David and Goliath

Discussion Guide

---

To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.

To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Spend some time asking how everyone’s summer has been. What are you looking forward to this fall? How are you hoping to grow during this year’s fall group time? 

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.  

Connect  

• When was a time you faced one of your fears? What made you do this? 
• How easily do you trust people? How trustworthy are you?  
• How much emphasis do you place on past experiences to inform what you believe now? How does this affect your relationships with others? 

Opening Thought 

When difficult circumstances happen in our lives, it can be easy to look for comfort in what is familiar or what we think will help us. God provides another way, though. When we are scared or worried about something in our lives God invites us to trust that he can handle it and pull us through whatever life throws at us.  

This leads us to our main idea for this week:  

Main Idea for the week
We can trust that God will be faithful in challenging times

The Story So Far 

The people of Israel are no longer led by prophets or judges. Instead, despite God’s disagreement, they are now led by a king, chosen by the people, named Saul. While Saul externally embodied the external qualities of a king, he was not faithful to God like he said he would be. Therefore, God sent one of his prophets, Samuel, to anoint another person, a shepherd boy named David, to be king. 

The Story This Week

Found in 1 Samuel 17, this week’s story took place in the Valley of Elah, which is close to the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of David (and much later, Jesus). The people of Israel are at war with a group of people named the Philistines, who have a huge 9ft. tall champion named Goliath that continues to taunt the Israelites and Saul, who are afraid of him. David shows up to bring food to his brothers at the battle and instead of being afraid, wants to fight Goliath because he is dishonoring the name of God.  

Unpack 

*Take turns reading each set of verses out loud, making observations as you go. Afterward discuss each of the connected questions before moving to the next set of verses: 

Read  

1 Samuel 17:32-40 

Unpack  

• Why do you think David lists his past accomplishments to Saul?  
  • Why is remembering God’s provision in the past helpful? If you are comfortable, share a time when you have intentionally spent time remembering God’s provision in your life.  
• How did Saul react to David wanting to fight?  
  • Reflect on your own life: What could make you doubt God will be help you in challenging times?
    • What do you normally rely on instead of God?  

Read  

1 Samuel 17:41-47 

Unpack 

• Why was David so confident that he would win against Goliath in these verses? How do you think he knew he would be okay?  
  • Why do you think we let ourselves get intimidated by challenges in our lives? How could fully trusting God change this perspective? 

Read 

1 Samuel 17: 48-54  

Unpack 

• How did God prove to David he is faithful in these verses?  
• What did David do after defeating Goliath? Why do you think David did this?  
  • How has God shown you he is faithful and worthy of trust in your life? How did you respond? 
• What are the “giants” in your life? If you feel comfortable, share them with the group. How can you rely on God to defeat these “giants”? 

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

When we read the Bible, we can see God’s overarching story for creation, but if we look closer, we are often able to see ourselves in that same story.  

• Based on this week’s story and discussion, how can you see yourself in this part of God’s story? 
• What is one area of your life you have a tough time trusting God in? What is one step you will take this week to trust God in that area? 
• How will our group show others that depending on God is better and worth more than depending on the things of the world? 
• How will we as a group allow each other to humbly speak into our lives when we see that we are not trusting God? 

Closing 

Read the first section to your group, then read the verse out loud to the group, and finally, move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

Confidence in God is critical when it comes to trusting him. As we choose to put our faith and hope in him, he will continue to show us how true and faithful he is. This week, give God one aspect of your life that you are nervous or scared about. Give God an opportunity to show you that he is faithful to bring us through our circumstances according to his ways. 

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group. 

Thematic Reflection Verse 

Deuteronomy 7:9 

“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” 

Daily Devotional Verses  

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: 1 Samuel 17 

Day 2: 2 Timothy 2:13 

Day 3: 2 Thessalonians 3:3 

Day 4: Lamentations 3:22-23 

Day 5: Isaiah 25:1 

Day 6: 2 Corinthians 1:20