David had only one thing that the rest of his fellow Israelites lacked: faith. He was certainly not as strong. He wasn’t armored in the same way. He could barely even lift King Saul’s sword, let alone fight with it. There were far more skilled and clever warriors among the ranks, but they let fear and doubt rule their hearts, and they cowered in front of Goliath. As Pastor Mike will point out in today’s message, in the face of an impossible challenge, David had confidence that God could deliver them.

The battle between the Israelites and Philistines was at a stalemate. The warriors on both sides of the line lacked courage. The Philistine champion, a giant called Goliath, was an intimidating enemy and even the strongest Israelites were afraid of this man. God put David, who was by no means intimidating, into the midst of this situation. Today, Pastor Mike will lead us through an exploration of this encounter and the faith in God that enabled David to do what no one else was brave enough to do.

As a child of God, He has his spirit in you and his hand upon your life. But if you live in rebellion from God, eventually, he will remove his hand from you, which is a dangerous place to be. This opens the door for Satan to rule your life in slavery to sin apart from God. Today, Pastor Mike will explain how Satan will use every opportunity to cause you to disobey God. And when you do this, eventually God will step away and allow you to live in this life apart from him. A life of emptiness and unease.

When you think about what makes a good leader, or who should lead a particular group, what qualities do you look for? Perhaps you value someone who’s outgoing, charismatic, and charming so people will be drawn to them. Or maybe someone who sounds smart and looks impressive. But, as Pastor Mike explains today, that isn’t how God chooses leaders. He chooses unlikely individuals who have the right heart. Someone who’ll rely on HIM as they lead. Someone who will allow himself to be used by God in this world.

The flesh, fueled by the enemy, is always at war with your spirit. And it’s appealing and desirous and difficult to fight. But, if you do seek to go to battle against the sinful flesh, empowered by the Holy Spirit in you, you will be amazed at the transformation that happens in your life. Today, Pastor Mike will encourage you to yield to the spirit and fight against the flesh daily. When you live this way, you’ll be filled with a deeper joy, a greater peace, and more love for God and others.

God gave harsh commands to his people as they began taking the Promised Land back from their enemies. And some people have trouble reconciling these commands with a Loving God. Yet, as Pastor Mike explains today, despite these severe commands, God is still a loving and merciful God. He sees things and understands things that people simply can’t comprehend. He knows what could ultimately destroy his people. He knows there’s no compromise or peace with the enemy.

Ever since the fall, we’ve had a tendency to try to earn back God’s favor, sometimes through very extreme means. In today’s passage, Pastor Mike will point out the folly in Saul’s response to the negative circumstances the Israelites found themselves in. Instead of realizing his lack of faith in God, and the way he’d trusted in his own reason and council, Saul sought to appease God by his own means. This nearly resulted in the death of his own son as a result of the rash vow he made before God.

If you’ve been called into leadership by God, you’ve been called into great responsibility. A bad leader can easily create a barrier for many people to understand God’s goodness and truth. As Pastor Mike continues our study of the book of 1st Samuel, we’ll witness a prime example of bad leadership in Saul. He put his own interests over that of the people, and even worse, over serving God’s will and glory. This temptation has pulled down many good leaders in the history of our faith.

Remember the story of Mary and Martha’s interaction with Jesus? Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His teachings. She chose to be with Him, as opposed to doing for Him at that moment. There certainly are times to work, like her sister Martha did, but that story stresses the importance of resting in the presence of our Savior. Our works can honor Him while helping others, but as Pastor Mike will warn in today’s message, works should never take the place of relating to Him.

All of us have maybe’s in our life. How we approach those things should be what separates people of faith from those who lack it. If you had full confidence that the God of all Creation was leading and equipping you, what kinds of great things could you accomplish? Today, Pastor Mike will challenge us to stop letting doubts and reservations hold us back from stepping out in faith, even when the task God calls us to seems humanly impossible. As long as you’re following His will, He will make a way.