When God Is at the Center

1 Samuel 1:19–24
The Life of Samuel: Dedicated to the Lord
Pastor Ed Kennedy | Spicewood Baptist Church

Can God Really Change a Heart, a Marriage, or a Home?

The opening chapter of 1 Samuel introduces us to a family in trouble.

Hannah and Elkanah’s home has been marked by disappointment, poor decisions, rivalry, misunderstanding, and pain. Elkanah has not always understood God’s purposes for his marriage or his responsibility within his home. Hannah has endured years of heartache and circumstances she could not control.

Yet their story doesn’t remain there.

God is at work.

In “When God Is at the Center,” Pastor Ed Kennedy continues our study of Samuel’s family and examines the remarkable changes beginning to take place in Hannah and Elkanah.

One small statement in 1 Samuel 1:19 becomes a significant turning point:

“They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD.”

For perhaps the first time in the story, we see Hannah and Elkanah intentionally turning toward the Lord together.

God has been working in Hannah’s heart. Now we begin to see evidence of change in Elkanah’s heart as well. Their relationship with God begins affecting their relationship with each other.

Their story reminds us of a hopeful truth:

Yes, things can change.

God can transform hearts. He can change priorities. He can restore relationships. And when He becomes central to our lives, His work in us begins touching everything else.

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A Turning Point in Hannah and Elkanah’s Story

To appreciate what happens in 1 Samuel 1:19–24, we need to remember where this family has been.

Elkanah’s decision to take a second wife created turmoil within his household. Peninnah’s treatment of Hannah compounded Hannah’s grief over being unable to have children. Elkanah loved Hannah, but his attempts to comfort her revealed that he did not fully understand what she was experiencing.

Hannah eventually took her anguish to the Lord at Shiloh.

She poured out her soul in prayer and entrusted her desire for a son completely to God. She promised that if the Lord gave her a son, she would give that child back to Him.

When Hannah left that time of prayer, nothing about her external circumstances had changed.

Yet “her face was no longer sad.”

She knew she had been heard by God.

Now the story moves forward.

“They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD.” — 1 Samuel 1:19

That simple sentence may represent one of the most important moments in their marriage.

They worshiped.

Together.

And from there, things begin to change.

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1. Our Relationship With God Affects Everything Else

One of the central truths of this message is simple:

Our relationship with God impacts every other part of life.

Our marriages don’t exist independently from our spiritual lives.

Neither do our parenting, friendships, work, decisions, priorities, finances, disappointments, or ambitions.

As Hannah grows in her trust of the Lord, it changes the way she responds to difficult circumstances and difficult people.

She could have returned from prayer carrying the same resentment.

She could have punished Elkanah for his failures.

She could have remained bitter toward Peninnah.

She could have allowed years of hurt to dictate the future of her marriage.

Instead, Hannah brings what she cannot control to God and takes responsibility for what she can control: her own heart and her own response.

That doesn’t excuse the wrong decisions of others.

It means Hannah refuses to allow someone else’s decisions to determine the condition of her own heart.

And that creates room for something new.

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2. “They Rose Early…and Worshiped”

Pastor Ed identifies 1 Samuel 1:19 as a kind of hinge in the story.

Before Samuel is conceived, Hannah and Elkanah worship together.

Scripture doesn’t tell us the details of what that worship looked like. We aren’t told how long it lasted, what words they prayed, or precisely what they did.

The emphasis is simply that they did it.

And they did it first.

They rose early and worshiped the Lord.

That offers a practical challenge for Christian homes today.

If we say God is central to our lives, do the rhythms of our lives reflect it?

For a married couple, beginning the day together before the Lord can be a simple but powerful practice. It doesn’t require an elaborate program. It may be Scripture, prayer, thanksgiving, and intentionally committing the day and one another to God.

The point isn’t creating another religious obligation.

The point is beginning from the right center.

When a husband and wife begin the day acknowledging that their lives and marriage belong to God, they create space to recognize His work throughout everything that follows.

And for those who are single, the principle remains:

Give God the first of your life rather than whatever happens to be left over.

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3. “In Due Time”

After Hannah and Elkanah return home, Scripture says:

“And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel.” — 1 Samuel 1:20

Those words—“in due time”—matter.

Hannah had wanted a child for years.

But God had also been working in the lives of the people who would raise that child.

Samuel would eventually become one of the most important figures in Israel’s history. He would serve as prophet and judge and help guide the nation through a crucial transition.

But before God begins Samuel’s public story, He is doing something within Samuel’s home.

He is working in Hannah.

He is working in Elkanah.

He is changing priorities.

He is changing relationships.

He is putting Himself back at the center.

We don’t always understand God’s timing.

But waiting doesn’t mean God is absent.

Sometimes the time between our request and God’s answer becomes part of His work in us.

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4. Samuel: “Heard by God”

Hannah names her son Samuel, explaining:

“I have asked for him from the LORD.” — 1 Samuel 1:20

Pastor Ed draws attention to the way Samuel’s name becomes associated in the story with Hannah being heard by God.

Every time she speaks her son’s name, she has a reminder of what she had already come to believe before she conceived:

God heard me.

Samuel is not merely something Hannah possesses.

He is evidence of God’s grace.

That distinction will become enormously important.

If we view God’s blessings primarily as possessions, we tend to hold them tightly.

If we recognize them as gifts of grace, we can hold them with open hands.

Hannah is preparing to do exactly that.

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5. Grace Comes Before Our Response

The sermon then turns to an important question about our relationship with God:

Why do we worship, obey, sacrifice, give, and serve Him?

Is it so God will become favorable toward us?

Or is it because He has already been gracious toward us?

Those two ideas may sound similar, but they represent radically different approaches to God.

One says:

“God, look at everything I’m doing. Now please bless me.”

The other says:

“God, look at everything You have done. My life belongs to You.”

Biblical worship begins with the second.

God acts in grace.

His people respond in gratitude.

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6. We Don’t Have to Bribe God Into Being Good

Elkanah returns to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and fulfill a vow he has made to the Lord.

Understanding biblical vows helps us understand an important distinction Pastor Ed makes in this sermon.

There is a difference between responding to God’s grace and attempting to appease God into graciousness.

Human religion often attempts to bargain with God:

If I pray enough…

If I sacrifice enough…

If enough people pray for me…

If I’m good enough…

If I give enough…

If I suffer enough…

Then perhaps God will give me what I want.

But that turns our relationship with God into a transaction.

Biblical grace moves in the opposite direction.

God is gracious first.

We respond.

We don’t worship God to persuade Him to love us.

We worship because He loves us.

We don’t give in order to make Him generous.

We give because He has already been generous toward us.

We don’t obey so God will finally accept us.

For those who are in Christ, obedience flows from what God has already done for us.

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7. The Problem With Trying to Earn God’s Favor

A performance-based relationship with God creates several spiritual problems.

We never know if we’ve done enough.

If God’s acceptance depends upon our performance, how much performance is enough?

Have I prayed enough?

Have I been generous enough?

Have I repented enough?

Have I served enough?

Have I been good enough?

There is always another question because there is always another failure.

We begin believing God owes us.

A merit-based view of God can lead us to think:

I’ve been faithful. Why did this happen to me?

I’ve served God. Why hasn’t He given me what I asked for?

I’ve tried to be a good person. Doesn’t God owe me something better?

Hannah could have responded that way.

Instead, she entrusts herself to God’s grace.

It feeds our pride.

If we believe our spiritual effort can force God’s hand, then God’s blessings eventually become evidence of our own spiritual achievement.

Grace leaves no room for that kind of pride.

Grace says:

God doesn’t owe me. God loves me.

And His love is a gift.

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8. Because of His Mercy

The New Testament expresses this beautifully in Romans 12.

Paul doesn’t tell Christians to offer themselves to God so that they might obtain mercy.

He begins with mercy already given:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice…” — Romans 12:1

Notice the order.

Mercy → surrender.

Not:

Surrender → maybe mercy.

God’s grace comes first.

Then worship becomes our grateful response.

This helps us understand what is happening with Hannah and Elkanah.

They are beginning to recognize that what they have belongs to God because it came from God.

And soon they will demonstrate just how seriously they believe that.

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9. Elkanah’s Heart Is Changing

One of the most revealing parts of this passage is the contrast between two statements from Elkanah.

Earlier he told Hannah:

“Am I not more to you than ten sons?” — 1 Samuel 1:8

His attention was centered largely on himself.

Why isn’t my love enough?

Why aren’t I enough?

But later, when Hannah explains her intention to fulfill her vow and dedicate Samuel to the Lord, Elkanah responds very differently:

“Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word.” — 1 Samuel 1:23

Something has changed.

Elkanah could have opposed Hannah.

Under Old Testament law, a husband had authority concerning certain vows made within his household. He could have insisted on keeping the son for whom they had waited so long.

Instead, Elkanah becomes concerned about something greater than his own desire.

He wants Hannah to fulfill her commitment to the Lord.

Her relationship with God matters.

God’s purposes matter.

And remarkably, Elkanah is becoming willing to release the very thing he once wanted so desperately.

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10. When What Matters Most Changes

Consider the transformation.

Earlier, having children mattered so much to Elkanah that his choices contributed to enormous turmoil within his family.

Now Samuel has finally arrived.

This is the son Hannah wanted.

The son Elkanah wanted.

The son they waited years to receive.

And Elkanah is willing to give him to the Lord.

The thing that once seemed so important is no longer the center.

God is.

And because God is at the center, Elkanah can finally put Hannah in the place of honor she should have held all along.

This is one of the clearest indications that God is changing his heart.

Spiritual transformation often becomes visible when what matters most to us begins to change.

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11. Healthy Relationships Require the Sacrifice of Self

The sermon concludes with a principle that reaches far beyond Hannah and Elkanah:

Often our greatest act of service is the sacrifice of self for the good of a relationship.

Hannah demonstrates it.

Elkanah begins learning it.

But the greatest example is Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 says:

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus did not wait for us to deserve His sacrifice.

Grace moved first.

Christ gave Himself for people who could never earn what He was giving.

That becomes the pattern for Christian relationships.

Marriage cannot thrive when two people continually ask, What am I getting?

Christian relationships increasingly learn to ask:

How can I give?

How can I serve?

What does faithfulness require of me?

What part of myself might I need to surrender for the good of someone I love?

That isn’t weakness.

It is Christlike love.

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What Happens When God Is at the Center?

Hannah and Elkanah’s story gives us a picture of what can begin happening when God moves from the margins of life toward its center.

Bitterness can give way to forgiveness.

Self-interest can give way to sacrifice.

Entitlement can give way to gratitude.

Possession can give way to stewardship.

Spiritual isolation can give way to worship together.

A troubled marriage can begin moving toward restoration.

And the things we once gripped tightly can be placed into God’s hands.

None of that means every broken relationship will immediately be restored or every difficult circumstance will resolve exactly as we desire.

It means God can change us.

And when He changes us, we become capable of responding differently to everything around us.

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For Deeper Study: Read 1 Samuel 1:19–24

As you reread the passage, watch for evidence of change.

Look at Hannah.

She has moved from deep distress to peace.

She has taken her bitterness and disappointment to God.

She receives Samuel as an answer to prayer.

Yet she remains committed to giving Samuel back to the Lord.

Look at Elkanah.

Earlier, his words reveal self-centeredness and spiritual misunderstanding.

Now he worships with Hannah.

He continues offering sacrifices.

He fulfills his vow.

He respects Hannah’s commitment to God.

He becomes willing to release the son he desperately wanted.

Look at their marriage.

Earlier, God did not appear to be at the center of their relationship.

Now they worship together.

They experience renewed intimacy.

They receive Samuel together.

They begin preparing to surrender Samuel together.

Something significant is happening in this home.

God is at the center.

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Questions for Personal Reflection

1. What is currently at the center of my life?
What receives my greatest attention, energy, concern, and affection?

2. Is there something I want so badly that it has begun affecting my relationship with God or other people?

Elkanah’s desire for children had consequences. What desires are powerful enough to tempt me to step outside God’s wisdom?

3. Am I trying to earn something from God?

Do I ever treat prayer, giving, serving, church attendance, or obedience as leverage for getting God to do what I want?

4. Do I believe God’s grace comes first?

How would my spiritual life change if worship became less about earning God’s favor and more about responding gratefully to favor already given?

5. What am I holding too tightly?

Is there a blessing, possession, relationship, ambition, plan, or dream that I struggle to place completely at God’s disposal?

6. Where might God be asking me to sacrifice self for the good of a relationship?

7. If I’m married, is God truly at the center of our marriage—or simply somewhere within it?

8. What would it look like for us to begin our day intentionally acknowledging God together?

9. Where can I see evidence that God has changed my priorities over time?

10. Is there a relationship I have assumed cannot change?

Hannah and Elkanah’s story invites us to remember that God can work in hearts in ways we cannot.

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A Simple Practice for This Week

One of the most practical details in this passage is also one of the simplest:

“They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD.”

Consider making that your practice this week.

Before email.

Before news.

Before social media.

Before the demands of work and school begin.

Give God the first moments of the day.

If you’re married, consider doing it together. Read a short passage of Scripture. Thank God for His grace. Pray for one another. Commit your family and the coming day to Him.

If you’re single, the same principle applies. Begin your day consciously placing yourself, your plans, your relationships, and your responsibilities before the Lord.

It doesn’t need to be complicated.

The goal isn’t to complete a religious task.

The goal is to begin from the center.

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Scripture for Further Study

1 Samuel 1:19–24 — Hannah, Elkanah, Samuel’s birth, and the family’s changing relationship with God.

1 Samuel 1:8–18 — The events immediately preceding this message: Hannah’s distress, prayer, vow, and newfound peace.

Romans 12:1–2 — Our lives offered to God in response to His mercy.

Romans 5:8 — God’s love demonstrated through Christ while we were still sinners.

1 Peter 3:1–4 — The influence of godly character within marriage, a passage Pastor Ed connects with Hannah’s example.

Numbers 30:6–8 — Pastor Ed spends meaningful time discussing Elkanah’s authority regarding Hannah’s vow.

As you study these passages, consider the order Scripture repeatedly presents:

God acts in grace → we respond in faith, gratitude, obedience, worship, and surrender.

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If You’re Looking for a Church in Spicewood

If you’ve found this message because you’re looking for a church in the Spicewood area, we want you to know that you are welcome at Spicewood Baptist Church.

This sermon also gives you a glimpse into what we value as a church.

We believe Scripture is meant to be understood carefully and applied honestly to everyday life. That’s why Pastor Ed Kennedy teaches through biblical books and passages in context, allowing God’s Word to shape the direction of the message.

Sometimes that means studying familiar passages. Sometimes it means working through complicated families like Hannah and Elkanah’s. And sometimes Scripture confronts assumptions we may have carried for years.

Our goal isn’t simply to know more about the Bible.

We want God’s Word to shape our hearts, marriages, families, priorities, relationships, and daily lives.

You don’t have to have everything figured out before coming to church.

Maybe you’re new to the area.

Maybe you’ve been away from church for years.

Maybe you’re looking for a church where your family can build meaningful relationships.

Maybe you have questions about Christianity.

Or maybe you simply want a place where you can open the Bible with other people and continue growing in your relationship with Christ.

We would be glad to have you join us.

At Spicewood Baptist Church, our desire is to know and make Him known.

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Continuing the Story: The Life of Samuel

“When God Is at the Center” is part of our sermon series The Life of Samuel: Dedicated to the Lord.

Interestingly, Samuel’s story begins long before he can speak for himself.

It begins with his parents.

God is preparing a man who will eventually become a prophet and leader in Israel, but first He is working quietly inside a troubled home.

Hannah learns to surrender what she wants most.

Elkanah begins learning that God’s purposes matter more than his own desires.

A husband and wife begin worshiping together.

A long-awaited son is received as a gift rather than merely a possession.

And soon Hannah and Elkanah will do something extraordinary:

They will give back to God the very blessing they waited years to receive.

That is what dedication to the Lord begins to look like.

We receive God’s grace with gratitude.

We hold His gifts with open hands.

We place Him at the center.

And because He has given Himself to us, we willingly give ourselves back to Him.

Primary Text: 1 Samuel 1:12–24
Additional Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:8, 18–23; Numbers 30:6–8; Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 3:1–4; Romans 5:8

Spicewood Baptist Church | Spicewood, Texas
To know and make Him known