The Shepherd and the Giant

Connie Kendall thinks the Bible is boring - until Whit straps her into his newest invention, the environment enhancer, and sends her straight into the story. In a field near Bethlehem she meets David, a shepherd boy who writes songs, fights off lions, and is suddenly anointed the next king of Israel by a nervous traveler named Samuel. Then comes the Valley of Elah, where a giant named Goliath has spent forty days daring anyone in Israel's army to fight him... and nobody will. Nobody, that is, except David, who turns down King Saul's armor and walks out to meet the giant with a staff, a sling, and a few small stones. Connie begs him to be sensible, but David trusts the Lord to deliver him - and one stone later, Goliath crashes to the ground and the Philistines run for their lives. Back at Whit's End, Connie has to admit she was wrong about "boring old Bible stories," and she'll never see the Bible Room the same way again.

Found on Heroes Album 03 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

2 of 2 0040 The Case of the Secret Room When a skeleton and a decades-old bank robbery surface behind his basement wall, Whit refuses to let a forty-year-old case stay closed - even as someone tries to scare him off the trail.

0041 Return to the Bible Room A quick detour into the Bible Room at Whit's End sweeps two children off their feet and into the storm-tossed story of a prophet who thought he could outrun God.

0042 The Last Great Adventure of the Summer When a mysterious stranger corners a boy and his boring shoe-salesman father outside Whit's End, a dull summer's final weekend erupts into a chase that reveals his dad is not who he claimed to be.

0043 Back to School When the first week back at school goes hilariously wrong, a girl prone to tall tales must face the real reason it felt so terrible.

0044 It Sure Seems Like It to Me Nobody believes Leslie's outlandish tale about giving her mother's new umbrella to a cowboy in a purple fire engine - so she sets out to prove it really happened.

0045 What are we Going to do about Halloween? A church controversy over Halloween sends the kids of Odyssey digging into the holiday's surprising history - and dreaming up a celebration all their own.

0046 The Shepherd and the Giant When Whit's new invention drops a skeptical Connie into a Bible story, she finds herself walking alongside a young shepherd whose courage is about to be tested against impossible odds.

0047 A Single Vote A bored Connie dismisses class elections as meaningless popularity contests, so Whit spins a tale reaching back through American history to show just how much one ordinary vote can matter.

0048 Heroes When basketball legend Lightning Livingston retires to small-town Odyssey, his biggest young fan must confront the rumors swirling around why his hero really left the game.

0049 Thank You, God At a Thanksgiving dinner at Whit's shop, a boy who feels he has nothing to thank God for prompts Whit to share the story of the remarkable stepmother who changed his life.

0050 Karen When her best friend is hospitalized with a serious illness, young Donna Barclay must find the courage to visit - and discovers that Karen's spirit is stronger than anyone expected.

1 of 2 0051 Connie When restless teenager Connie Kendall finally gets permission to leave Odyssey and visit her father in California, her boss Whit must decide how to let her go - and what to pray for while she's gone.

2 of 2 0052 Connie Soaking up the California sun far from snowy Odyssey, Connie keeps running into reminders of the life - and the faith - she thought she left behind.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 11 more roles

11 supporting roles

King David Will Ryan King Saul Walker Edmiston Goliath Walker Edmiston Samuel Walker Edmiston Abinadab Phil Lollar Eliab Chuck Bolte Jesse Hal Smith Samuel (a) Walker Edmiston Shamma Dave Arnold Messenger (a) Bob Luttrell Mr. Pardon Phil Lollar

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Phil Lollar Writer · Director Dave Arnold Sound Designer · Producer Steve Harris Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Connie Kendall wants to clean up the Bible Room before she goes for the night, but Whit is still at work on a new invention he calls the environment enhancer. It adds sound effects and music while a story plays, so the listener feels like part of it, all in service of his goal to make the Bible come literally to life. Connie is unimpressed; she can think of plenty of stories more exciting than the ones in the Bible. So Whit makes her his guinea pig, sits her down with the headphones, and sends her into the world of the past.

She lands in a grassy field outside Bethlehem, where a young shepherd named David plays the harp and composes psalms while he tends the sheep. Their talk is cut short when a lion snatches a lamb and David charges off to rescue it, just as Connie is pulled back to the Bible Room. Whit teases her - doesn't she want to know what happened to David? - and she grabs the headphones again. On a dirt road she meets a nervous traveler named Samuel, who is on his way to anoint one of Jesse's sons as the new king of Israel, an errand from God that is likely to make King Saul very angry. At Jesse's house, God rejects son after son until the youngest is sent for from the sheep. It is David, alive and well; the Lord gave him strength to seize the lion and kill it. Samuel declares that he is the one, and the young shepherd kneels to be anointed Israel's next king.

The story jumps ahead to the Valley of Elah, where Israel has gone to war with the Philistines and David has come to his brothers with greetings from their father. He finds the camp in a panic: for forty days the Philistine champion, a giant named Goliath of Gath, has come out to defy Israel and its God and dare any man to fight him, the losers to serve the winners. Nobody volunteers except David, who demands, "Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" His brothers scold him for leaving his few sheep, Connie begs him to be sensible, and King Saul points out that he is a boy facing a fighting man. But David has rescued lambs from lions and bears, and he trusts the Lord to deliver him from this Philistine too. He turns down the king's armor because he cannot move in it and chooses his staff, his sling, and a few stones instead. Goliath sneers, "Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?" David answers that he comes in the name of the Lord Almighty, for the battle is the Lord's. A single stone from the sling sinks into the giant's forehead, Goliath falls, and the Philistines flee with Israel's army chasing them, one of the greatest victories in Israel's history.

Back in the Bible Room, Connie can hardly believe the story stops there. Whit tells her the rest picks up in 1 Samuel chapter 17, if she thinks she can stand a boring old Bible story. Connie admits she was wrong about that, and she heads home seeing the Bible Room in a way she never saw it before.