we find the beauty of healing and restoration. [17:21]

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Reflection: Is there a specific relationship where you have been hesitant to invest because of the "messiness" involved, and how might God be inviting you to step in with a spirit of sacrifice this week?

Day 3: Finding Life Transformation Through Truth and Vulnerability

Real life transformation does not happen in isolation or through head knowledge alone; it happens in the context of community. This requires us to move past surface-level conversations and into a place of intentional transparency. We need people who can speak the truth to us in love, even when that truth is difficult to hear. By sharing our weaknesses and confessing our faults, we create a space where God can work deeply in our hearts. This journey of trust and tears is what allows us to grow more like Christ. [12:26]

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from being fully known by others, and what would it look like to share that burden with a trusted friend or group?

Day 4: Reflecting God’s Heart by Bearing One Another’s Burdens

Being part of a covenant community means being alert to the needs and hardships of those around us. We are called to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, sharing the weight of each other's pain. This might look like providing a meal, offering a prayer, or showing kindness to someone who can offer nothing in return. Like David seeking to bless Jonathan’s family, we look for opportunities to extend grace because of the covenant we share. These acts of service are the practical expression of the law of Christ. [21:20]

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way, obey the law of Christ.

Reflection: Think of someone in your circle who is currently navigating a season of hardship; what is one concrete, practical action you can take this week to help carry their burden?

Day 5: Encouraging Others to Walk in God’s Divine Purpose

One of the greatest gifts of community is having others who can see God’s calling on our lives when we cannot. Jonathan went to find David in the wilderness specifically to encourage him to stay strong in his faith. In the same way, you are called to push one another toward the purposes and will of God. As we love each other well, the invisible God becomes visible through our actions and our care. Our shared journey helps us move from doubt to belief as we experience the love of Jesus through our friends. It is in this shared life that we see the love of Jesus that never fails. [30:56]

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Reflection: Where have you recently sensed God inviting you to encourage a friend in their spiritual journey, and what specific words of life could you speak into their situation today?

Sermon Summary

A narrative that begins with a college football story opens up a deeper theological meditation on covenant friendship. A walk-on player who became the quiet center of a team illustrates how presence, encouragement, and ordinary faithfulness shape community. That pattern is then traced to the biblical friendship of David and Jonathan: a covenant sealed in mutual devotion, costly fidelity, and lasting loyalty even when political power and personal safety were at stake. The Old Testament account is read alongside the New Testament call to share burdens, speak honestly, and live sacrificially, showing covenant community as both commanded and formative for Christian discipleship.

Practical implications move quickly from story to church life. The early church’s life of shared teaching, meals, prayer, and generosity becomes the model for contemporary small groups and membership commitments. Empirical research about where discipleship occurs undergirds the pastoral invitation to join seven-week small group launches: community is not optional for spiritual growth. The talk presses realism about cost—time, vulnerability, risk, and sometimes pain—because genuine covenant relationships demand sacrifice and mutual accountability. Yet those same risks yield healing, encouragement, and the experience of God’s love mediated through others.

Several vivid scenes underscore the claims: Jonathan laying aside royal privilege to support David; Ittai pledging to follow David to life or death; David’s men risking themselves to bring him water; and the later, risky kindness David extends to Jonathan’s descendants. Covenant community is described as sustained by three practices—truth, tears, and trust—which together cultivate depth, correction, and fidelity. Finally, a modern example—J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis—demonstrates how friendship can move a person from intellectual curiosity to faith, showing that spiritual formation often happens through sustained, honest relationships. The overall summons is clear: faith flourishes not in isolation but in costly, truthful, tearful, and trustworthy communities that incarnate God’s love and advance his purposes for one another.

Key Takeaways

1. Covenant community transforms loneliness Deep communal bonds replace isolation by offering sustained presence, mutual aid, and sacrificial attention. Those bonds are practiced, not merely professed, and require regular rhythms of meeting, praying, and sharing life. When believers intentionally enter these ties, spiritual formation shifts from private religion to shared discipleship that reshapes identity and practice. [04:57]
2. Small groups advance real discipleship Small groups create environments where doctrinal truth meets personal application and accountability. Statistics cited show a marked increase in discipleship when people join groups or take on mentorship; growth in Christ is rarely purely individual. Short-term commitments can become long-term formation if vulnerability and service are practiced. [09:06]
3. Truth, tears, and trust sustain community Honest correction, emotional transparency, and reliable faithfulness form the plumbing of spiritual friendships. Speaking truth in love refines character; shared grief and joy deepen sympathy; faithfulness across seasons proves covenant is not transactional. Together these habits create durable communities that reflect Christ to one another. [23:17]
4. Costly loyalty reveals God’s will True covenant can demand sacrifice of status, safety, or comfort—but it also clears the way for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in others. Jonathan’s relinquishment, Ittai’s loyalty, and David’s later kindness illustrate how costly love advances God’s kingdom and preserves grace across generations. Spiritual obedience often looks like risking self for another. [16:52]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:52] - Nolan’s football story: influence over fame
[03:29] - David and Jonathan introduced
[05:33] - Defining covenant community
[06:49] - Early church model and membership
[09:06] - Small groups and discipleship stats
[14:19] - The cost and messiness of community
[17:53] - Ittai, loyalty, and sacrificial following
[23:17] - Truth, tears, and trust explained
[32:00] - Tolkien and Lewis: friendship that leads to faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

1 Samuel 18:1–4 (ESV)
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

1 Samuel 20:16–17, 42 (ESV)
And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ... Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

Observation questions

In the opening story about the Ohio State football team, Nolan Badow was a "walk-on" player who didn't get much playing time. Despite not being a star on the field, what did the team survey reveal about his influence and relationships within the team? [02:35]
According to 1 Samuel 18, what specific items did Jonathan give to David to seal their covenant, and what was the motivation behind Jonathan’s actions?
The sermon highlights three specific elements that sustain covenant community: Truth, Tears, and Trust. How does the interaction between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20 illustrate the element of "tears"? [26:27]
Based on the statistics shared from Barna regarding discipleship, where do the majority (56%) of Christians meet their discipleship community, and how does being in a small group affect the likelihood of being discipled? [09:50]

Interpretation questions

Jonathan was the natural heir to King Saul’s throne, yet he gave his royal robe and weapons to David. What does this act symbolize regarding Jonathan’s submission to God’s will and his loyalty to David, considering the political cost?
The sermon notes that "community is messy" and that genuine relationships require work, much like marriage or dating. Why is the "messiness" of community often a necessary pathway to experiencing healing and restoration, rather than just an inconvenience to be avoided? [16:52]
Ittai the Gittite pledged loyalty to David saying he would follow him to "life or death" even when David was losing power. How does this definition of loyalty contrast with the modern idea of friendship, which often fades when circumstances become difficult or inconvenient? [17:53]

Application questions

We live in a time of a "loneliness epidemic" where we can have many online connections but few real friends. Nolan’s story showed that ordinary presence and encouragement can create deep impact. Who is one person in your life right now who needs your consistent, ordinary presence rather than a grand gesture? [04:05]
Covenant community is not just about hanging out; it is about spiritual formation. Statistics show that people are far more likely to grow as disciples when they are in a small group or mentorship. If you are not currently in a group, what specific barrier (time, fear, busyness) is holding you back? If you are in a group, how can you deepen the discipleship focus? [12:48]
True covenant relationships cost us something—whether it is time, emotional energy, or stepping out of our comfort zone. Jonathan risked his safety and his claim to the throne for David. What is one "cost" you are finding it difficult to pay right now in order to love the people in your church community well? [15:23]
One of the pillars of community is "Truth." We are called to speak the truth in love, even when it is uncomfortable. Is there a difficult conversation or a word of truth you have been avoiding with a Christian friend because you are afraid of the tension? How can you invite God into that situation this week? [24:49]
The friendship between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis demonstrates how community can move someone from skepticism to faith. Who is a "Clive" (C.S. Lewis) in your life—someone who doesn't know Jesus yet—that you can invest in through patient, genuine friendship this year? [32:57]

Sermon Clips

``So much of us live isolated lives. So much of us live in in loneliness. There's a loneliness epidemic, as you've heard me say before, that's in the world today, particularly in Western nations. This loneliness epidemic as we live such siloed lives and as social media and online community has distanced us, we have so many friends online, but so little friends in person that we can actually trust and we can actually lay out our our hearts and our lives and share things with. There's so many things that, so many ways in which we are isolated from other people. [00:04:06] (33 seconds) #EndTheLoneliness

And the story of David and Jonathan gives us a picture and gives us a description of what does it actually mean to be in friendship, and I'm gonna call it covenant community. Because I think friendship is one thing that we can see and a lot of people have friends in the world, but covenant community is something that's a lot deeper. It's something that's a lot bigger and something that I think God calls us into. He calls us into covenant community one with another. See, the Lord desires for us to be in covenant community. [00:04:39] (34 seconds) #CovenantFriendship

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