God's Surprising Presence
Worship
Bright Intervals
40 Brief Worship Services and Meditations for Any Occasion
Object:
Greeting and Call To Worship
The Lord is my light and my salvation! Jesus said: "I am the light of the world." God is light, and in God is no darkness at all!
Opening Prayer
God of light, we find ourselves living in a world that often seems to be filled with darkness. Sometimes we, in despair, wonder where you are in the midst of so much violence and hatred and greed. O God, remind us today that you are always with us, even in some of the most surprising places in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Special Hymn
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
Walter Chalmers Smith, the writer of this hymn, lived from 1824 until 1908. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and was ordained to the ministry in 1850. He served churches in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, and became the Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland. In this beautiful hymn, God is often compared to the sun in the heavens. Like the sun, God needs nothing for sustenance; instead, all things depend upon God. God's power never diminishes, and God remains the same day in and day out.
Scripture Reading
Genesis 28:10-17
Meditation
If someone were to ask us where the Living God is to be found, most of us would probably say in the worship of the church, in the stories of the Bible, in a quiet moment of prayer, or in the beauty of a sunrise or sunset. But the words we just read about Jacob suggest that God is often found in the most surprising and unexpected places in our lives. And when we find God in those unexpected places, suddenly everything in our lives is different!
There was a young man who decided one summer while in college to work on a Texas ranch. In the springtime, it had seemed like a great way to spend a summer. But when his folks drove him out to the ranch, it was so disappointing and disillusioning. It wasn't anything like he imagined. The ranch was located way back in the hills, cut off from civilization, and a good 75 miles from the nearest Dairy Queen! Those first few days on the ranch, the young man cried himself to sleep. But then his parents noticed a sudden change in the tone of his letters. It seems the rancher's beautiful daughter had come home for the summer! Soon the young man was describing the ranch as "the most beautiful place I have ever been"! By September, the boy's parents could hardly get him back to college!
That young man found something so good in an unexpected place that it changed his whole outlook on life. As I read the Bible, I find its pages full of people who discovered the Living God in the most surprising places in their lives. Here's 80-year-old Moses who discovers God's presence in a burning bush. Here's the prophet Isaiah who discovers God while he is in captivity in Babylon. Here is Job discovering God in the midst of his pain and suffering. And here is Saul of Tarsus who meets the Risen Christ while engaged in a mission to persecute Christians!
Jacob, too, is a person who finds God in the most unexpected place. You may remember that Jacob, through deceit, lies, trickery, and connivance, literally has robbed his brother of his rightful inheritance. Weighed down with fear and guilt, Jacob is running for his life. God is the last person in the world he expects to meet out there in the wilderness, but suddenly God is there and Jacob knows that his life will never be the same again. He says, "Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it."
The simple truth is that God often comes to us when we least expect it. Here's God ministering to Jacob in the midst of one of the most anxious and stressful times in his life. Sometimes people meet the Living God in the unexpected place of sorrow in their lives. The truth is, God is never closer to us than when we are hurting. A man was sitting in his car at an intersection when another automobile turned onto his street and sideswiped his back left fender. The man got out of his car to exchange insurance information, and discovered that the driver of the other automobile was a young woman who was crying hysterically. Between sobs, she explained that she had just gotten married. The car was a wedding present from her husband, and she had never been in an accident before. She could not even move to get out her insurance card, so the man reached into the glove compartment for it. To the amazement of both, there was a note from the young woman's husband, attached to the insurance card. The note completely changed the day -- it read, "Honey, in case of an accident, remember that I love you a lot more than this car!"
Sometimes in those moments of sorrow and disappointment, it is as if God sends us a note that says, "In case of a broken heart, remember I love you and will see you through!" Let's never forget to look for God in the most surprising and unexpected places in our lives.
Benediction
May God bless you and keep you, both now and forevermore.
The Lord is my light and my salvation! Jesus said: "I am the light of the world." God is light, and in God is no darkness at all!
Opening Prayer
God of light, we find ourselves living in a world that often seems to be filled with darkness. Sometimes we, in despair, wonder where you are in the midst of so much violence and hatred and greed. O God, remind us today that you are always with us, even in some of the most surprising places in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Special Hymn
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
Walter Chalmers Smith, the writer of this hymn, lived from 1824 until 1908. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and was ordained to the ministry in 1850. He served churches in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, and became the Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland. In this beautiful hymn, God is often compared to the sun in the heavens. Like the sun, God needs nothing for sustenance; instead, all things depend upon God. God's power never diminishes, and God remains the same day in and day out.
Scripture Reading
Genesis 28:10-17
Meditation
If someone were to ask us where the Living God is to be found, most of us would probably say in the worship of the church, in the stories of the Bible, in a quiet moment of prayer, or in the beauty of a sunrise or sunset. But the words we just read about Jacob suggest that God is often found in the most surprising and unexpected places in our lives. And when we find God in those unexpected places, suddenly everything in our lives is different!
There was a young man who decided one summer while in college to work on a Texas ranch. In the springtime, it had seemed like a great way to spend a summer. But when his folks drove him out to the ranch, it was so disappointing and disillusioning. It wasn't anything like he imagined. The ranch was located way back in the hills, cut off from civilization, and a good 75 miles from the nearest Dairy Queen! Those first few days on the ranch, the young man cried himself to sleep. But then his parents noticed a sudden change in the tone of his letters. It seems the rancher's beautiful daughter had come home for the summer! Soon the young man was describing the ranch as "the most beautiful place I have ever been"! By September, the boy's parents could hardly get him back to college!
That young man found something so good in an unexpected place that it changed his whole outlook on life. As I read the Bible, I find its pages full of people who discovered the Living God in the most surprising places in their lives. Here's 80-year-old Moses who discovers God's presence in a burning bush. Here's the prophet Isaiah who discovers God while he is in captivity in Babylon. Here is Job discovering God in the midst of his pain and suffering. And here is Saul of Tarsus who meets the Risen Christ while engaged in a mission to persecute Christians!
Jacob, too, is a person who finds God in the most unexpected place. You may remember that Jacob, through deceit, lies, trickery, and connivance, literally has robbed his brother of his rightful inheritance. Weighed down with fear and guilt, Jacob is running for his life. God is the last person in the world he expects to meet out there in the wilderness, but suddenly God is there and Jacob knows that his life will never be the same again. He says, "Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it."
The simple truth is that God often comes to us when we least expect it. Here's God ministering to Jacob in the midst of one of the most anxious and stressful times in his life. Sometimes people meet the Living God in the unexpected place of sorrow in their lives. The truth is, God is never closer to us than when we are hurting. A man was sitting in his car at an intersection when another automobile turned onto his street and sideswiped his back left fender. The man got out of his car to exchange insurance information, and discovered that the driver of the other automobile was a young woman who was crying hysterically. Between sobs, she explained that she had just gotten married. The car was a wedding present from her husband, and she had never been in an accident before. She could not even move to get out her insurance card, so the man reached into the glove compartment for it. To the amazement of both, there was a note from the young woman's husband, attached to the insurance card. The note completely changed the day -- it read, "Honey, in case of an accident, remember that I love you a lot more than this car!"
Sometimes in those moments of sorrow and disappointment, it is as if God sends us a note that says, "In case of a broken heart, remember I love you and will see you through!" Let's never forget to look for God in the most surprising and unexpected places in our lives.
Benediction
May God bless you and keep you, both now and forevermore.
