What Everyone Gets Wrong About David and Goliath: David 8 with Pastor Allen Nolan

This sermon explores the anointing of David as the future king of Israel, focusing on the tension between God's rejection of Saul and His selection of David. The message emphasizes how Samuel mourned for Saul's disobedience while following God's command to anoint a new king in secret. 

Saul burned his past to embrace God’s call. Are we willing to leave our old life behind to fully step into the purpose God has for us?

In this message, Pastor Allen Nolan explores Israel’s demand for a king and shows how their reasons—Samuel’s age, his corrupt sons, the desire to be like other nations, and the need for defense—were mostly excuses masking a deeper lack of trust in God. Pastor Allen walks through God’s warning in 1 Samuel 8 about conscription, property seizure, and taxation, revealing the high price of “being like all the other nations,” and how this applies to our lives, warning that when we insist on our own way, God may sometimes grant our demands as a form of discipline.

In this message, Pastor Allen unpacks Israel’s transition from judges to kings, revealing how their demand for a king was ultimately a rejection of God’s direct rule. We see God’s faithfulness to His Word as He temporarily raises up Saul while preparing the way for David to take the throne in His perfect timing. This powerful teaching reminds us that God works within His promises and that impatience can lead us to settle for temporary solutions when He has a better, lasting plan.

Discover how one of the Bible’s greatest heroes was also one of its biggest “screw-ups” – and why that should give you incredible hope. In this new series on the life of David, we’ll look honestly at his failures, his family dysfunction, and his darkest moments, and see how he was still called “a man after God’s own heart.” Join us and learn how God can use deeply flawed people—people like us—for His greatest purposes.

Operating in Spiritual Gifts Decently and in Order

The gift of discerning of spirits is far more than intuition, it’s a supernatural ability to recognize whether a spiritual manifestation is from God, the enemy, or the human spirit. Pastor Allen draws from 1 Corinthians 12:10, for this message and shows how discernment protects the church from deception and helps believers distinguish truth from counterfeit.

In this week’s message, Pastor Allen unpacks the true definition and purpose of the gift of tongues. He explains that the word “tongues,” refers to a supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to speak in a language one has never learned. Contrary to common misconceptions, this gift is not a natural skill or linguistic talent, but a spiritual manifestation of God’s power.