Trinity Lutheran Church

Sermon is based on the story of David and Goliath
Let us Pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable unto you O Lord our Rock and Our Redeemer. Amen. 
      I felt as though I was going to go to the bathroom in my pants. I wanted t to be good. I was afraid of what would happen if it was not good. I had been preparing myself for this moment for the past few years and now it was finally here. Because I had been preparing for this moment for so long, I wanted it to be good. I knew that my future, at least for a little while, depended on how well this went. As I stood up to preach for the first time, to a congregation I did not really know, to people I wanted to impress, I reach in my pocket and touched a blue stone. I rubbed the little stone between my fingers and prayed.

        On my first day of internship as I was taken on a tour of the church, I walked by the baptismal font. It is a glass font  shaped around local river rocks. While the sides are completely glass on the bottom upholding the glass shape are some of the river rocks used to shape the font. The baptismal font is always filled with water and in the bottom of the font were these little blue stones. My supervisor told me that there were always blue stones in the bottom of the font. When I asked why, she said that the stones were used to remind people not only of the promises made to them in their baptisms, but also that God is always with them and that God’s love is as strong as a rock. She also said that members are encouraged to pass on the stones to people who might need a little reminder that God is with them always, never leaving them, and never breaking God’s promises. As we continued on our tour, I reached into the waters of the font and picked out a blue stone that I would later put in my alb.

      David did a lot with just a few stones. Our lesson for today is a story we may have all heard in Sunday School when we were little. Little ole’ David defeats big Ole’ Goliath with a slingshot and a stone. Yet, we all know that is not the end of this story or for that matter even the beginning. The Philistines were ready for battle. The Israelites had also gathered their troops, ready for a show down. Out of the army of the Philistines came a tall man, Goliath. People estimate he was between 7 and 10 feet tall, a man who would stick out in a crowd. Goliath appeared wearing about 125 pounds of armor, ready to defeat whoever came in his way. And he makes a bet with the Israelites, he will fight an Israelite and if he wins then the Israelites will be slaves to the Philistines, but if an Israelite can defeat Goliath the Philistines will serve the Israelites. Judging Goliath by his size, it did not look like the Israelites had a chance.

      Enter, David, a young man, the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons. Three of David’s brothers were following Saul (aka the Israelites) in his army and David ran between the flock of his family and Saul. One time when David went to meet his brothers at the front lines of battle, Goliath rose again out of the flanks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words before. This time though David heard him and David spoke up in response. He wanted to know why this man would stand up and attempt to stand against the living God. After conversation with his brothers, David offered to fight against Goliath. Saul was a little surprised. So David reminded Saul of a story of how great he is he is so strong and unafraid that he would go after lions and bears when they would take one of the sheep and take them out of the mouth of the lion or the bear and save it from harm. Yes, while Goliath might have been a warrior since his youth, David knew that God had saved him from the paw of a lion and the paw of a bear and would surely save him from the hand of this Philistine. Saul told David, may the Lord be with him and oh yeah and here is some armor. As David put on the armor of Saul, it didn’t fit. It was too big for young David. David takes off the armor and goes to fight Goliath with what he knows the best- a slingshot and 5 smooth stones. A slingshot was a shepherd’s weapon and at the time was often used with great accuracy.

      David knew that no matter how much armor he had or did not have on, that God would protect him and give him the courage he needed. God would deliver him out of harms way as God had done before. David knew his God, our God, is a living God. David’s trust in God, in God’s love, helped him to gain the courage needed to enter into battle with Goliath. The same promise God made to the people of Israel is the same promise made to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the promise that God is with us always, no matter what we are facing in our lives. It is not the giants in our lives that have the final answer and as we celebrated last week, it is not death that is the final answer either. Our God is a living God, a God filled with love, grace, and a God filled with a promise to be with us always until the end of the age.

      It is faith in that promise that empowers us to overcome and to be unafraid of those giants or seemingly hard tasks in our lives. It is the same promise that gives us the strength to overcome our own moments of fear, anxiety, nerves, and doubt. A young David stood up against one of the largest giants anyone in that time has ever seen. Older men were afraid of what this giant would do to them, but David knew differently. He knew that this giant who did not believe in God, would be no match for him. David believed in the living God who had saved him so many times before. David’s trust in God gave him the strength he needed to face the task so many others were afraid to do, and he did it with a stone in hand.

      A stone, a smooth stone, a common part of the landscape, something shepherds would use as a weapon. Small in comparable to all of the armor Goliath was wearing. Yet, extremely hard to break, smooth to touch, and found almost everywhere you look. It was a stone that reminded Jacob to pray and a stone that was rolled away on that first Easter morning. It was a stone that helped David defeat the giant in his life. As you entered into the sanctuary this morning you hopefully not only received a bulletin, but also a small blue stone. Go ahead and take that stone out from wherever you put it when you entered. Look at it, hold in between your fingers, press down on the stones.

      The stones you have received are the same type of stones I took from the baptismal font at my internship congregation. It was the same type of stone I kept in my alb that whole year in Kansas, during my last year of seminary, and up until a few months ago here at Trinity. The first Sunday I came to Trinity, that first time I came here to preach my call sermon, as I prayed the prayer before my sermon, I put my hand into my pocket and started to rub the blue stone between my fingers. As nervous as I could be, I rubbed the stone reminding myself that God was with me. Not only was God with me on that particular Sunday, but God had always been with me. Through all the times of sorrow, fear, nerves, and joy, in it all, God was there. A few months ago, someone in this congregation shared with me a personal rough patch they were going through. I knew that I didn’t need that stone anymore, so I passed it on. I don’t know if they still have the blue stone, and I don’t care, but I know the promises God has made to me, to you, and to all of creation. God will be with us always, empowering us to face those giants in our lives.

      As you look at your stone in your hand, close your eyes and join me in this prayer. God, you are our source of strength and courage. You have promised to us and to all of creation that you will be with us always, unfailing and unbreakable love. As we hold these stones in our hands, help us to never forget that you are a living God, empowering us always to face those giants in our lives. May these stones be reminders for us always that your love is unbreakable and that your love is everywhere we look. Amen.