As followers of a Risen Savior, it is our faith which shapes how we view the world. It is our faith which shapes how we act, how we speak, how we perceive and answer the question of who is my neighbor. It is our faith which calls us to make justice, not just for a select few but for all of God’s people. It is our faith which binds us together in community. It is our faith which reminds us time and time and time again that no matter what, love and light will always overcome.
August 3, 2025
Five Smooth Stones, Part 1
“Faith: Meaning, Hope, & Direction”
Hebrews 11: 1-11, 17-34, 39-40
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Faith: Meaning, Hope, & Direction Hebrews 11
Today, we are beginning a new sermon series, “Five Smooth Stones: Building a Relationship with God”. This idea of the 5 smooth stones is rooted in the scripture from 1 Samuel 38-40:
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.
This is just a small bit of David’s story. It tells of David’s interactions and conversations right before he is to meet Goliath. What I find fascinating about this story is that David tried to put on armor to fight Goliath, but it didn’t work. The need for unbendable hard metal to protect himself was not what David needed in that moment. It is almost as if the author is reminding us that the hard and harsh ways of the world are not God’s ways.
Instead, David chooses 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.
This image of the five stones and their meaning has captivated people of faith’s imagination for generations. Knowing that David spent time with God, learning how to trust and have faith, many agree that the five stones represent the habits and discipline God uses to transform us into the people God calls us to be. The “smooth stones” correspond to “truths” or things we have learned and have used to anchor our lives to overcome the Goliaths keeping us from being our best selves.
Over the next five weeks, we will be exploring how the five smooth stones of faith, trust, courage, obedience, and praise, how these five smooth stones help us build a relationship with God to sustain us along all of life’s journey. However, please hear me say from the very beginning, this series is not offering quick fixes nor does it promise easy answers. What it will do is invite us to live into the TRUTHS which are the foundations of becoming God’s Beloved Community.
For this first Sunday, we are exploring the smooth stone of faith and what it means for us as ones who follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Faith is one of those tricky words which we know in our hearts but it is often hard to define with words. That’s why Hebrews 11 is such beloved Scripture when it comes to our conversations about faith. Because it gives us the words to define such a significant yet mysterious concept as our faith.
At this time, I invite you to hear these words from Hebrews 11: 1-11, 17-34, 39-40:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death, and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would approach God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith, with Sarah’s involvement, he received power of procreation, even though he was too old, because he considered him faithful who had promised.
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial. By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace. And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
“Faith rests in, it taps into the really real of hoped for things. It leads us to conviction and action in the visible world; even though it is rooted in things that cannot be seen.” Let me say that again: “Faith leads us to conviction and action in the visible world; even though it is rooted in things that cannot be seen.”
The author of Hebrews wrote these words to his community some two thousand years ago. He knew that his community needed a word of encouragement. After all, they were tired. They had grown weary of it all. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. No matter what they did, no matter how much good ministry they did and shared in their community, there was always more to do. There was always more hurt. Always more hate, always more brokenness and sadness. It just felt like no matter what they did, what grace they offered, what love they shared, they were constantly overwhelmed, drowned out, demoralized and deflated by the systems designed to oppress and destroy.
The author of Hebrews wrote this letter to his community because he could see that everyone’s faith was waning. The author penned these powerful words…words which reminded his community, which remind us still some two thousand years later, that our faith is not strong because we believe. No, our faith is strong because it is rooted in the character of God. Our faith is secure, not because of who we are but because of who God is. Let me say that again for the people in the back…Our faith is strong because it is rooted in the character of God.
Our God brought this world into being by speaking words of new life. Our God has moved in and among the people of faith since the beginning of time, our God continues to move in among the people of faith, bringing about healing and wholeness. Our God is here, reminding this world that no matter what, death and destruction will not have the last word. Our faith is strong because our God has shown us over and over again who our God is… our God is loving, our God is faithful from generation to generation. Our God is steadfast. Our God holds us secure. Our God is present. Our God is active. Our God made the mountains, formed the seas with God’s hands and still crafted us in God’s own image, naming us and claiming us as God’s own.
The author of Hebrews reminds his community, and reminds us still some two thousand years later, that the power of faith is rooted in the promises of our God, promises which God has kept, promises which God has fulfilled, promises which connect us to the larger reality of God’s Beloved Community coming to fruition here and now for all of God’s people.
The author of Hebrews reminds his community, and reminds us some two thousand years later, that this is not a naive faith. It is not a faith which denies or ignores the pain and hurt of our world. Rather it is a faith which walks along beside that pain and hurt, acknowledging it, embracing it, comforting it, confronting it, healing it.
As ones who follow a Risen Savior, it is our faith which shapes how we view the world. It is our faith which shapes how we act, how we speak, how we perceive and answer the question of who is my neighbor. It is our faith which calls us to make justice, not just for a select few but for all of God’s people. It is our faith which binds us together in community. It is our faith which reminds us time and time and time again that no matter what, love and light will always overcome… and if they haven’t, then we ain’t at the end yet.
What the author of Hebrews reminded his community some two thousand years ago, what he reminds us still today is that by faith, we understand. By faith, we walk. By faith, we minister. By faith, we share the good news. By faith, we continue to become the people God calls us to be for a time such as this. By faith, we know and are made perfect by God’s love. By faith, we are led to conviction and action in this world, hoping, trusting, holding on to those things unseen. By faith, we know God’s Beloved Community is promised for each and everyone.
By faith, we stand secure to face whatever this world brings our way because we stand in, we stand on the promises of God, promises which strengthen us, promises which encourage us, promises which hold us accountable, promises which comfort us, promises which heal us, promises which show us over and over again, that our God is here. And no matter what, no matter what is going on in the world around is, no matter that the systems of oppression and destruction are trying to control the narrative, no matter what…by faith, we know and have the experienced the life giving, the life transforming, the life upending, grace saving power of the Gospel message and we stand secure…called to action, given to conviction in this visible world, rooted in the things not seen… because we know the rest of the story. Because we know Jesus Christ. Because we know our God is here. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, August 3, 2025 – Faith: Meaning, Hope, & Direction Hebrews 11.
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