Sunday School Stories for Grownups, Week 3: David and Goliath / TBC Sunday Worship 6/21/2026 8:45 AM

First Samuel 17 brings David and Goliath back out of the children’s Sunday school room and into the grown up world where giants still stand in the valley. The story still says David trusted God, but the grown up lesson presses deeper. Faith is not a feeling floating around in the air. Faith is “a person acting in a way that believes the living God keeps his promises.”

David’s faith begins with the living God, not with religion as a set of motions. Israel had sacrifices, Sabbath, feasts, and words to say, but David saw through all the noise to the God behind it all. God was not stained glass, not a temple, not a cross on a wall, not a dead idol. God was Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Olam, El Rohi, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Saboath, and Jehovah Rohi. The names of God gave David a heart full of worship before David ever walked into the valley.

David’s courage comes from that wholehearted devotion. Goliath had size, armor, a spear, a sword, and years of battle experience. David had a staff, a sling, five smooth stones, and the living God. Goliath stood nine feet nine inches tall and shouted for forty days, but David heard more than military intimidation. David heard a pagan defy “the armies of the living God,” and that changed everything.

The battle in the valley shows that David did not walk down alone. David came “in the name of the Lord of hosts,” Jehovah Saboath, the Lord of armies. Goliath made two fatal mistakes. He brought a knife to a gunfight, because David’s sling was deadly in trained hands. Worse than that, Goliath defied the living God, and no dead god could save him.

David’s victory also refuses to pretend that David was perfect. The same man who faced Goliath later committed terrible sins, including adultery and murder. Yet the defining mark of David was still his heart. David returned to God with broken remorse and repentance, and God loved and forgave him. The account calls men and women to become people after God’s own heart, people who know the living God so personally that the giants no longer look so big.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith acts on God’s promises [34:21] Faith is not merely agreement that God exists. Faith moves because God has spoken and because God keeps his word. David’s confidence was not rooted in personality, youth, or bravery for bravery’s sake. David acted because the living God had already proven himself faithful. [34:21]
• 2. Religion must become personal devotion [37:20] The motions of worship can become empty when the heart never reaches for God himself. David participated in Israel’s life of worship, but he was not content with routine. Something of God cut through the noise and made David hungry for God’s presence. That is why God could call him a man after his own heart. [37:20]
• 3. God’s names strengthen bold obedience [45:04] The names of God are not trivia for a Bible quiz. Yahweh, Adonai, El Rohi, Jehovah Saboath, and Jehovah Rohi reveal who God is when fear starts shouting. David knew the living God by name before he faced the giant by name. A giant changes size when the soul remembers who God is. [45:04]
• 4. The battle belongs to the Lord [57:43] David did not deny Goliath’s weapons, height, or experience. David simply saw a greater reality standing over all of it. “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” was not religious decoration, but battle truth. God’s presence meant the outcome was settled before David ever reached the field. [57:43]
• 5. God values repentance over perfection [01:03:27] David’s life warns against turning heroes of faith into sinless statues. His failures were serious, painful, and real. Yet David’s heart returned to God with brokenness instead of hiding behind pride. A person after God’s heart is not flawless, but responsive to God’s correction and mercy.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [14:50] - Good Morning, TBC Family
• [17:01] - Law Enforcement Outreach Thanks
• [20:59] - Celebrating Faithful Lives
• [23:30] - World Cup Joy in America
• [25:06] - Sunday School Stories for Grown Ups
• [26:17] - David and Goliath for Children
• [34:21] - What Faith Really Is
• [36:19] - David in the Hall of Faith
• [37:20] - The Living God, Not Empty Religion
• [40:12] - David’s Wholehearted Devotion
• [43:46] - Learning the Names of God
• [49:31] - David’s Bold Faith Against Goliath
• [53:50] - Goliath’s Size and David’s Courage
• [57:43] - David Comes in the Lord’s Name
• [60:09] - David’s Two Secret Weapons
• [63:27] - David Was a Work in Progress
• [64:57] - Becoming People After God’s Heart

Bible Reading

1 Samuel 17
“Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” [15:52] [49:57]

Hebrews 11:32
“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—” [36:19]

1 Samuel 13:14
“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

Psalm 23:1
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” [49:05]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Samuel 17, what details are given about Goliath’s size, armor, and weapons, and how do those details make David’s approach stand out? [53:50]
2. What words of Goliath especially stirred David, and how did David describe the people Goliath was really defying? [53:37]
3. In 1 Samuel 13:14, what description does God give of David, and what does that reveal about what God noticed in him?
4. What names of God are highlighted, and which of those names seem especially connected to the story in the valley with Goliath? [45:04]

Interpretation questions

1. Hebrews 11:32 includes David among people remembered for faith. If faith is acting in a way that believes the living God keeps his promises, what does David’s place in that list help show about the kind of faith God honors? [34:21]
2. David was surrounded by the religious life of Israel, yet he reached beyond routine to know the living God personally. What is the difference between outward religion and wholehearted devotion, and why does that difference matter when fear shows up? [37:20]
3. David said, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.” What does that statement reveal about how David understood the battle, himself, and God’s role in the conflict? [57:43]
4. David later fell into serious sin, yet he is still remembered as a man after God’s own heart. What does that suggest about the difference between perfection and repentance in a believer’s life? [01:03:27]

Application questions

1. What giant is standing in the valley right now for each person—fear, grief, addiction, conflict, money trouble, health news, or something else—and in what way has that giant been talking louder than God’s promises? [01:03:04]
2. Is spiritual life starting to feel like motion without heart—showing up, saying the words, doing the routine, but not really reaching for God himself? What might wholehearted devotion look like this week in a simple and honest way? [40:12]
3. Which name of God most needs to be remembered right now—Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Saboath, Jehovah Rohi, or another one—and why does that name meet the present need? [48:25]
4. David knew who God was before he faced Goliath. What regular habits could help a person know the living God better before the next hard battle arrives? [01:04:57]
5. David ran toward the battle line instead of shrinking back. Where might bold obedience be needed right now, even if the person still feels small and under-equipped? [58:50]
6. When failure and sin happen, is the first instinct usually to hide, excuse, and harden, or to return to God with brokenness and repentance? What would real repentance look like in one specific area of life? [01:04:10]
7. God sought a man after his own heart. If God were shaping that same kind of heart today, what would need to change in priorities, attention, or affection so that love for him becomes more than words? [41:07]