Things for a GREAT God
Sermon Notes
Bottom Line: Not great things for God, but things for a great God.
Big Idea: David and Goliath is not mainly a story about becoming the hero. It is a story about the God who provides a champion for people who cannot save themselves.
Sometimes the stories we know best are the stories we listen to least carefully.
1. GOD SEES WHAT OTHERS MISS
People look at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.
2. GOD WORKS THROUGH ORDINARY FAITHFULNESS
David was not trying to become famous. He was being faithful with what was in front of him.
3. THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD
David's confidence was not in himself. David's confidence was in God.
4. JESUS IS THE TRUE CHAMPION
David points us beyond himself to Jesus, the Champion who fought the battle we could not win.
We do not have to be the hero because Jesus already is.
Key Shift: Godfidence is not trying to do great things for God. Godfidence is doing things for a great God.
Things for a GREAT God
3-Day Devotional & Small Group Guide
Big Idea: God is the true hero, and He works through ordinary faithfulness for His glory.
Bottom Line: Not great things for God, but things for a great God.
DAY 1: GOD SEES THE HEART
Devotional - When Samuel saw Eliab, he assumed he was looking at the next king. Eliab looked impressive. He had the appearance, height, and presence Samuel expected. But God corrected Samuel's vision. People look at the outside. God looks at the heart.
This is both humbling and freeing. It is humbling because God sees beneath the image we try to present. He sees our motives, desires, pride, fear, and faith. But it is also freeing because God is not measuring us by the same standards the world uses. He is not looking for the most impressive person in the room. He is looking for hearts that are open to Him.
You may feel overlooked, underestimated, or ordinary. David was all of those things. But God saw him. God sees you too.
Think About It - Where are you most tempted to care more about how things look on the outside than what is happening in your heart?
Prayer - God, help me care more about the condition of my heart than the appearance of my life. Shape my heart to be humble, faithful, and open to You.
DAY 2: FAITHFUL IN THE FIELD
Devotional - After David was anointed, he did not immediately step into a palace. He went back to the sheep. Later, when he arrived at the battlefield, he did not come looking for a platform. He came carrying food for his brothers.
That is easy to miss. David's path into God's plan came through ordinary obedience. Watching sheep. Serving his father. Delivering lunch. These did not look like great assignments, but they were part of God's preparation.
We often want God to give us something great to do, while God is inviting us to be faithful with what is already in front of us. The phone call. The child. The neighbor. The ministry need. The unseen act of service. The quiet obedience nobody applauds.
Greatness is not in the size of the assignment. Greatness is in the God we serve.
Think About It - What ordinary responsibility or unnoticed act of faithfulness might God be asking you to take seriously this week?
Prayer - God, teach me to be faithful in the field. Help me stop waiting for something impressive and start honoring You with what is already in front of me.
DAY 3: WE NEED A CHAMPION
Devotional - David and Goliath is often told like a story about personal courage: face your giants, be brave, and win your battles. But the deeper message is not that we need to become the hero. The deeper message is that God provides a champion for people who cannot save themselves.
Israel was afraid. Saul was afraid. The army could not defeat Goliath. Then David stepped into the valley and fought the battle they could not fight. When David won, the people shared in his victory.
That points us to Jesus. Jesus is the true and better Champion. He stepped into the valley for us. He faced sin, death, and hell. He fought the battle we could not win. He died in our place and rose in victory.
Because Jesus is the Hero, we do not have to spend our lives trying to prove we are. We are free to serve, love, give, obey, and show up without needing to be impressive. We do things for a great God because our Champion has already won.
Think About It - Where are you trying to be the hero instead of trusting the Champion God has already provided?
Prayer - Jesus, thank You for fighting the battle I could never win. Free me from trying to prove myself, and help me live faithfully because I belong to You.
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
Ice Breaker - What is one underdog story, movie, team, or moment you have always loved?
- The sermon said, "Sometimes the stories we know best are the stories we listen to least carefully." How have you usually heard David and Goliath taught or applied?
- Why can "be like David" be an incomplete or even exhausting way to read this story?
- Read 1 Samuel 16:6-7. What does this passage teach us about what God values?
- David was not trying to become famous when he arrived at the battlefield. He was delivering lunch. What does that teach us about ordinary obedience?
- The sermon said, "Greatness is not in the size of the assignment. Greatness is in the God we serve." How does that shift the way we think about serving, parenting, working, or following Jesus?
- Where are you most tempted to try to do "great things for God" instead of simply doing things for a great God?
- How does seeing Jesus as the true Champion change the way we understand this story?
- This week's challenge is to choose one ordinary act of faithfulness and do it for a great God. What is one specific step you can take this week?
Close your group by praying that God would free each person from trying to be impressive and help them be faithful with what He has placed in front of them.
Weekly Challenge
Choose one ordinary act of faithfulness this week and do it for a great God.
Serve somewhere.
Encourage someone.
Help someone who may never notice.
Show up where there is a need.
Do the small thing without needing applause.
Before you do it, pray: “God, use this for Your glory.”
Memory Verse
"...that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's..." —
1 Samuel 17:47
Bottom Line
Not great things for God, but things for a great God.