Study Guide
Seen & Set Apart
Have you ever felt overlooked or wondered where your heart truly lies? Listen in as Pastor JoAnn Johnson leads us to discover how God finds people in unlikely places for purposes bigger than we expect!
Newbreak’s Sermon Study Guide is an in-house resource that serves sermon-based Life Groups and/or individuals who want to reflect further on how the message contributes to their spiritual formation.
Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13 (NIV)
God’s plan is not compromised, even when leaders are.
Saul, Israel’s current king, disobeyed God’s instructions. While the consequences can feel dire because the King is no longer following God, we see that God’s ultimate plan was not derailed. He had already chosen David, and He used the circumstances, the failures, and the “chaos” around Saul to set the stage for His purposes.
This story reminds us that:
- God’s plan is never compromised, even when human leaders mess up.
- Delays in God’s plan are not denial but instead, His timing is perfect. Our hope should not rest in people or earthly power, but in God who is faithful across generations.
Think about this: God’s ways are higher than ours.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
We might not understand why leaders fail or why situations feel mess —but God is still writing the story. Samuel and David were positioned for a purpose. You and I are too.
Read Luke 6:45 (NIV)
God desires an authentic heart, not an impressive appearance.
1 Samuel reminds us that God’s standard is different from the world’s standard. We often find ourselves valuing appearance, talent, popularity, or visibility. Instead, God values an authentic heart. David was overlooked by everyone, his family didn’t even count him among the candidates for king, but God saw his heart. God looks at what’s inside, not what’s on the surface.
The Hebrew understanding of the “heart” goes beyond emotions, it’s the center of thought, reason, character, and spiritual life.
Luke 6:45 (NIV) A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Luke reminds us that what comes out of us (our words, actions, and choices) flows from the condition of our heart.
This challenges us to focus less on outward appearance, recognition, or external success, and more on spending time with God. Growing our relationship and affection for Him in order for everything else in our lives to flow out of that.
This story shows that God treasures the “unseen” faithfulness, an authentic heart that desires Him above all else.
Read Luke 6:45 (NIV)
Recognize your strength is through the power of God’s Spirit.
In 1 Samuel 16:13, we see a pivotal moment: David is anointed as the future king of Israel, and the Spirit of the Lord comes powerfully upon him. This moment reminds us that the strength and wisdom required for living faithfully does not come from us. It comes from the Spirit of God working in and through us.
After being anointed it was the Spirit that ultimately empowered him for the task God had set before him. This same principle applies to us: when God calls us, He equips us. Our strength, courage, and ability to lead don’t originate from our resumes, talent, or personal ambition they originate from God’s Spirit.
A key reminder here: God does not give His Spirit for our glory, but for His. David’s heart was humble and oriented toward God, not self. Contrast that with Saul, whose leadership often sought personal glory and recognition. Saul built monuments for himself, but his heart was misaligned with God. David’s strength was effective because it was Spirit-empowered and Spirit-directed, not self-directed.
The takeaway: we are vessels, empowered by the Spirit, called to point others to God, not ourselves. Leadership, service, and faithfulness are about God working through ordinary people willing to surrender to His Spirit. Our strength isn’t ours—it’s His, and He deserves the glory.
Current Sermon Series
In this series, we’ll journey through the remarkable life of David — shepherd, poet, warrior, king, and wholehearted worshiper of God. From humble beginnings in obscurity to the heights of leading a nation, David’s story is one of both triumphs and trials. We’ll see him dodge javelins hurled by a jealous king, hide in caves as a fugitive, and stand boldly before giants like Goliath — and through it all, God’s faithfulness shaping a man after His own heart and showing us what He can do through a willing life.