June 09, 2025
• Rev. Mindie Moore
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David Series Week 4: Be Encouraged in the Lord
1 Sam 30:1-6
Tonight is Game 2 of the NBA Finals. And if you’ve been watching the NBA playoffs this year, and especially if you’re a Pacers fan, it has been a WILD TIME. We’re in the finals for the first time since 2000 (I was in middle school!) and these games are so good that they have very fringe basketball fans like me staying up until almost midnight watching these games.
And the big story that keeps coming out of each series that the Pacers have been in is the late game comeback. It has happened for them, at the hands of Tyrese Haliburton, every single series of these playoffs. Take a look:
Show Clip (49 sec)
Did you notice anything as you watched that? Did you pay attention to the crowd at all? The first one happened at home...and the other THREE were away. The first one, you hear the crowd go wild, the energy is electric, there’s this momentum that is pushing the Pacers to victory.
But the other three? There’s none of that. Instead of a room full of hype, you’ve got tens of thousands of people hoping you fail. So how in the world do you find encouragement in the middle of that? How do you find the strength to not just keep going, but to come back and win?
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Now, again, fringe basketball fan here. Don’t try to talk to me about anything technical after this service in the lobby because I will smile and nod and I WILL be lost. BUT...even with my limited knowledge, it seems to me that what we’re seeing here with the Pacers, especially when they have these comebacks on the road, in what can be a hostile environment, we’re seeing just how powerful habits can be. We’re seeing what can happen when you know what your go to is; when you understand how to respond; and when you know where your strength lies.
And this doesn’t just apply to basketball. It’s the same exact theme that we see in our scripture today as we keep exploring the life of King David. Now, obviously, it gets lived out in very different way...but it really is the same idea. When things get tough, when life gets hard, when it feels like everyone is against us—that's when knowing who we are and what we’re about and the tools God has given us to make it through becomes so critical.
Now, if you haven’t been with us much this series or you just need a little refresher, we’ve been going through the life of King David as documented in 1 and 2 Samuel. So far, we’ve been in what I’ll call David’s “pre-king” years. We’ve witnessed his anointing, this unlikely choice for a king. We read about his famed killing of Goliath. We’ve examined how
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David has navigated rejection, both from his predecessor King Saul AND the community he tries to build with the Philistines, who have historically been his people's enemy.
And today, we see the story that happens right after David faces rejection. You could say that this is a continuation of the worst day ever for him. David has been told to go home, that the Philistines don’t want him. And after all of that, he and his men have to journey for THREE DAYS just to GET home and when they finally get there, it’s not comfort and a warm meal that awaits them...it’s devastation. Their village has been attacked. Their families are missing. And the people David is with...they quickly come to the conclusion that this must his fault.
And, maybe, in some ways he has been a catalyst for what’s going on. There’s an insert in your bulletin that talks about the Amalekites and longstanding conflict between them and the Israelites, who were David’s people. And if you were here last week, you might remember that David had been engaged in some really devastating and violent raids against several different people groups—including the Amalekites. So they’ve come now to get their revenge. They’ve destroyed the village, they’ve taken away all the women and children...and it’s an incredibly bleak scene that David comes upon here.
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So David doesn’t have any kind of home court advantage here. It’s really him against the world in this moment. He’s facing his own grief because it’s his village and his family too, and that’s coupled with the rage of everyone else around him. The people are weeping, they start talking about stoning David. So whatever David needs in this moment, he’s not going to find it in the people around him. And that’s a hard thing to come to terms with. Because often we want the people around us to be able to give us those things. We want an encouraging word and a hopeful presence.
But that’s not for David in this moment. And so he has no choice but turn to God if he wants any kind of strength and encouragement. Now, I need you to understand that when I say that about where David is, that this isn’t some pithy inspirational saying I'm throwing at you. This is desperation. David is in a bad spot and he could very well be dead in the next few minutes if this angry, devastated crowd can’t recenter and calm itself down.
So when I tell you that David has no choice but to go directly to God and to act fast and do the first thing he can think of, this isn’t some precious religious moment he’s having. This is a test of his faith. There’s not a lot of time to think, there’s not a lot of space to make decisions. David just has to act. And when he acts, he reflex, his first instinct...is to get as
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close to God as he possibly can. He knows that this is basically all he has left. It’s the only thing that has a chance of getting him through this moment.
And so the way he does that, in the middle of the chaos, when David is this close to be totally defeated, he looks to the people he can trust and he says, “go get me the priestly vest.”
Now, for us, we might think, ok. I don’t know that I would be reaching for accessories in this moment. But we have to understand the significance of this piece of clothing for David and his people. The priestly vest or the ephod (SLIDE) was this incredibly sacred garment, usually only worn by the high priests, to symbolize God’s presence and their dependence ON God. It provided a tangible way to experience that connection to God and to remember that God was with them, no matter what they were going through, no matter how hard things might get, God was there.
This garment connected the people back to their story. It reminded them of their identity. It gave them a narrative and something physical to hold on to even if all seemed like all was lost.
So in this terrible moment, this is what David automatically reaches for. A symbol of God’s presence. Something he can feel. Something he’s familiar with and knows he can trust.
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And the fact that David turns to God in this way, it’s not a coincidence. It’s not random. It’s the result of a life of building habits that have strengthened his faith. Because he’s spent time developing practices, because he’s intentionally nurtured his faith before this moment, he has such clarity on what works for him to connect to his God. He doesn’t have to spend time on trial and error because these habits, these practices, are so ingrained in him, that they come to the surface when they’re most needed.
The thing about developing these kinds of habits, the thing about having those reflexes that get us beyond our circumstances and into deeper connection with God is that (SLIDE) it takes time, intentionality, and repetition to build the habits that sustain us.
These things don’t just pop up without some practice. I think sometimes we want them to, at least I do. I would like my habit forming to happen as quickly and effortlessly as it could! Unfortunately, that’s not quite how it works. Research tells us it can take between 18 to 254 days to develop a new habit, depending on how quickly your brain receives and responds to new information and new ways of living. And so what that tells us is that this is going to take time. It’s going to take practice. AND we’re going to better experience the fruit of the habits we build if we can focus on
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cultivating them when things are just fine. David spends his life building these habits of worship and dependence on God before he “needs” them. They become more than a means to an end, they’re a regular part of his life. And when that moment comes...when he’s swirling in the chaos and the fear...he has something powerful to hold on to because he’s been building it all along.
What would it look like, what could it look like, if we did something similar? If we could build habits and engage with God in this regular way so that we knew exactly where to go when crisis hits? What are the faith practices that can shape us right here and now and will stick with us in all the different seasons of our lives?
You all know our Worship Director Beck Buchanan-Schwanke. I want to invite them up here to share a bit about a habit-creating journey that they’ve been on this last year as they completed their certification through the Institute of Modern Worship. This was a yearlong process where they met weekly with a cohort of other worship leaders from around the country, they dove deep into theology and practice, and through the cohort they really embodied this idea that worship is so much more than what happens up here in the front of a room on Sunday. It’s about cultivating
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faith and practices that transform them so they can lead US in these kinds of transforming experiences.
So I wanted to ask Beck to answer a couple of questions then share a verse and a chorus of a song that they co-wrote with us.
(PUT SLIDES UP WHILE BECK IS TALKING)
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What habits did your cohort help you develop?
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What do you notice is different about your faith because of those habits/experiences?
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Where did you find encouragement from during this cohort?
Beck sings
So this is just a glimpse into what one person’s spiritual practices have looked like. But we all have those things that we can cultivate like this, we all have reflexive and intuitive ways to connect with God. And, frankly, we have reflexes that can disconnect us from God. That can lead us to places like despair or just checking out. We could all probably name THOSE habits, and maybe those are even a little bit easier to spot sometimes. There’s a power in naming those things because when name them and we’re honest about
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what they do or don’t do for us, we create a way that feels truer to who we want to be and how we want to be connected to Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
Because here’s what I know. We have ALL been created for connection with God. And God wants that connection to sustain us through every single season of our lives—whether we’re in a great place or a place that is really challenging. God invites us to come close. To listen to the Spirit. To trust the grace of Jesus that walks alongside us every single day.
My hope for you today is that you would walk out of this room empowered to build whatever these habits look like in your own life. In a way that is true to you. Not out of a sense of obligation or shame or anything like that but because this is how you were created to be!
You’re not going to hear ME sing a song I wrote for you, and you are so welcome for that. But what my habits look like to connect with God are things like taking walks and moving my body so I can get out of my own head and be open to what God wants to speak to me. You might be a person who meditates. You might take photos. You might kneel while you pray. You might have a cross or a symbol that you hold. You might memorize a Scripture and say it every day. You might get out in nature and unplug.
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Whatever the thing is that helps get you back to God...I want you to discover that thing and do that thing. Do it regularly, do it with intention. Do it in the calm of your life so that when the hard times come, you’ll know exactly where to turn to connect you back to the one who loves you the most. And as you do those things, know that God is so present with you...giving you strength...giving you encouragement...going with you into whatever life might bring.
Let’s pray.