SpringhillGNV's Presentation Group
Sunday, May 17th, 2026 3rd Sunday
  • Oh Give Thanks

      • Psalm 150KJV1900

  • Be Glorified
  • We Offer Praise
  • Glory To His Name - Hymn
  • 1 Samuel 17:32–50 HCSB
    32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 33 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.” 34 David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39 David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. 40 Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” 45 David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him. 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.” 48 When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
    Faith That Defeats Giants
    1 Samuel 17:32-50
    Main Idea: Faith in God’s power enables ordinary believers to confront overwhelming opposition and experience extraordinary victory.
    Introduction
    Facing the Giants
    In the movie Facing the Giants, Coach Grant Taylor is not simply dealing with football problems. He is carrying life problems. His team has been losing, his leadership is being questioned, his finances are under strain, his car is breaking down, and his heart is aching because he and his wife long for a child. The pressure is not coming from one direction, it is coming from every direction. He is not just standing on the sidelines trying to win a game. He is standing in life trying to figure out how to keep believing when everything around him feels like defeat. The scoreboard is against him. The whispers are against him. The circumstances are against him. His own heart is tempted to believe that maybe this is all there will ever be.
    But the turning point of that story is not when the team starts winning games. The turning point is when faith starts reshaping how the coach sees the battle. He begins to understand that the biggest giant is not always on the field. Sometimes the biggest giant is discouragement. Sometimes the biggest giant is fear. Sometimes the biggest giant is the feeling that your life will always be stuck where it is. The movie resonates because it reminds us that people can look fine on the outside while they are fighting giants on the inside. They can smile in church, work hard at home, serve faithfully in ministry, and still carry a giant that nobody else can see.
    That is where this sermon meets us today. Everybody may not have a Goliath standing in front of them with a sword and spear, but everybody knows what it means to face something that feels bigger than they are.
    Giant Size Problems 
    To understand the massive size of Goliath, we must note that his estimated height was about 9.9 inches tall, which is two feet taller than Shaquille O'Neal, and four feet taller than David. 
    Some are facing spiritual giants: temptation, doubt, guilt, bitterness, prayerlessness, spiritual fatigue, or the quiet fear that God has forgotten them. Some are facing physical giants: sickness, surgery, chronic pain, aging bodies, medical reports, and the exhaustion of trying to stay strong when your body keeps reminding you that you are human. Some are facing financial giants: too overdue bills, rising costs, job insecurity, debt, lack, not tithing and the pressure of trying to stretch what is not enough. Some are facing relational giants: family conflict, marital strain, loneliness, betrayal, grief, estrangement, and the pain of loving people you cannot trust.
    Giant Sized Faith
    Size Slide
    The good news of 1 Samuel 17 is not that giants are imaginary. The Bible never tells us to pretend the giant is not real. Goliath was real. His voice was real. His weapons were real. His threats were real. The fear in Israel was real. But the text teaches us that the living God is more real than the giant. David does not walk into the valley because he is impressed with himself. David walks into the valley because he is convinced about the Lord. Israel hears the threat of Goliath, but David remembers the deliverance of the Lord. Israel measures the giant against themselves, while David measures the giant against God. Israel sees a giant too big to fight. David sees a God too faithful to fail.
    So today, the question is not whether giants still show up. They do. The question is not whether fear still talks. It does. The question is not whether the battle can feel overwhelming. It can. The real question is this: will we face our giants with the fear of Israel, or will we face our giants with the faith of David? Will we let the enemy’s voice become the loudest voice in the valley, or will we let the Word of God shape the courage of our hearts? Will we stand frozen by what we see, or will we move forward trusting the God who has already proven Himself faithful?
    This message is for every believer standing in front of something that looks too big, sounds too loud, feels too heavy, and has lasted too long. This message is for the person who needs faith to rise again. This message is for the person who needs to remember what God has already done. This message is for the person who needs to take off what does not fit and walk in what God has assigned. This message is for the person who needs to run, not in their own strength, but in the powerful name of the Lord. The Word of God declares that the battle is the Lord’s, and when the battle belongs to the Lord, no giant gets the final word.

    I. Remember God’s Proven Faithfulness

    1 Samuel 17:32-37

    A. Consider Past Victories (1 Samuel 17:32-35)

    David walks into a frightened atmosphere and speaks a faithful word: “Let no man’s heart fail because of him.” That is not a small statement. For forty days, Goliath has been preaching fear in the valley. Every morning and evening, he has lifted his voice and challenged the armies of Israel. Fear has become the daily devotion of the camp. Fear has become the alarm clock in the morning and the lullaby at night. Israel has heard Goliath so long that the army has started treating his voice like truth.
    But David enters with another spirit. He does not begin with a sword. He begins with faith. He does not begin with military strategy. He begins with spiritual memory. Saul looks at David and says, “Thou art not able.” Saul reads the facts without remembering the Father. He sees a young man in front of a trained warrior. He sees a shepherd boy in front of a champion. He sees inexperience in front of intimidation. But David does not let Saul’s limitation become his confession.
    David says, “Thy servant kept his father’s sheep.” That sounds small until you realize that David is about to tell Saul that the sheepfold was his training ground. He says a lion came, and a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock. David went after them, struck them, and delivered the lamb. David is not boasting about himself. David is testifying about God. He is saying, “I have been in danger before, and I have seen the Lord deliver.”
    David teaches us that faith is strengthened by sanctified memory. Before he faces the giant, he remembers the lion. Before he runs into the valley, he remembers the bear. Before he confronts public opposition, he remembers private deliverance. Some of us are weak in the present because we have spiritual amnesia about the past. We keep staring at the size of what is in front of us, but we have forgotten the grace that has already brought us through.
    Moses could count on God at the Red Sea because he had already met God at the burning bush. The God who turned a shepherd’s rod into a sign of divine authority could turn a sea into a highway of deliverance.
    Joshua could count on God at Jericho because he had already seen God open the Jordan River. If God could bring Israel through waters at flood stage, God could bring walls down at the right time.
    Paul could count on God in a Roman prison because he had already learned that the Lord could deliver him after a midnight prayer meeting in Philippi, along with many other instances of God's deliverance in his ministry. 
    That is why the believer must learn how to rehearse the record of God. When fear says, “You will not make it,” memory says, “But I have made it before by the grace of God.” When anxiety says, “This is too much,” memory says, “The Lord has carried me through more than this.” When discouragement says, “You are alone,” memory says, “The Lord has never left me yet.” When doubt says, "You cannot pay your tithe or give your offering," memory says, "My God shall supply all my needs." When the giant says, “You cannot win,” memory says, “The Lord delivered me from the lion, and the Lord delivered me from the bear.”
    Beloved, do not let today’s giant erase yesterday’s grace. Do not let this battle make you forget your last breakthrough. Do not let this valley make you forget the God who met you in the field. The same God who kept you when nobody knew what you were facing is the same God who can keep you when everybody sees what you are fighting.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Faith does not forget the field when it faces the fight.
    Yesterday’s deliverance is today’s evidence that God is still able.
    Do not let today’s giant erase yesterday’s grace.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Psalm 103:2, Lamentation 3:21, Exodus 14:14, Psalm 34:19, 2 Corinthians 1:10

    B. Confident in God’s Protection for the Future (1 Samuel 17:36-37)

    David does not stop with past memory. He moves from past deliverance to future confidence. He says, “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them.” David is not talking recklessly. David is reasoning theologically. He is saying that if God protected him before, God can protect him again. If God delivered him in the field, God can deliver him in the valley. If God was faithful when the threat had paws, God will be faithful when the threat has hands.
    Notice how David names Goliath: “this uncircumcised Philistine.” That is covenant language. David is not merely insulting Goliath. He is identifying Goliath as a man standing outside covenant relationship with the living God, yet daring to defy the armies of the living God. Saul sees a military problem. David sees a spiritual problem. Saul is focused on Goliath’s résumé. David is focused on God’s reputation.
    Then David gives the great confession: “The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” David does not say, “My courage delivered me.” He does not say, “My skill delivered me.” He does not say, “My sling delivered me.” He says, “The LORD delivered me.” David knows the difference between being used by God and replacing God. David fought, but the Lord delivered. David struck, but the Lord protected. David acted, but the Lord gave the victory.
    Here is the illustration. Think about a child learning to swim. The first time the child steps into the water, the pool feels like a whole ocean. The child grips the side, kicks awkwardly, and looks terrified. But the parent stands there with arms open, saying, “Come to me. I have you.” At first, the child only moves because they trust the one calling them. Then, after one step, two steps, and a little more courage, the child begins to remember, “The last time I stepped out, my father did not let me sink.” That memory becomes confidence for the next step. The water did not become less wet. The pool did not become less deep. But the child became more confident because they learned the faithfulness of the one watching over them.
    That is David in the valley. Goliath is deeper water. Goliath is a bigger threat. Goliath is a more public test. But David’s confidence is not that the water is shallow. His confidence is that the Father is faithful. He is not saying, “I can handle anything by myself.” He is saying, “The Lord who handled the lion and the bear can handle this Philistine.”
    Somebody needs to take that into your future. The name of the giant may change, but the nature of God does not change. Yesterday it was grief. Today it is stress. Yesterday it was sickness. Today it is uncertainty. Yesterday it was family conflict. Today it is financial pressure. But the God who delivered then is still able to deliver now. Different enemies do not require a different God.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Different enemies do not require a different God.
    Faith looks back at God’s record and walks forward into God’s protection.
    The God who handled the paw can handle the hand.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Psalm 27:1, Psalm 56:3, PSALM 34:7, Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:31).

    II. Reject Man’s Pressured Fittings (1 Samuel 17:38-40)

    A. Avoid Copying Another Person’s Style (1 Samuel 17:38-39)

    After Saul hears David’s testimony, Saul tries to dress David like himself. He puts his armor on him. He places a brass helmet on his head and a metal coat. David straps on the sword and tries to walk. But David says, “I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them.” That is discernment. David is humble enough to try it, but wise enough to take it off.
    Saul’s armor represents the pressure to fight God’s battle in somebody else’s style. It represents the pressure to look impressive before you obey. It represents the temptation to think that if you can look like a warrior, you must be ready for warfare. But David understands that public appearance cannot replace divine preparation. He has not proven Saul’s armor. He has proven God’s faithfulness.
    Here is the comical illustration. Have you ever seen a child put on an adult’s shoes and try to walk across the room? The shoes are good shoes. They may even be expensive shoes. They may be polished, stylish, and impressive. But on the wrong feet, they become dangerous. The child starts sliding, stumbling, and clopping across the floor like every step is a negotiation. Everybody laughs, not because the shoes are bad, but because the shoes do not fit. And if we are honest, some of us have done the same thing spiritually. We have tried to walk in somebody else’s shoes, preach in somebody else’s voice, lead in somebody else’s personality, parent by somebody else’s pressure, serve with somebody else’s gift, and fight in somebody else’s armor.
    But the problem is not the armor. The problem is the fit. What fits Saul may not fit David. What God assigned to one person may not be what God assigned to another. You can honor Saul without wearing Saul’s armor. You can learn from others without losing yourself. You can appreciate another person’s gift without despising your own grace.
    David refuses to become a copy in the moment when he needs to be clear. He will not let pressure dress him for a battle that God has been preparing him to fight differently. This is powerful because David’s victory will not come from looking like Saul. David’s victory will come from trusting the Lord.
    Beloved, do not let human pressure force you into spiritual costume. God did not anoint you to be an imitation. God did not call you to live in comparison. God did not shape your testimony so you could hide it behind somebody else’s armor. There is a difference between learning from people and losing yourself to people. David teaches us that courage is not only standing before Goliath. Courage is also taking off whatever does not fit your calling.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    David honored Saul, but he did not become Saul.
    What looks impressive on someone else may become restrictive on you.
    God did not anoint you to be a copy. He called you to be faithful.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:10, Romans 12:6, Glatians 6:4, 1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 12:4).

    B. Accept Your Own Calling and Style (1 Samuel 17:40)

    David takes his staff in his hand. He chooses five smooth stones out of the brook. He puts them in a shepherd’s bag. He takes his sling in his hand, and he draws near to the Philistine. This is not glamorous. This is not royal. This is not what the soldiers expected. But this is what God had proven in David’s life.
    David does not need Saul’s sword because God has already trained him with a sling. David does not need Saul’s armor because God has already covered him with grace. David does not need to look like the army because God has already prepared him in the field. David accepts his own calling and style because he understands that the God who calls you also shapes you.
    That is a word for the church. Do not despise what God has put in your hand because it does not look impressive to somebody else. Moses had a rod. Shamgar had an ox goad. Samson had the jawbone of a donkey. The widow had a little oil. The boy in John 6 had five barley loaves and two small fish. David had a sling and stones. God has a long history of doing much with what looks like little when it is surrendered to Him.
    The issue is not whether your tools look impressive. The issue is whether your life is available. The issue is not whether others understand your calling. The issue is whether you obey the God who gave it. David takes what God has trained him to use and walks toward what everybody else has been afraid to face.
    This is especially important in a world of comparison. Social media will make you think your calling is too small because somebody else’s platform looks larger. Church culture can make you think your gift is insignificant because somebody else gets more applause. Family pressure can make you feel like you are behind because somebody else’s life looks more impressive. But David teaches us that God measures faithfulness differently than people measure impressiveness.
    Beloved, accept the grace God gave you. Accept the gifts God placed in you. Accept the lane God assigned to you. You may not have what somebody else has, but you have what God has entrusted to you. And when what is in your hand is submitted to the God who rules your life, little becomes enough.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Do not despise what God has proven in your hands.
    God can do more with your surrendered sling than with borrowed armor.
    Little becomes enough when it is placed under the Lord’s authority.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Exodus 4:2, Zechariah 4:10, John 6:9, Philippians 4:13).

    III. Run in God’s Powerful Name (1 Samuel 17:41-50)

    A. Reject the Threats from the Enemy (1 Samuel 17:41-44)

    Goliath looks at David and despises him. He sees his youth. He sees his appearance. He sees the staff in his hand, and he mocks him. Then Goliath curses David by his gods and threatens to give his flesh to the birds and beasts. That is how intimidation works. The enemy tries to define you before you ever step into the fight.
    But David does not let Goliath’s insult become his identity. He does not let Goliath’s volume become his verdict. He does not let Goliath’s curse cancel God’s covenant. The enemy may speak, but the enemy does not get the final word. David is not fighting for ego. David is standing for the honor of the living God.
    Some of us need to stop letting the enemy narrate our future. The enemy says you are too weak, too late, too damaged, too old, too young, too broken, too far behind, and too far gone. But faith does not receive every voice as truth. Faith tests the voice against the Word of God. Goliath can talk, but God reigns.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Do not let the enemy’s insult become your identity.
    The enemy may speak loudly, but God speaks finally.
    Goliath had a loud mouth, but David had a living God.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Isaiah 54:17, Isiah 59:19, Psalm 118:6, James 4:7, 1 John 4:4

    B. Testify of the Lord (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

    David answers Goliath with theology. He says, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield.” David does not deny what Goliath has. Faith does not pretend the enemy has no weapons. But David says, “I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts.” That is the difference. Goliath has weapons. David has witness. Goliath has armor. David has assurance. Goliath has threats. David has testimony.
    David declares that the Lord will deliver him so that “all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” That means the victory is not about David becoming famous. The victory is about God being glorified. David testifies before the victory because he trusts God before the outcome.
    This is where believers must learn to speak faith without pretending life is easy. David names the sword, the spear, and the shield, but then he names the Lord. That is the order of faith. You may recognize the enemy and his devices; but always remember the name.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Faith does not deny the weapon. Faith declares the name above the weapon.
    Goliath came armed with metal, but David came armed with the name.
    Victory is sweetest when God gets the glory from it.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Psalm 20:7, Proverbs 18:10, Psalm 118:23, 1 Corinthians 1:29, 1 Corinthians 1:31

    C. Triumph by the Power of the Lord (1 Samuel 17:48-50)

    When Goliath comes toward David, David runs toward the army to meet him. That is faith in motion. David does not wait for Goliath to shrink. He does not wait for Saul to become courageous. He does not wait for the army to stop trembling. David runs because he believes the battle belongs to the Lord.
    David takes one stone, slings it, strikes Goliath in the forehead, and the giant falls upon his face to the earth. The Bible says David prevailed with a sling and a stone, and there was no sword in David’s hand. God removed the sword so nobody could misunderstand the source of the victory. David fought, but God delivered.
    The giant who stood over Israel now lies on the ground. The mouth that mocked God is silenced. The threat that held Israel hostage is broken. The valley that had been filled with fear becomes the place where God reveals His power. That is what the Lord can do. He can turn the place of intimidation into the place of testimony.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    David did not run because the giant was small. David ran because God was great.
    God knows how to bring down what has been standing over His people.
    There was no sword in David’s hand, but there was power in God’s name.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Proverbs 21:31, 2 Chronicles 20:15, Psalm 60:12, 2 Chronicles 20:15, Psalm 60:12, Romans 8:37, 1 Corinthians 15:57
    Sermon Close
    I am done when I tell you this.
    David walked into the valley, but he did not walk by himself. David faced the giant, but he did not face him by himself. David picked up the stone, but he did not depend on the stone by itself. David slung the stone, but the power was not in the sling by itself.
    Because David had already told the valley, “the battle is the LORD’S.”
    And that is what I came to tell some dear soul today.
    The battle is the Lord’s when the giant is loud.
    The battle is the Lord’s when the army is afraid. The battle is the Lord’s when the king has no answer.
    The battle is the Lord’s when the armor does not fit.
    The battle is the Lord’s when all you have is a sling, a stone, and a testimony.
    David said, “The LORD delivered me from the lion.” David said, “The LORD delivered me from the bear.” David said, “The LORD will deliver me from this Philistine.”
    Somebody here ought to have a David kind of memory.
    He brought you through the lion.
    He brought you through the bear.
    He brought you through the sickness.
    He brought you through the sorrow.
    He brought you through the surgery.
    He brought you through the storm.
    He brought you through the season when you cried yourself to sleep.
    He brought you through the valley when you did not know how you would make it.
    And if He brought you through that, He can bring you through this.
    I know Goliath looks big. I know the threat sounds loud.
    I know the valley feels lonely.
    I know the pressure feels heavy. But do not forget who your God is.
    Remember who God is....
    He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
    He is the God who opened the Red Sea. He is the God who rained bread from heaven.
    He is the God who made bitter water sweet.
    He is the God who brought down the walls of Jericho.
    He is the God who stood with the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace.
    He is the God who shut the mouths of lions for Daniel.
    He is the God who raised Lazarus from the grave.
    But I cannot stop with David. I cannot stop with Israel. I cannot stop with the valley of Elah.
    Because one Friday, there was another battle. One Friday, there was another Champion. One Friday, there was another Son of David. He did not go down into the valley of Elah. He went up a hill called Calvary. He did not face Goliath. He faced sin. He faced death. He faced hell. He faced the grave. He faced the judgment that should have fallen on us.
    They stretched Him wide. They hung Him high. He bowed His head. For me, He died.
    And when He died, it looked like the giant had won. When He died, it looked like death had won. When He died, it looked like hell had won. When He died, it looked like the grave had won.
    But early Sunday morning, He got up. He got up. He got up with all power in His hands.
    Power to save. Power to forgive. Power to heal. Power to deliver. Power to restore. Power to keep. Power to bring giants down.
    So come to Jesus today. Come with your fear. Come with your failure. Come with your pressure. Come with your pain. Come with your sin. Come with your shame.
    The same Lord who gave David victory over Goliath is the Lord who gives sinners victory through Jesus Christ.
    Because He lives, you can face tomorrow. Because He lives, fear has to lose its authority. Because He lives, faith can stand in the valley. Because He lives, giants can fall. Because He lives, the battle is not over until God says it is over.
    Suggested Hymn for Invitation: Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
    Invitation Appeal: If you need salvation, come to Jesus. If you need prayer, come to Jesus. If you need courage, come to Jesus. If you need to surrender your giant to the Lord, come to Jesus. If you need to stop living under fear and start walking by faith, come to Jesus.
    The giant may be standing, but the Lord is still saving. The enemy may be talking, but the Lord is still reigning. The valley may be frightening

      • 1 Samuel 17:32–50HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 17:32–35NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:36–37NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:38–40NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:38–39NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:40NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:41–50NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:41–44NLT

      • 1 Samuel 17:48–50NLT

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