Growing Up: FAQ & Glossary
Never read the Bible before? You're in the right place. Whether you're brand new to Generations Church or just want a quick refresher before Sunday, this page walks through every name, reference, and phrase you'll hear across the Growing Up series — no church background required, no judgment if you're starting from zero.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is David, and why does the whole series follow his life?
David is a central figure in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. He starts out as an overlooked shepherd boy in Bethlehem and eventually becomes king of Israel. His life covers nearly every stage a person goes through — being passed over, facing a giant fear, waiting years for a promise, friendship, anger, success, failure, parenting, grief, and finally handing off what he'd learned before he died. That range is why twelve weeks of teaching can come out of one life.
2. What does it mean that David was "anointed"?
Anointing is pouring oil on someone's head to mark them as chosen for a role — usually king, priest, or prophet. In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel anoints David after passing over his seven older brothers, publicly marking him as Israel's future king. But the anointing didn't hand David a crown — he waited roughly fifteen more years, most of them hiding from the man who already had the job.
3. Who is Saul, and how does he relate to David?
Saul is Israel's first king, chosen before David. He starts strong, then grows fearful and jealous once David becomes popular, and spends years hunting him down. Saul represents power grasped and defended at any cost; David — even when he's given the chance to end the chase by killing Saul in a cave — represents power left in God's hands and God's timing (1 Samuel 24).
4. What's the story with Goliath, and why does it still get referenced so often?
Goliath is a giant warrior from a rival nation, the Philistines, who spends forty days taunting Israel's army while everyone stays frozen with fear. Teenage David — who was only there to deliver lunch to his brothers — takes him down with a sling and one stone. Pop culture turned "David and Goliath" into shorthand for any underdog win, but the text points the credit somewhere else: right before he throws the stone, David says the fight will prove the battle belongs to the Lord, not to weapons or skill. Goliath had mocked Israel's God directly — the win was David's answer to that insult, not a story about finding enough courage on your own.
5. Who is Jonathan, and what does "covenant friendship" mean?
Jonathan is Saul's son and the crown prince — meaning David's rise to power should have made Jonathan his rival. Instead, Jonathan gives David his own royal robe and weapons, defends him to his father, and repeatedly points David back to God rather than to himself. A covenant friendship is the kind that costs something real, rather than one built on convenience: Jonathan risked his life and his own claim to the throne because he could see who God was making David into.
6. Who are Nabal and Abigail, and why do they matter?
Nabal is a wealthy, harsh man who publicly insults David and refuses to help him after David's men had protected his shepherds for free. David rides out with 400 armed men to kill every man in Nabal's household. Abigail, Nabal's wife, intercepts him on the road and talks him down — not by minimizing the insult, but by reminding David of his own history of trusting God, going back to the day he faced Goliath. About ten days later, Nabal dies of natural causes, and David never has to answer for the bloodshed he almost caused (1 Samuel 25).
7. What is the "house" God promises to build for David?
In 2 Samuel 7, David — now settled in a palace at the height of his power — wants to build God a permanent temple. God turns the offer around: instead of David building God a house, God will build David one, meaning a lasting family line and an everlasting throne, not a building. David never sees this promise fulfilled in his lifetime. Christians understand Jesus, born generations later in David's line, as the one who ultimately fulfills it.
8. Who is Nathan, and what happens with Bathsheba?
Nathan is a prophet — someone who delivers God's message directly to a king or nation. In 2 Samuel 11, David has an affair with Bathsheba and arranges the death of her husband, Uriah, to cover it up. A year passes in silence. Then Nathan confronts David with a story about a rich man stealing a poor man's only lamb — and once David reacts in anger at the injustice, Nathan says three words: "You are the man." David's response, "I have sinned against the Lord," and God's immediate forgiveness, is the origin of Psalm 51, David's raw prayer of repentance.
9. Who are Tamar and Absalom, and why does David's silence matter?
Tamar is David's daughter, assaulted by her own half-brother Amnon. Absalom is Tamar's full brother, who waits two years and then kills Amnon in revenge. David's response to the original assault was anger — and then nothing. No confrontation, no justice. That unaddressed silence set off years of pain, eventually leading Absalom to rebel against his own father and try to take the throne by force (2 Samuel 13–14, 18). The series treats this as a warning about what happens when a hard, necessary conversation gets avoided out of what looks like love.
10. Why does Solomon's request for wisdom matter, and what happened to the kingdom afterward?
Solomon is David's son and successor. In 1 Kings 3, God offers him anything, and Solomon asks for wisdom to lead well instead of wealth or power — a request that pleases God so much that He grants both the wisdom and the wealth Solomon never asked for. But the series doesn't stop at the high point: Solomon's later foreign marriages pull his heart toward other gods, and the unified kingdom David spent his life building splits in two after Solomon dies. A strong start doesn't guarantee a faithful finish — which is part of why David's own final words to Solomon, in 1 Kings 2, were less about achievement and more about guarding what he'd already been given.
David is a central figure in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. He starts out as an overlooked shepherd boy in Bethlehem and eventually becomes king of Israel. His life covers nearly every stage a person goes through — being passed over, facing a giant fear, waiting years for a promise, friendship, anger, success, failure, parenting, grief, and finally handing off what he'd learned before he died. That range is why twelve weeks of teaching can come out of one life.
2. What does it mean that David was "anointed"?
Anointing is pouring oil on someone's head to mark them as chosen for a role — usually king, priest, or prophet. In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel anoints David after passing over his seven older brothers, publicly marking him as Israel's future king. But the anointing didn't hand David a crown — he waited roughly fifteen more years, most of them hiding from the man who already had the job.
3. Who is Saul, and how does he relate to David?
Saul is Israel's first king, chosen before David. He starts strong, then grows fearful and jealous once David becomes popular, and spends years hunting him down. Saul represents power grasped and defended at any cost; David — even when he's given the chance to end the chase by killing Saul in a cave — represents power left in God's hands and God's timing (1 Samuel 24).
4. What's the story with Goliath, and why does it still get referenced so often?
Goliath is a giant warrior from a rival nation, the Philistines, who spends forty days taunting Israel's army while everyone stays frozen with fear. Teenage David — who was only there to deliver lunch to his brothers — takes him down with a sling and one stone. Pop culture turned "David and Goliath" into shorthand for any underdog win, but the text points the credit somewhere else: right before he throws the stone, David says the fight will prove the battle belongs to the Lord, not to weapons or skill. Goliath had mocked Israel's God directly — the win was David's answer to that insult, not a story about finding enough courage on your own.
5. Who is Jonathan, and what does "covenant friendship" mean?
Jonathan is Saul's son and the crown prince — meaning David's rise to power should have made Jonathan his rival. Instead, Jonathan gives David his own royal robe and weapons, defends him to his father, and repeatedly points David back to God rather than to himself. A covenant friendship is the kind that costs something real, rather than one built on convenience: Jonathan risked his life and his own claim to the throne because he could see who God was making David into.
6. Who are Nabal and Abigail, and why do they matter?
Nabal is a wealthy, harsh man who publicly insults David and refuses to help him after David's men had protected his shepherds for free. David rides out with 400 armed men to kill every man in Nabal's household. Abigail, Nabal's wife, intercepts him on the road and talks him down — not by minimizing the insult, but by reminding David of his own history of trusting God, going back to the day he faced Goliath. About ten days later, Nabal dies of natural causes, and David never has to answer for the bloodshed he almost caused (1 Samuel 25).
7. What is the "house" God promises to build for David?
In 2 Samuel 7, David — now settled in a palace at the height of his power — wants to build God a permanent temple. God turns the offer around: instead of David building God a house, God will build David one, meaning a lasting family line and an everlasting throne, not a building. David never sees this promise fulfilled in his lifetime. Christians understand Jesus, born generations later in David's line, as the one who ultimately fulfills it.
8. Who is Nathan, and what happens with Bathsheba?
Nathan is a prophet — someone who delivers God's message directly to a king or nation. In 2 Samuel 11, David has an affair with Bathsheba and arranges the death of her husband, Uriah, to cover it up. A year passes in silence. Then Nathan confronts David with a story about a rich man stealing a poor man's only lamb — and once David reacts in anger at the injustice, Nathan says three words: "You are the man." David's response, "I have sinned against the Lord," and God's immediate forgiveness, is the origin of Psalm 51, David's raw prayer of repentance.
9. Who are Tamar and Absalom, and why does David's silence matter?
Tamar is David's daughter, assaulted by her own half-brother Amnon. Absalom is Tamar's full brother, who waits two years and then kills Amnon in revenge. David's response to the original assault was anger — and then nothing. No confrontation, no justice. That unaddressed silence set off years of pain, eventually leading Absalom to rebel against his own father and try to take the throne by force (2 Samuel 13–14, 18). The series treats this as a warning about what happens when a hard, necessary conversation gets avoided out of what looks like love.
10. Why does Solomon's request for wisdom matter, and what happened to the kingdom afterward?
Solomon is David's son and successor. In 1 Kings 3, God offers him anything, and Solomon asks for wisdom to lead well instead of wealth or power — a request that pleases God so much that He grants both the wisdom and the wealth Solomon never asked for. But the series doesn't stop at the high point: Solomon's later foreign marriages pull his heart toward other gods, and the unified kingdom David spent his life building splits in two after Solomon dies. A strong start doesn't guarantee a faithful finish — which is part of why David's own final words to Solomon, in 1 Kings 2, were less about achievement and more about guarding what he'd already been given.
Glossary
Anointing — Pouring oil on someone's head as a sign that God has set them apart for a role, such as king or priest — the ceremony behind the title "the Lord's anointed."
Confession — Saying honestly to God what you did wrong, without excuses or spin. David's one-line confession in 2 Samuel 12 — "I have sinned against the Lord" — comes before any punishment does.
Covenant — A binding promise between God and people, or between two people, carrying real obligations for both sides — stronger and more permanent than an informal agreement.
Cross, The — Where Jesus was executed. In Christian belief, this is where He took on the punishment for human wrongdoing, so it's often used as shorthand for what Jesus did to make forgiveness possible.
Deep Wells — A phrase from the series for private, unseen spiritual habits, or experiences — reading Scripture, small acts of obedience, staying close to godly people — that a person can draw from later when life gets hard.
Fall, The — Used in this series to describe the private drift, cover-up, and exposure of one specific sin (David and Bathsheba) — not the Genesis account of humanity's first sin, which shares the same name.
Grace — Good treatment from God that isn't earned or paid back. The series repeatedly warns against quietly turning grace into a transaction — trying to repay God for it.
Lament — An honest prayer or song that names pain, grief, or complaint to God without pretending everything's fine — grief spoken out loud instead of suppressed.
Lord's Anointed, The — A title for a king chosen and marked by God; David's reason for refusing to kill Saul even with the chance to do it in a cave.
Parable — A short story with an everyday setting, used to make a moral or spiritual point land harder than a direct statement would. Nathan tells one to confront David before David realizes the story is about him.
Prophet — Someone instructed by God to deliver His message to individuals, kings, or an entire nation — hard truths included, not just predictions about the future.
Repentance — Turning back to God with honesty after wrongdoing, rather than managing, hiding, or minimizing it.
Tabernacle — The portable tent where Israel worshipped God before a temple existed — the "canvas" David contrasts with his own cedar palace in 2 Samuel 7.
Testimony — A personal account of something God has done in your life, usually shared to strengthen someone else's faith. David gives his testimony about killing a lion and a bear before he ever fights Goliath.
Confession — Saying honestly to God what you did wrong, without excuses or spin. David's one-line confession in 2 Samuel 12 — "I have sinned against the Lord" — comes before any punishment does.
Covenant — A binding promise between God and people, or between two people, carrying real obligations for both sides — stronger and more permanent than an informal agreement.
Cross, The — Where Jesus was executed. In Christian belief, this is where He took on the punishment for human wrongdoing, so it's often used as shorthand for what Jesus did to make forgiveness possible.
Deep Wells — A phrase from the series for private, unseen spiritual habits, or experiences — reading Scripture, small acts of obedience, staying close to godly people — that a person can draw from later when life gets hard.
Fall, The — Used in this series to describe the private drift, cover-up, and exposure of one specific sin (David and Bathsheba) — not the Genesis account of humanity's first sin, which shares the same name.
Grace — Good treatment from God that isn't earned or paid back. The series repeatedly warns against quietly turning grace into a transaction — trying to repay God for it.
Lament — An honest prayer or song that names pain, grief, or complaint to God without pretending everything's fine — grief spoken out loud instead of suppressed.
Lord's Anointed, The — A title for a king chosen and marked by God; David's reason for refusing to kill Saul even with the chance to do it in a cave.
Parable — A short story with an everyday setting, used to make a moral or spiritual point land harder than a direct statement would. Nathan tells one to confront David before David realizes the story is about him.
Prophet — Someone instructed by God to deliver His message to individuals, kings, or an entire nation — hard truths included, not just predictions about the future.
Repentance — Turning back to God with honesty after wrongdoing, rather than managing, hiding, or minimizing it.
Tabernacle — The portable tent where Israel worshipped God before a temple existed — the "canvas" David contrasts with his own cedar palace in 2 Samuel 7.
Testimony — A personal account of something God has done in your life, usually shared to strengthen someone else's faith. David gives his testimony about killing a lion and a bear before he ever fights Goliath.
Have a question this page didn't answer? We'd love to hear it — reach out at hello@mygenerations.church and we'll add it here. And if you're new to Generations, start here or plan a visit — we'd love to have you Sunday at 10:30AM.
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