David Collective Worship for Primary Schools – Bible Story of Courage
This David collective worship for primary schools explores three important moments from the Bible story of David and shows how courage can look different in different situations. Through the stories of David the shepherd, David and Goliath, and David sparing King Saul in the cave, pupils consider confidence, fear, making the right choice and trusting God when things are difficult.
Suitable for EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
This ready-to-use resource is part of our Faith Heroes collective worship series, helping primary schools explore important Bible stories and Christian values through engaging whole-school worship.
Who was David in the Bible?
David is one of the best-known characters in the Old Testament.
He lived around 3,000 years ago and became one of the most important people in the Bible. During his life, David was a shepherd, musician, warrior and eventually King of Israel. However, he was not born into a royal family and was not always the person others expected to become a leader.
This collective worship explores three moments from David’s life rather than focusing only on his famous battle with Goliath.
Together, the stories help children see that courage is not one single thing. Sometimes courage means believing in yourself when others overlook you. Sometimes it means facing something frightening. At other times, it means choosing to do what is right even when other people are encouraging you to do something wrong.
Our Bible stories for primary schools use stories such as David’s to help children explore Christian values and consider how biblical teaching can connect with choices they face today.
What Bible stories about David are included?
The collective worship explores three key moments from the story of David.
The first is David the shepherd. In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel visits Jesse’s family to find the future king of Israel. Jesse presents seven of his sons, but none is God’s choice. David, the youngest, is not even called in at first because he is outside looking after the sheep. When David finally appears, Samuel discovers that he is the one God has chosen.
The second is the famous story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. David is not a soldier and has only come to deliver food to his brothers, but he volunteers to face the Philistine giant. He refuses Saul’s armour and uses the tools he already knows – his sling and five stones.
The third story comes from 1 Samuel 24. Years later, King Saul is trying to kill David. When Saul enters the cave where David and his men are hiding, David has an opportunity to hurt him. His friends encourage him to do so, but David refuses. Instead, he cuts a piece from Saul’s robe to show that he could have harmed him but chose not to.
Together, these three Bible stories create a strong collective worship about courage.
What can children learn from David the shepherd?
The story of David the shepherd explores what courage can look like when somebody is overlooked.
David was the youngest son in his family and was not initially considered when Samuel came looking for Israel’s future king.
The story reminds children that outward appearance, age or other people’s expectations do not determine somebody’s potential.
For pupils, this can lead to important conversations about confidence, self-belief and the danger of underestimating others.
The takeaway from this part of the worship is simple: do not underestimate someone because of how they appear.
What can children learn from David and Goliath?
David and Goliath is one of the most recognisable Bible stories for children.
The Israelite soldiers were frightened of Goliath, an enormous Philistine warrior. David was young and inexperienced, but he volunteered to face him.
He did not try to become somebody else. Rather than wearing Saul’s armour, David used the skills and tools he already knew from his life as a shepherd.
He faced Goliath with a sling and five stones and defeated him with a single stone.
The story helps children understand that courage does not mean never feeling afraid.
This collective worship asks pupils directly whether David might have been frightened and whether it is possible to be both frightened and courageous at the same time.
That makes David and Goliath particularly useful for Christian collective worship about courage and facing fears.
What can children learn from David and Saul in the cave?
The cave story introduces a very different kind of courage.
King Saul was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. When Saul entered the cave where David was hiding, David suddenly had an opportunity to hurt the person who was trying to harm him.
His friends encouraged him to take that opportunity.
David chose not to.
Instead, he secretly cut a piece from Saul’s robe and later used it to demonstrate that he could have attacked Saul but had chosen not to.
For children, this provides a powerful example of self-control and moral courage.
Sometimes being courageous means taking action. At other times, courage means refusing to do something wrong even when other people are telling us to do it.
Why is David a Faith Hero?
David is presented as a Faith Hero because he demonstrated courage in several different ways.
As the shepherd, he showed confidence when others overlooked him.
When facing Goliath, he showed courage in the face of something frightening.
In the cave, he showed the courage to choose what was right even when others wanted him to hurt Saul.
David trusted God even when the challenges he faced seemed overwhelming and he did not know what might happen next.
His story also reminds children that Bible heroes were not perfect. David made mistakes, including serious ones, but Christians can still learn from his faith, courage and willingness to trust God.
Schools exploring more biblical role models can continue the theme through our Faith Heroes Bible stories and collective worship resources.
What does Psalm 56:3 teach about courage?
The reflection in this collective worship comes from Psalm 56:3:
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
The word “when” is important.
David does not say that he is never afraid. Instead, the verse acknowledges that fear is part of life and shows how faith can shape someone’s response to it.
Children are encouraged to reflect on a time when they have needed to be brave and make the right choice even when doing so was difficult.
This reinforces one of the main messages of the worship: courage is not the absence of fear. We can feel frightened and still choose to act courageously.
How can David’s story be used in collective worship?
The worship is built around three illustrated Bible stories, discussion, reflection and prayer.
Each of the three key moments is presented through a comic strip, helping children engage with the story visually while the adult leading the worship explains what happened.
Pupils then compare David’s different choices. They consider whether David was afraid and discuss which required more courage: facing Goliath or choosing not to hurt Saul.
The reflection uses Psalm 56:3 before a short prayer asks God for courage when children feel afraid, help to make good choices, strength to stand up for what is right and trust when things are difficult.
The worship finishes with a simple challenge:
How will you show courage today?
Why use Bible stories in primary school collective worship?
Bible stories provide memorable examples through which children can explore Christian beliefs and values.
David’s story is particularly useful because it shows one value – courage – in several different situations.
Children can explore confidence when they feel overlooked, courage when something feels frightening and moral courage when they need to make the right choice.
Our wider Bible story collective worship resources include characters from across the Old and New Testaments, helping schools build a varied programme of Bible-based collective worship throughout the year.
This David collective worship includes:
A ready-to-use PowerPoint
Three Bible stories from David’s life
David the shepherd from 1 Samuel 16
David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17
David and Saul in the cave from 1 Samuel 24
A focus on courage and trust
Key vocabulary including Philistine, volunteered, armour and courageous
Three illustrated comic strips
Discussion questions
A Faith Hero summary
A reflection using Psalm 56:3
A short prayer
A final courage challenge
FAQs
What Bible stories does this David collective worship include?
The worship includes three moments from David’s life: being chosen while working as a shepherd, defeating Goliath and choosing not to harm King Saul in the cave. These are drawn from 1 Samuel 16, 17 and 24.
What Christian value does the story of David explore?
The main value is courage. Children discover that courage can look different in different situations: having confidence when overlooked, facing something frightening and choosing to do what is right.
Is this a David and Goliath collective worship?
David and Goliath is one important part of the worship, but the resource deliberately goes further. It also explores David as a shepherd and his later encounter with Saul in the cave, helping children see different examples of courage.
What can children learn from David and Goliath?
The story can help children understand that courage does not mean never feeling frightened. David faced something that scared experienced soldiers but trusted God and used the skills he already had.
Is this David Bible story suitable for EYFS, KS1 and KS2?
Yes. The resource is designed for EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The comic strips make the stories accessible to younger children, while the discussion about fear, peer pressure and moral courage allows older pupils to explore the ideas in greater depth.
Can I use this for Christian collective worship?
Yes. The resource is specifically designed as part of the Faith Heroes collective worship series. It includes Bible stories, discussion, Christian reflection, Psalm 56:3, prayer and a practical challenge.
Do I need to plan anything for this collective worship?
No. The PowerPoint provides the stories, discussion, reflection and prayer needed for the session. We recommend reading the additional notes about the three comic strips beforehand so that you can explain each Bible story confidently.
Looking for more Bible stories for collective worship?
Explore our growing range of Bible story collective worship resources, with ready-to-use assemblies based on inspiring characters from the Old and New Testaments.
Continue the Faith Heroes series with our Faith Heroes collective worship resources, where children can discover more Bible heroes, explore Christian values and reflect on how their stories still speak to us today.
Each resource includes a ready-to-use PowerPoint, Bible story, discussion, reflection and prayer, helping make whole-school worship simple to plan and meaningful to deliver.
Explore our Bible stories for primary schools and build a rich programme of collective worship across the year.
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