Midway Christian Church sermon for August 31, 2025

Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY 

Worship Series: “Five Smooth Stones: Building a Relationship with God”

Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17: 38-40

This passage is just a small bit of David’s story. It tells of David’s interactions and conversations immediately before he is to meet Goliath. Although David tried to put on armor to fight Goliath, it didn’t work. The need for unbendable hard metal to protect him was not who David was just as the hard and harsh ways of the world are not God’s ways. Instead, David chose five smooth stones to defeat the giant. He “was able to bring down Goliath not with sword and shield but with faith grounded in lived experience of God’s care and love”. And in doing so, he changed the world.

Part 5 - Praise: More than Words

Psalm 103: 1-11As people of faith, we are people of praise. As the psalmist says, “Let my whole being bless the Lord! Let everything inside me bless God’s holy name!” God has done amazing things for us. God has provided us with life. God has claimed us and named us as Beloved Children of God. God has kept God’s promises. God has made a way out of no way. We come to church, we lift our voices in praise not because of what we have done but because of what God has done, because of who God is, because we know God is at work in this world. At the heart of our faith is this: we praise God from whom all blessings flow!

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