Month: August 2026

At Gateway Austin, we continued our new series “Hello, My Name Is….”

Your view of God shapes everything—how you pray, how you lead, how you suffer, how you love. What we believe about God will determine the kind of world we imagine we’re living in.

But what if our view of God is all wrong?

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God did not first display raw power. He proclaimed His name and revealed His character: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin – yet not leaving the guilty unpunished.
This six-week journey shows what we can learn about God from His interaction with kings, poets, prophets, and people just like you and me. When we know who God really is, we can know Him more and make Him known.

Digging Deeper:

Message Video from Gateway South Austin:

Message Audio from Gateway South Austin:

Message Notes:

In this series we are looking at the name of God and how He reveals His character to us.

Many of us may have a skewed version of God based on where we grew up or what we’ve heard about Him in our culture. Our hope is that you see the goodness and greatness of God in a fresh and life-changing way over these next several weeks as we look at moments in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, where God reveals Himself to people like Moses, David, Nehemiah, Jonah and others.

You may have thought that the God of the Old Testament is angry. The God revealed in Jesus is kind and loving. The true story is so much better and bigger than that!

Last week, we looked at the origins of when God revealed His name to Moses at the burning bush. Exodus 3 says:

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” – Exodus 3:13-14

As Carlos pointed out, that word YHWH which is translated as “Lord” in English can mean “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be.” Yahweh speaks of the God who simply is – the God whose existence depends on nothing outside himself, the God who is faithful to himself, the God who is not controlled by circumstances, human approval, or human failure.

God shares more to Moses in Exodus 34 where the passage tells us:

“God passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…’” – Exodus 34:6–7

Throughout the rest of the Scriptures we see people quoting this passage. People relate to God through this idea of who He really is.

And today we are looking at how God reveals Himself to be compassionate and gracious.

Think about that for a minute.

Yahweh means the Lord, the Creator of all things, the One through whom all things and all creation exists! The all powerful God who was and is and always will be starts with how he feels towards His creation and that includes you. He is compassionate. He is gracious.

So what do those words mean?

Let’s learn more about this idea through another well known Bible character named King David. We know a lot about what happened to David through the books of 1&2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles, but we know what he was thinking and feeling and about his understanding of God in midst of life’s challenges through the Psalms, the prayers he wrote to God.

So who was David?

King David was a shepherd who became the greatest king of Israel. David was overlooked by his father when Samuel came to anoint a king to replace Saul. Once anointed to be the next king of Israel, he demonstrated his faith in God and his ability to defeat his enemies on the battlefield by defeating Goliath. Later he faced attacks from Saul, the king of Israel, not a king from another tribe!. Even still he trusted God and His timing. Rather than seeking to kill Saul which he had the opportunity to do, he waited until God opened the door to become King. David never lost a military battle. He united the twelve tribes, made Jerusalem the capital, and wrote many Psalms. Despite major personal sins like his affair with Bathsheba and the subsequent death of her husband, the Bible calls him a man after God’s own heart. (We will talk about this remarkable description a bit later), but for now just let me say this. David was called and anointed to be king and even still things did not go smoothly for him. In 1 Samuel 13:14 we see that God is seeking for “a man after his own heart” before Samuel chose David and in Acts 13:22 David was described by God as a man “who will do my will.”

Now at the time in his life when he wrote Psalm 86, David is hunted, betrayed, outnumbered. Yet instead of despair, he remembers. He remembers all the ways God had rescued him in his life and had revealed His character. He quotes the name of God as revealed in Exodus 34 and anchors his prayer in God’s character. We have put in bold the part of the Psalm where he quotes the name of God as given to Moses.

Listen to this prayer from King David who lived 1000 years before Jesus so 3000 years ago.

1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. 5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me. 8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. 14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me – they have no regard for you. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; show your strength in behalf of your servant; save me, because I serve you just as my mother did. 17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. – Psalm 86:1-17

There are several things we can grow to know about God’s compassion and God’s grace through the ways Davd relates to Him.

First, God’s compassion invites us to be honest.

Can’t you just feel David’s anguish?
Can you relate to how he is feeling at this moment?

David was honest about reality.

He felt poor and needy. He lacked joy. He needed to be saved.

Have you ever felt this way? Do you go to God like David did?
You and I can be just as honest to God as he is in these prayers.

You see, faith does not deny fear. It brings fear into God’s presence.

When you understand God’s true nature, you will feel more free to be fully transparent and vulnerable and real.

David understood God’s compassion because He had experienced His forgiveness and His tender mercies time and time again.

If you look up the word “compassion” in the English dictionary it means: “feeling deep sympathy, care, and sadness for people or animals who are suffering or in trouble, and wanting to help fix or ease that pain.”

That is an amazing thought!

Sometimes other English translations of the Bible of the same word can give us even more insight into what this means. Although many use the word “compassion” some versions use the word “merciful” and one of my favorites is the translation that uses “tender mercies”.

Consider that idea: The first characteristic God wants us to know about Him is that He is aware of our pain and feels for us. He feels tender and merciful towards us. He wants to ease our pain.

Now you may be thinking: well He is the Creator of all things, why did He create things in such a way that we experience pain in the first place?

Well, as you probably know He created us for a relationship with Him, but the only way to actually experience a loving relationship is for there to be freedom in that relationship. He didn’t want to create robots to do His bidding or puppets to do what He wants. He created men and women in His image who have the freedom to say “yes” or to say “no” to being in relationship with Him.

In that freedom we chose to go on our way, and those consequences mean separation from Him and His goodness, and He has made a way for us back to Him.

The word compassion gets even more meaningful. Check this out. The Hebrew word for Rachum is used in the Bible almost exclusively to describe God and this word shares a root word with “womb” as in a “mother’s womb.”

God is saying: I feel about you the way a mother feels for her child growing within her. This is a very deep, visceral, and protective love. And this is not just a passive feeling of pity, but a profound emotional stirring that moves someone to rescue, nurture, and protect.

That’s how God feels about you.

A quick and important note about God. The Bible uses both masculine and feminine imagery to describe God. This should not scare us, but comfort us. New York City pastor Tim Keller explains this idea this way: The Bible’s use of “Father” to describe God does not imply that God is a male deity. Because God is spirit, He transcends biological sex. Instead, Keller explains that all human parental love – both the protective, stable love of a father and the fierce, visceral love of a mother – finds its ultimate source and perfect expression in the character of God. Human genders are reflections of the Imago Dei (Image of God); therefore, both maternal and paternal qualities are rooted directly in God’s heart.

By the way, the Bible Project does a great series on all of the name of God.

But wait there’s more, God is not only compassionate, He is also gracious.

You see.

2. God’s favors you.

God is gracious. Listen to how biblical scholars describe the meaning of the Hebrew word for gracious.

It means “spontaneous, undeserved favor” “Chanun” describes a posture of pure generosity. It means giving a valuable gift or showing profound kindness to someone who has no legal claim to it and has done nothing to earn it.

The Psalms dismantle “be good, get blessed.” God’s compassion flows from His nature, not our merit.

The root verb literally conveys the physical action of “bending or inclining toward someone.” It paints a word picture of a superior, wealthy, or powerful ruler voluntarily stooping down to look an inferior in the eye, comforting them, and stepping in to grant them favor and help.

Another scholar said that “while the previous word in the verse “compassion” focuses on a motherly emotional stirring over someone’s plight, “gracious” is the active, generous response that fixes the problem. It is the character trait that transforms abstract pity into an actual, tangible rescue mission.”

In other words, God favors.

So what does that look like?

Notice again how David views God’s heart towards him. He writes:

13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. 14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me – they have no regard for you. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. – Psalm 86:13-15

Let me ask you a question. I want you to be very honest with yourself.

Do you feel like you experience God’s favor?
Or do you feel like you cannot catch a break from God?

Because here is the honest situation: too often we measure God’s love for us based on our circumstances rather than on His character.

Notice David’s circumstances are not good at all! He is under attack by ruthless and arrogant foes who want to kill him!
Have any of you ever had someone trying to kill you?
No need to raise your hands.

What I am trying to point out is David did not allow His current circumstances – as awful as they were – get in the way of how He viewed God.

You see, he was very aware of all the ways God had come through before.

Are you fully aware of all the ways God has blessed you?
With life? With parents? With health? With friends? With freedom? With opportunity? With healing? With new life?

You may be thinking – I don’t have all those things. Well none of us probably have all those things, but are you focused more on the ones you don’t have are more focused on the ones you do have?

Too many times in my life, I focus on the one or two things that are going the way I want them to go and it overwhelms me – to the point where I am completely blind to all the things that are going incredibly well.

God never promised us a life without suffering. He promised to be with us in our suffering.

Notice when David quotes the name of God:

Even as all the people opposing David attacked him, David says: “But You…”
Psalm 86:15 becomes the part of the passage when David shifts from his circumstances where enemies rage against him to God’s character which does not change.. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. – Psalm 86:15

Even when the broken world is far more obvious to us, the truth is the One who created us and the One who holds us and all of creation in His hand is compassionate and gives us good things we do not deserve. He favors us.

How would your life change if you began to see yourself as one of God’s favorites?
You weren’t just lucky. Those weren’t just coincidences.
What if we realized every good gift we have is a gift from God as Jesus’ half-brother James said in his letter to the church. James and Jesus had the same Mom but different Dads.

Listen to what he wrote:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” – James 1:17

Whether you realize it or not, you are blessed and highly favored. And the sooner you realize this (regardless of your circumstances) the closer you will be to understanding who God really is and how He really sees you.

Listen to how the man who could be killed by his enemies viewed God in another Psalm he wrote:

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4 One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. 5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty – and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6 They tell of the power of your awesome works – and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7 They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. 10 All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. 11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. 14 The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. – Psalm 145:3:16

Start noticing God’s goodness around you.
Recognize the great ways he answers the prayers of others even when he doesn’t seem to be answering you own.

Look back in the story of the people of God to see God at work even when it doesn’t seem as obvious to you now.

Have others in your small group or your Sunday serve team help you see what you may be missing.

3. We can become people “after God’s own heart”

David was called that, but what does that mean?

Some biblical scholars point to David’s total reliance on God and his willingness to quickly repent:

Total Reliance: David consistently sought God’s counsel before making major decisions, viewing God as his primary protector and guide rather than just relying on his own royal power.

Deep Repentance: When confronted with his grave sins—such as adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah – David did not make excuses. Instead, he confessed, humbled himself, and sought mercy, as seen in Psalm 51.

You see, David didn’t just know about God, he knew His name. He lived believing God was truly compassionate and gracious even if circumstances seemed to indicate otherwise. He quotes the name of God from Exodus 34 three times in the Psalms.

For David, doctrine became devotion. What he believed about God affected how he faced life. In other words, theology becomes prayer.

Are you a woman after God’s own heart? A man after God’s own heart?
Do you want to know His compassion? Do you recognize His favor?
Do you want to see the world through this understanding of God?

Here’s how: repent and ask for God’s help.

Be honest with God. Ask for help to believe. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for Him to lead you and guide you. Spend time with Him on your own and in community. And then do the things you sense He is calling you to do. The more you do this, the clearer and clearer His voice will become.

4. A holy fear of God draws us closer to God not away from Him.

Fearing God helps us overcome all other fears including fearing people. Reverent awe leads to trusting God. Psalm 103 reframes God not as a distant monarch but a compassionate Father.

13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children — 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. 19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. – Psalm 103:13-19

Do you fear God more than you fear people?
Like do you have a holy respect and an awareness that your life is in His hands?
That you owe Him everything because He gave you life and all good gifts we enjoy?

When you know who God is, you know how to pray – even in the worst moments of your life.

Let’s let God’s character shape our prayers.
Let’s refuse to let crisis determine how you see God.

He is with us. He sees you with compassion and with grace.

When you anchor your prayers in God’s character instead of your crisis, you discover a compassion that does not waver—even when everything else does.

Jesus shows this love for those around Him. He was God in human form.

Listen to Matthew 9:36 – “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus loves you. Perhaps you can admit that too often in life you have felt harassed or helpless. Today, let him be your shepherd to love you, protect you, to bring you into His family, to help you become all who He created you to be.

At Gateway South Austin, we concluded our series “Homecoming.”

Everyone is searching for a place to belong.

In a world marked by loneliness, hurried schedules, endless distractions, and divided loyalties, we all long for a table where we’re fully known, deeply loved, and truly welcomed. Throughout Scripture, some of God’s most life-changing moments happen around a table. Around the table, strangers become family, stories are shared, grace is experienced, and lives are transformed.

In this series, Homecoming invites us to rediscover the rhythms that shape a life with God. Rooted in the ancient prayer called the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9), we’ll discover that faith isn’t just something we believe – it’s something that forms us day by day. Jesus echoed the Shema when He called us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, reminding us that following Him is not confined to church services but woven into our homes, our conversations, our work, our neighborhoods, and every ordinary moment of life.

As we gather around God’s table, He reshapes our hearts, reorders our loves, and reminds us who we are. But His table was never meant to end with us. Just as Jesus continually welcomed outsiders, invited skeptics, and made room for sinners, He sends His followers to extend that same invitation to others.

We are formed at God’s table so we can make room for others at His table.

Message Video from Gateway South Austin:

Message Audio from Gateway South Austin:

Message Notes from Carlos Ortiz, Jr.:

Last week, we talked about the table. There is something powerful about a table because some of the most important moments in our lives happen around one. We eat there, but we also talk there. We celebrate there. We grieve there. We catch up after a long day. We tell stories. We listen to one another. We sometimes have difficult conversations, and sometimes we have conversations that we remember for the rest of our lives. A table is ordinary, but God has always used ordinary things to do extraordinary work.

Throughout Scripture, the table becomes a place of fellowship, formation, hospitality, and even mission. But there is something we need to understand today: the table was never intended to become the destination. The table was always meant to prepare us for what comes next.

God gathers His people so that He can send His people. We gather around His Word so that His Word can shape the way we live when we leave. We gather in worship so that worship doesn’t simply happen in this room, but continues in our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our neighborhoods, and our relationships. The table gathers us, but eventually the table sends us.

That’s the movement we see in Deuteronomy 6.

Moses says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This passage is known as the Shema, and for generations it has been one of the defining declarations of Jewish faith. The word Shema means “hear.” Listen. Pay attention. Remember who God is.

But what I love about the Shema is that Moses doesn’t stop with simply telling Israel what to believe. He immediately begins talking about what that belief should produce in everyday life. He says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

In other words, the Shema isn’t simply about knowing something about God. It is about allowing the reality of who God is to become so deeply embedded in us that it begins to shape the people around us.

And notice where Moses says this is supposed to happen. Not only in the synagogue or church. Not only in a worship service. Not only during a formal Bible study. He says it happens when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.

That’s almost another way of saying, “Let your whole life become the classroom.”

Faith was never meant to stay inside our homes or inside our church walls. The gospel was always meant to overflow into ordinary life. And perhaps nowhere is that more important than in the way we influence the generation coming behind us. Because whether we realize it or not, we are always impressing something on our children.

The question isn’t whether we’re shaping them. We are. The question is: What are we impressing on them?

Since last week we looked at the Shema to better understand God, this week we look at the Shema asking how it challenges us?  What does it compel us to do?

Receive God’s Love

Before Moses tells Israel to impress God’s Word on their children, he tells them to love God themselves. That’s important because we can’t give away what we haven’t received.

The Shema begins with “Hear.” Then comes “Love.” And only after that does Moses say, “Impress them on your children.” There’s an order to this. We receive before we reproduce. We are formed before we form others. Scripture has to move into our own hearts before it can naturally move through our lives.

This is also where the gospel is so different from religion.
Religion says, “Love God enough, obey enough, try hard enough, and maybe God will accept you.”
But the gospel says something completely different. The gospel says that God has already loved us, already pursued us, and, through Jesus, already made a way for us to come home. We don’t love God in order to convince Him to love us. We love Him because He has loved us first.

That distinction matters when we’re talking about the next generation.

Our children don’t simply need information about God. They need to see what it looks like to be loved by God. They need to see what grace looks like in a real home.You only let your kids watch veggie tales and listen to CCM? Awesome. But is there the fruit of the Spirit evidenced in you? Some of us grew up in no-Harry-Potter-households but mom and dad could turn to Voldemort in the blink of an eye. Our kids don’t need a million “don’ts”. They need to see what forgiveness looks like when someone has genuinely hurt us. They need to see what repentance looks like when we get it wrong. They need to see what faith looks like when the answer to prayer doesn’t come the way we hoped it would.

Because our children are learning from us even when we’re not intentionally teaching them.

This is absolutely true for those of us who are parents, but this is also true of all of us as adults. Kids today are more connected to the adult world more than ever through the internet. They see how adults interact with rage to partisan politics. They see the choices adults are making and it affects them.

For parents and for both biological or spiritual aunts and uncles, They watch what gets our attention. They watch what gets our time. They watch what gets our money. They watch how we talk about people. They watch how we treat people who can do nothing for us. They watch how we respond when we’re frustrated. They watch how we respond when someone disagrees with us. They watch whether our faith seems to be something we practice on Sunday or something that actually shapes our lives on Monday.

We can tell our children that Jesus is loving, but if they grow up in an environment where love is constantly conditional, they’re learning something different. We can tell them that God is gracious, but if they never see grace extended when someone fails, they’re learning something different. We can tell them that Jesus is worthy of everything, but if they consistently see our comfort, success, possessions, or reputation take priority over Him, they’re learning something different.

That’s why Moses begins with, “These commandments are to be on your hearts.”

Before God’s Word is something we impress on our children, it has to be something that has impressed us.

And when God’s love has truly taken root in us, it will eventually find its way into the way we live.

Impress It on Your Children

This is why that phrase in Deuteronomy 6 deserves more attention than we sometimes give it: “Impress them on your children.”

The language is strong. It carries the idea of pressing something deeply into someone, of engraving something so that it becomes part of who they are. Moses isn’t simply telling parents to make sure their children know a few Bible stories. He’s talking about formation. He’s talking about identity. He’s talking about a truth that becomes so deeply woven into everyday life that the next generation begins to understand who they are because of who God is.

And then Moses tells us how to do it.

“Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

That is conversation.  It points to the Hebrew word for Impress – Sanan, which can be translated as “Impress by repetition.”

Faith is passed along through conversations more than presentations.

Some of the most important spiritual conversations you’ll ever have with your children may not happen in a church building. They may happen in the car on the way to practice. They may happen at the dinner table. They may happen while you’re driving home from school. They may happen on the couch late at night when your teenager suddenly decides they want to talk. They may happen when your child comes home crying because someone hurt them. They may happen when they fail, when they’re afraid, when they’re excited, when they have questions you don’t know how to answer.

Those moments matter.

Moses says, “When you sit. When you walk. When you lie down. When you get up.”

He’s telling us to use the life we’ve already been given. You don’t have to manufacture spiritual moments. You need to recognize the spiritual moments that are already happening.

Your child says, “I’m scared.”  That’s an opportunity to talk about God.
Your teenager says, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”  That’s an opportunity to talk about wisdom and prayer.
Your child comes home and tells you someone was cruel to them at school. That’s an opportunity to talk about forgiveness, dignity, and what Jesus teaches us about loving our enemies.
You see someone struggling as you’re walking through the neighborhood.  That’s an opportunity to talk about loving your neighbor.
You receive an unexpected provision. That’s an opportunity to stop and say, “Let’s thank God for that.”
You don’t have to turn every conversation into a sermon. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. But you can allow the reality of God to become part of the way your family interprets life.

And it may not always be so obvious. When my children were heading into their teen years, my wife and I were given really good advice. They said: “Once your children stop looking to you and start looking to their friends, always say ‘yes’ to their requests to spend time together.” They were right! Those moments became less and less frequent. They would ask us for a ride to the mall or want to go to some store as their request, but inevitably it was on those trips that they opened up about what was really going on in their lives.

That’s what the Shema is teaching us.  “When you sit. When you walk. When you lie down. When you get up.”

In other words, ordinary life becomes discipleship. Remember, the life of a disciple of Jesus is marked by surrender, and when we surrender the daily parts of our life, we are more apt to follow the ways of Jesus.

And parents, grandparents, mentors, and everyone who has someone coming behind them, don’t underestimate the power of that. You may think the big moments are what matter most, but often it’s the accumulation of small moments that shapes a person’s faith.

Over time, those moments become a worldview. They begin to answer the question, “What does it actually look like to follow Jesus?”  And that’s what it means to impress God’s Word on the next generation.

Tell the Story

One of the most important ways we impress God’s Word on the next generation is by telling the story.

Psalm 78 tells us that one generation is supposed to tell the next generation about the works of God. Why? Because every generation is only one generation away from forgetting.

Israel had a story they were supposed to remember. They had been slaves, and God delivered them. They had been trapped, and God made a way. They had been hungry, and God provided. They had wandered, and God remained faithful.

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable;  I will utter hidden things, things from of old things we have heard and known,  things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds  but would keep his commands. They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God,  whose spirits were not faithful to him. – Psalm 78:1-8

Again and again, God tells His people: Don’t forget. Tell your children, your grandchildren, the next generation. That’s still part of our calling.

Tell your story.

Tell your children how you met Jesus. Tell them about the season when God provided for you. Tell them about the prayer that God answered. Tell them about the prayer that He didn’t answer the way you expected. Tell them about the people God used to shape your life. Tell them about the mistakes you made and the grace you received.

Your children don’t need parents who pretend they have everything figured out. They need parents who can say, “I’ve seen God be faithful.”
They need to hear you say, “I don’t know why this happened, but I know God is still good.”
They need to hear, “I made a mistake, and I need to ask you to forgive me.”
They need to hear, “Here’s what God has taught me.”

Your story matters because people can argue with doctrine, but it’s much harder to argue with a transformed life.

“This is what Jesus has done in me.”  That’s a story worth telling.

And when we tell the story, faith becomes more than information. It becomes an inheritance.

Make Room

But the story doesn’t stop with our families. The gospel always expands the table.

Jesus was constantly making room for people who didn’t naturally belong together. He welcomed Pharisees and tax collectors. He welcomed women and children. He welcomed sinners and outcasts. He welcomed people who were rejected by the religious and social systems of His day.

The gospel continually expands the table.

Our natural instinct is usually the opposite. We create tables where people like us feel comfortable. We surround ourselves with people who think like us, look like us, live like us, and share our values.

But Jesus continually disrupted that instinct.

Think about the story Jesus tells in Luke 10. A man asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” It’s an interesting question because he’s really looking for a boundary. He’s asking, “Who do I actually have to love?”

Jesus responds with the story of the Good Samaritan. A man is beaten and left on the side of the road. Religious people walk by. But the person who stops is a Samaritan, someone Jesus’ audience would not have expected to be the hero of the story.

Jesus turns the question around. Instead of asking, “Who qualifies as my neighbor?” He asks us to become the kind of person who acts like a neighbor.

The gospel doesn’t teach us to identify worthy people, but it does compel us to become people who make room.

And again, our children are watching.

Imagine a child growing up in a home where hospitality is normal. Where neighbors are welcomed. Where friends are invited. Where people from different backgrounds can sit around the same table. Where the lonely have a place. Where generosity isn’t unusual. Where serving isn’t something we talk about but something we practice.

• That child begins to learn something about the gospel simply by watching.
• They learn that our home isn’t just for us.
• They learn that what God has given us can be shared.
• They learn that people matter.
• They learn that strangers can become friends.
• They learn that hospitality isn’t about having the perfect house or the perfect meal. Hospitality is about making room.

And maybe that’s part of what Moses means when he says, “Impress them on your children.”

We don’t simply tell our children to love their neighbor.
We show them what loving a neighbor looks like.

And so I want to ask again: What are you impressing? What are you repeating?
Could it be that we’re  impressing something that is temporary: Achievement  Comfort  Reputation  Fear  Success is the ultimate goal

Or maybe, by the grace of God, we’re impressing something far more lasting:

That God is faithful.  Jesus is enough. That people matter. Grace is real. Our lives belong to God. That our home can have an open door. That the table has room for one more.  That following Jesus isn’t just something we say. It’s something we live.

That’s why Deuteronomy 6 is so important.

God isn’t simply asking Israel to raise children who know the right answers. He’s calling them to raise a generation that knows the God behind those answers. A generation that knows His faithfulness, that trusts Him, loves Him. A generation that carries His story forward.

And that is our calling too.

We can’t make the decision for the next generation. We can’t force our children to love Jesus. We can’t manufacture faith in them. But we can give them a story worth remembering.

We can give them a home where faith is real, where conversations and questions are welcomed. We can give them a table where people are welcomed.

We can give them a picture of what it looks like to repent, forgive, serve, pray, worship, and trust God. We can impress God’s Word on them. And someday, when they are sitting around their own tables, our prayer is that they will remember.

They’ll remember the stories and conversations, and how they’re hearts came alive.

A Word to Parents

And maybe some of you hear this and immediately think, “I’ve failed at this.” Maybe you wish you had done more. Maybe you wish you had talked about Jesus more. Maybe there are conversations you wish you could go back and have.

Maybe there are things you wish you had modeled differently. If that’s you, hear the good news of the gospel: there is grace for parents/grandparents too.

You don’t have to be a perfect parent to disciple your children. You need Jesus.

And one of the most powerful things you can show your children is what it looks like to need Jesus.

When you lose your temper…apologize.
When you get it wrong…admit it.
When you don’t know the answer, say…”I don’t know.”
When you need forgiveness…ask for it.
When you’re afraid…pray.
When you don’t understand what God is doing…trust Him anyway.

Let your children see that following Jesus doesn’t mean pretending you are perfect.
That is discipleship and what it means to impress God’s Word on them.

So, hear, O Israel. Hear, Church. Hear, parents. Hear, grandparents. Hear, mentors.

Hear, everyone who has someone coming behind them.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.

And then— impress it on your children. Talk about it when you sit. Talk about it when you walk. Talk about it when you lie down. Talk about it when you get up. Carry it beyond the table.

Let your ordinary life become the place where the next generation learns what it means to follow Jesus.  And then let that generation carry it further than you ever could.

And this isn’t just for parents.

• Discipleship in many ways is re-parenting other people’s kids.
• You can actively do this by serving with our kids or teens or young adults. You can do this by leading a small group of adults.
• You can do this by befriending someone younger in their faith or someone without faith at your work, in your neighborhood, or among your extended family, and friends.
• Ask them questions about their life and spiritual journey.
• Share your story. Walk out your faith in your relationship with them and help them find faith and then walk in faith.
• Become a big brother, big sister, uncle, or auntie to those around you.

Beyond the table, the mission continues.

At Gateway in Austin, we began a new series called Homecoming.

Everyone is searching for a place to belong.

In a world marked by loneliness, hurried schedules, endless distractions, and divided loyalties, we all long for a table where we’re fully known, deeply loved, and truly welcomed. Throughout Scripture, some of God’s most life-changing moments happen around a table. Around the table, strangers become family, stories are shared, grace is experienced, and lives are transformed.

In this series, Homecoming invites us to rediscover the rhythms that shape a life with God. Rooted in the ancient prayer called the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9), we’ll discover that faith isn’t just something we believe – it’s something that forms us day by day. Jesus echoed the Shema when He called us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, reminding us that following Him is not confined to church services but woven into our homes, our conversations, our work, our neighborhoods, and every ordinary moment of life.

As we gather around God’s table, He reshapes our hearts, reorders our loves, and reminds us who we are. But His table was never meant to end with us. Just as Jesus continually welcomed outsiders, invited skeptics, and made room for sinners, He sends His followers to extend that same invitation to others.

We are formed at God’s table so we can make room for others at His table.

Join us this week for Pray First!

Digging Deeper:

Message Video from Gateway South Austin:

Message Audio from Gateway South Austin:

Message Notes:

Everyone is searching for a place to belong.

In a world marked by loneliness, hurried schedules, endless distractions, and divided loyalties, we all long for a table where we’re fully known, deeply loved, and truly welcomed. Throughout Scripture, some of God’s most life-changing moments happen around a table. Around the table, strangers become family, stories are shared, grace is experienced, and lives are transformed.

In this series, Homecoming invites us to rediscover the rhythms that shape a life with God.
Rooted in the ancient prayer called the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9), we’ll discover that faith isn’t just something we believe – it’s something that forms us day by day.

Jesus echoed the Shema when He called us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, reminding us that following Him is not confined to church services but woven into our homes, our conversations, our work, our neighborhoods, and every ordinary moment of life.

As we gather around God’s table, He reshapes our hearts, reorders our loves, and reminds us who we are. But His table was never meant to end with us.
Just as Jesus continually welcomed outsiders, invited skeptics, and made room for sinners, He sends His followers to extend that same invitation to others.

We are formed at God’s table so we can make room for others at His table.

Let’s take a look at this beautiful and ancient prayer. Listen to God’s invitation for His people to build lives centered on Him.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. – Deuteronomy 6:4-9

For thousands of years, faithful Jews have prayed these words every morning and evening.

The Shema is more than a prayer to recite; it is a way of life. It calls God’s people to give Him their wholehearted allegiance, to let His truth shape their daily rhythms, and to pass that faith from one generation to the next.

You might have recognized the beginning of the Shema.
When asked by the religious leaders to declare the most important commandment of the 611 found in the Hebrew Scriptures, our Old Testament, Jesus declared it to be the greatest commandment because a life centered on God naturally overflows into love for others.

In a culture pulling our hearts in countless directions, the Shema calls us back to what matters most: loving God completely, allowing Him to shape every part of our lives, and creating space at His table for those who are still searching for a place to belong.

Now Jesus adds another command from the Old Testament to the Shema when sharing the Great Commandment. He also quotes from Leviticus 19:18 which says:

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” – Leviticus 19:18

Notice how Jesus takes these two passages to help us know how to navigate life. He says in Matthew 22:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40

We are invited to know God personally – to love Him and be loved by Him so that we can love others on His behalf. Jesus goes on to say that loving God and loving others is the message of the Scriptures! He’s not just declaring the most important one but the Great Commandment is what the message of God is all about.

God ‘s Love and Pursuit of Humanity

Everyone longs for a place where they are fully known and fully loved.
God is love!

As the Bible says:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” – 1 John 4:16

“We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

Jesus shows us who God is and He shows us the way to experience His love and bring His love to others!

Scripture begins with God walking with humanity in the Garden and ends with a great wedding feast (Revelation 19). The story of the Bible is the story of a God who continually prepares a table for His people.

The Shema is not merely a command to memorize; it is God’s invitation back into the life humanity was created to enjoy.

In Genesis 1–2, humanity lived in God’s presence, walking with him in the Garden of Eden. God alone was King, and Adam and Eve loved him wholeheartedly. Their hearts, minds, and actions were perfectly aligned with his purposes.

But in Genesis 3, sin fractured that relationship. Humanity stopped trusting God’s voice and began listening to competing voices. Instead of loving God above all else, Adam and Eve loved themselves, power, comfort, and created things. The Bible’s story becomes the story of God restoring what was lost.

The Shema stands at the center of that restoration. God calls his people back to exclusive covenant love:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.”

This is not merely emotional affection. It is the restoration of humanity’s original vocation – to know God, delight in him, and reflect his character into the world.

The Bible ends exactly where it began—but even better.

In Revelation 21–22, heaven and earth become one. God once again dwells with his people. There is no rival king, no idols, no divided hearts. The Shema’s vision is finally fulfilled as God’s people love him perfectly in the New Creation.

The Shema therefore points both backward to Eden and forward to New Creation.

Let’s read it again and notice not only the call towards a loving relationship with God but how to live this out:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. – Deuteronomy 6:4-9

The Shema wasn’t merely a prayer Israel memorized – it was the rhythm that reminded them who they belonged to before they stepped into the world.

It’s important to remember the context of when this verse fits into the story of God’s restoration plan.

After the fall of humanity, God chose to bless one man through whom his family would bless all families. He would make this one man – Abraham – into a great nation or people group through whom all nations or people groups would be blessed.

By the way, this is extraordinary! No other world religion indicates care or concern for people beyond their region or beyond their way of viewing the world.
The message of the Bible is that God loves all the world.

In fact, He came to us to rescue us, and His name is Jesus! Jesus ultimately pulled off what ancient Israel was unable to pull off.
Jesus became the One who fulfilled the law and brought healing to the world.
And the message of Jesus continues to spread to every nation, to every people group across the planet!

Back to the story of the Israelites, Abraham truly was blessed and eventually His people lived in the land of Canaan as promised; however, after a famine ravaged the region they moved to Egypt where they were eventually enslaved.

Miraculously, God delivered them from their enslavement demonstrating God’s love for the oppressed and how He works towards freedom of those who are enslaved.
God renews His covenant with His people at Mount Sinai with the 10 Commandments.
Sadly, the people rebel and wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
Now the children of those who rebelled are now about to enter into the Promised Land, and God wants to remind them of their covenant relationship.

An important and quick aside as so much gets politicized in our broken world.

The Promised Land God offers to Abraham remains a very contentious issue. People are still fighting over this land and religion is often their motivation. Abraham’s hope was always larger than a strip of real estate. The land was the beginning of God’s plan to restore creation. The promise ultimately points beyond Canaan to the renewed creation inaugurated by Jesus and consummated in the new heavens and new earth (Romans 4:13; Revelation 21–22).

That perspective also illuminates the Shema. The family of Abraham’s calling in the land was never merely to occupy territory but to become a people whose wholehearted love for the one true God would display his character to the nations. The land was the stage; covenant faithfulness was the mission. Jesus fulfills that mission and extends God’s invitation beyond one land to people from every nation, who await the day when God’s presence fills the whole earth.

So back to the Shema, notice the order of events.

• God rescues Israel from Egypt and renews His covenant.
• Then He says, “Hear, O Israel…”
• Obedience always follows grace.
• The commands come after redemption.

God doesn’t say, “If you obey me, I’ll become your God.”
He says, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery.”

Everything begins with grace.

One of the most important things to remember from this passage is this…

God invites us.

A relationship with God always begins with God’s invitation, not our performance.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ” – Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Throughout Scripture, God is always the One initiating relationship.

He calls Abraham. He rescues Israel from slavery. He pursues David. Jesus calls fishermen. Jesus invites tax collectors. Jesus eats with sinners. The gospel always begins with invitation.

Not “Come when you’ve cleaned yourself up.” Simply: “Come.”

The table becomes the place where we remember who God is, learn His story, and discover that we belong to something much bigger than ourselves.

We are all invited into a relationship with God!

Now if you have grown up in any sort of religious environment – Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, you may not have understood this quite right. Religions give us rules to follow to get God to love us. In addition our human nature wants to be able to say that we earn whatever we get. In our pride, we want to do good things so that God owes us.

This is not the message of Jesus. God loves us and invites us to follow Him and then out of gratitude and with His help then we live a new life.

Have you said: “yes!” to a relationship with God through Jesus? Do you have God at the center of your life seeking to love Him and love others in the words you say and the actions you take? If so, stay on it! God will guide! If you slip up or get distracted or tempted, just restart!

Just before reminding us of how loving God is, one of the eyewitnesses of Jesus who was one of the 12 disciples named John says:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9

Have you said, “yes” only to wander away?
Maybe you have slipped into a more cultural version of Christianity where you believe all the “right things” in your mind but you haven’t let Him change your heart.
Or maybe you have a transactional relationship with God where you trust Him as long as good things happen in your life, but you turn away from Him when He doesn’t answer your prayers the way you want Him to answer them and when you want Him to answer them.

Today you can start afresh! You can come home to the One who created you!

Maybe you are here and still exploring, today can be the day when you find what you are looking for!

To those of you exploring or to those of you who have a more religious view of God, today He invites you into a more loving relationship with Him than you could ever imagine!

He gave His life for you, by dying on the cross taking upon Himself all of the evil choices you have made and evil thoughts you have had. And by the way, we are all broken. All of us have made terrible choices and have had dark thoughts. Even still, God loves you!

So how then do you begin this relationship with our loving God?

It’s simply saying “yes” to His invitation.

Ask for forgiveness. Ask that what Jesus did on the cross would count for you. Ask Him to lead you and guide you! Ask Him to help you surrender everything else that He would be the center of your life!

God loves and then we respond.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:8-10

When we say “yes” to a relationship with God through Jesus, we are forgiven! We are made new! We are adopted into His family! We receive the Holy Spirit within us to convict, guide,, and empower us!

And now out of gratitude and with His help, we live a new life! We begin to listen to His voice each day and do the good works He invites us to do!

The Hebrew word Shema means more than hearing. It means hearing with the intention of responding. Listening that changes your life.

For those of us who are parents, we use this idea all the time. When we say to our kids: “You’re not listening. We don’t mean they didn’t hear us (although that could be the case at times). Usually we mean: “you may have heard my words, but you did not put them into action.”

When God says we need to listen, that also means we need to do what we hear Him say.

To become the person the One who created us designed us to be means allowing Him to be at the center of our life and following His lead.

Here’s what is amazing, are you thinking: “I want to believe, but I just have so many questions.” That’s good! That’s honest! Just wanting to believe puts you in a good spot!

If that’s you try this prayer: “God, help me believe.”

There is a story of a man who came to Jesus for help as his son was having convulsions. He asked Jesus to heal his son saying:
“If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
Jesus responded: “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” – Mark 9:22-24

I love that prayer “I do believe [pause]; help me overcome my unbelief!”

So I just want to pause for a moment in the middle of this message to give you a chance to connect with God.

If you are fully surrendered but needing to confess something, now is your chance to do that.

If you are wanting to restart a relationship (not have a religious view of God) or fully surrender for the first time, now is an opportunity to do this.

If you want to believe, ask Him to help you.

Right now, in the silence, connect your heart to God on your own in your own heart and mind. If you are in a good place, prayer for others during this time.

Examples of how to pray:

“Heavenly Father, forgive me for going my own way. Jesus, I ask that you would forgive me and become my leader, my Lord. Holy Spirit, come into my life and guide me to live a fully surrendered life.”

Or

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

If you prayed this for the first time or this is the first time you are understanding it’s his grace and not your works that enables you to have this relationship with God, we are so excited for you and want to ask that you let us know so we can serve you in your journey. Just use the connect card to indicate that today you have decided to follow Jesus.

Back to the Shema, the 2nd thing we notice is that…

God forms us.

Let’s read it again:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. – Deuteronomy 6:4-9

We are shaped by daily rhythms—prayer, Scripture, worship, meals, conversations, and community.

Faith grows through everyday rhythms, not extraordinary moments.

“Talk about them when you sit…walk…lie down…get up.”

Notice that Moses doesn’t describe spectacular moments. He describes ordinary life. The greatest spiritual formation doesn’t usually happen at special events. It happens during breakfast, on the drive to school, at bedtime, during difficult conversations, and in everyday faithfulness.

The Shema assumes discipleship is woven into life.

Transformation happens over time as we consistently return to God’s presence.

Transformation almost always feels slow. Most things grow slowly like seeds becoming trees, children becoming adults. This is also true of those who are disciples of Jesus.

Devotion is repeated faithfulness over time. Growth isn’t usually dramatic but it’s cumulative. Growth happens over a meal, through our prayers, through conversations, and through every act of obedience.

God uses ordinary faithfulness to produce extraordinary fruit.

The rhythms God gives us are reminders of grace. We become what we worship. If our daily rhythms revolve around success, comfort, achievement, or approval, those things shape our hearts. Everyone is being discipled by something. The question isn’t whether you’re being formed, but what is forming you?

In this next season, how can you prioritize your relationship with God so that He remains the center of your life?

Are there some things at work that you need to turn down or ways to bring God in?

Are there things with your kids busy lives that you need to say “no” or “maybe later” or can you be a light and more intentional reaching out to others at those practices and games?

Are there ways you can make coming on Sundays more possible?
Is there a group during the week or a team on Sundays with which you can join?

Is there a way God is calling you to start something new here with us, in your neighborhood, or at your work?

And finally, the Shema teaches us…

God gives us a family.

No one follows Jesus alone. The Church is a family where everyone has a seat.

Ancient Israel never imagined someone following God by themselves. The Shema was communal. “Hear, O Israel…” Not: “Hear, isolated individual.”

We saw this as we went through the book of Acts this past spring and into the summer. Acts 2 echoes this beautifully.

Just after the message Peter shared at Pentecost in Acts 2, notice the response from the people and how they lived their lives together.

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:41-47

The early believers devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. Notice how often meals appear. They didn’t merely attend services. They shared lives. The table became a picture of the Kingdom. Everyone needed everyone. The church isn’t an event but a family.

We cannot fully become the person God has created us to be without being in community. We need encouragement and accountability. We need other people!

And when we start to follow Jesus, we are part of His family! That means we become aunties and uncles, big sisters, and big brothers, and even spiritual moms and spiritual dads to those we lead to faith and help grow in their faith.

God invites us into relationship.

He invites us to the table where He forms us and where we enjoy family, community. We are formed at God’s table so we can make room for others at His table.

As we close, I want to share a practical challenge with you.

Practical Challenge

• This week, intentionally gather around a table.
• Share one meal without distractions with your roommates, your small group, or your family.
• Pray together with your family or with a friend each day.
• Begin the Pray First devotional.
• Ask someone to share how God has been faithful in their life.
• Create space for spiritual conversations at home, school, or at work.

Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or in need of a fresh start? In this encouraging Bible message from Isaiah 30, discover how trusting God, letting go of idols, and following the Holy Spirit lead to true spiritual transformation, inner peace, and lasting hope through Jesus Christ. If you’re searching for biblical wisdom, Christian encouragement, or a deeper relationship with God, this message will help you experience the rest, strength, and guidance only He can provide.

Message Video:

Message Audio:

Message Notes:

Have you ever been exhausted and just wanted to quit?

Maybe you are feeling this way now. You keep trying to move forward only to experience resistance. You take 2 steps forward only to be pushed backwards 3 steps.

Maybe you felt this way before the summer, but you’ve had some restful moments this summer. I hope that has been your experience.

Or maybe you are here and the better question to ask you is this: have you ever needed a new start?

As the summer begins to wind down and as we enter a new month and a new season, we can take advantage of the calendar to put into practice some new mindsets and new practices.

This summer I’ve been reading through the book of Isaiah. It’s not an easy read because the prophet Isaiah has been sent to warn the people of Israel. They are going the wrong direction and need to make some important changes. In Isaiah’s warnings there are lots of prophecies of the end of an era for different tribes because of their rebellion against God and His ways.

In the midst of so many rebukes and warnings, there are some beautiful promises that we can hold onto today.

Let’s take a look at one of the passages in Isaiah 30.

“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge….

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will desecrate your idols … [and] throw them away… and say to them, “Away with you!” He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.” – Isaiah‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭15‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let’s pull out some principles that we can apply to our life today.

God is the One to follow and to trust.

In many ways the Bible shares the story of a loving, just, and holy God who loves humanity and has made a way for us to know Him.

In His love He has given us freedom and in that freedom we often choose to go to other gods (little “g” gods) besides Him.

Coming to Him requires turning to Him and His wisdom, acknowledging we need Him because our way and our wisdom are not working.

What we see in the beginning of this passage is that the people have turned from God to Egypt for their help and rescue.

Remember the people of Israel had been enslaved by Egypt so they are going back to their oppressor in hopes of being rescued.

This is like an addict going back to their addiction for help. That never goes well.

What are Your Idols?

Where do you go when you are overwhelmed?

Do you turn on the TV, eat some ice cream, doomscroll on your phone, or drink some alcohol?

Now all of these can be fun or even fine in moderation, but they can also become idols.

We may have other places we go that aren’t fine at all. Instead, they are destructive.

A pastor who served for many years in New York City named Tim Keller wrote a great book on idols called “Counterfeit Gods”

In that book he points out that an idol is anything we go to for comfort or purpose or our identity that isn’t God.

This means we can turn what God gave us as a gift into a god if we aren’t careful.

Here’s how you know if you have shifted your heart towards a counterfeit god.

An idol is anything in your life that is more important than God to you:
If something, like a career, social standing, or even a relationship including a spouse or child, is more central to your life than God, it becomes an idol.

An idol is anything that absorbs your heart:
An idol is something that captures your emotions and desires to a degree that you can’t live without it.

An idol is anything you seek to give you what only God can give: This includes things like security, meaning, happiness, or self-worth, which can become idols when you seek them from something other than God.

An idol is anything you can’t live without: If you feel your life is meaningless or worthless without something, it’s likely an idol.

The invitation throughout the Bible is to worship the One True God.

In fact, later in this passage the prophet Isaiah says to the people: “Then you will desecrate your idols … [and] throw them away… and say to them, “Away with you!” – Isaiah 30:22

Too often we come to God more like he’s Santa Clause or a genie in a bottle.

We expect Him to give us what we want and when we don’t we stop coming to Him.

Let me just pose this question: do you approach Jesus this way?

Do you follow Him only for what you can get from him?

It’s an important question to consider.

We are so broken and often so selfish that if we aren’t careful we can see our relationships as transactional – even our relationship with God.

By transactional I mean you are in the relationship only for what we can get from the other.

The moment we don’t get what we want in a friendship, at a job, in a marriage, or even with Jesus, we move on.

According to religious sociologists the number 1 prevailing view of God in the US is something called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. You may have accidentally bought into this idea because it prioritizes happiness and being nice or good in order to get to heaven.

You may be slipping into this if you don’t go to God unless you need help or want him to bless something you’ve already done.

We are invited into something so much deeper!

We are invited into a relationship with God through Jesus where His Spirit lives within us, guides us, convicts us, and helps us become more like Jesus – loving God and loving others.

A relationship where we experience his presence, peace, joy, love, and kindness and bring that glimpse of heaven to others.

You see God’s ways lead to life and light.
Going against His ways lead to death and darkness.

Turning to God and trusting God meets our deepest needs.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…”

Isn’t that a beautiful promise?

Who doesn’t want to really rest. I am not talking about having a good book to read by the pool or tubing down the lazy river. I am talking about rest for your soul. We have such a restlessness in our culture. We grab for our phones all throughout our waking hours just to get that next dopamine hit. We have brains addicted to screens and nonstop action.

Let me encourage you with something. Stop.

Just pause. Take a deep breath. Rest in Him.

Take time for silence. Take time for solitude. Take time for Sabbath. Each Friday I am trying to take the day off from my phone just to reset and rest. Sabbath is a way to acknowledge our trust in God. I can take one day away from work and enjoy God and the gifts He has given me.

Unfortunately, we have a hard time repenting – which means turning away from our ways and turning to God. We have a hard time resting in Him. We have a hard time remaining quiet and a hard time trusting.

When we do though we will experience being delivered or rescued which is what salvation means here. We will experience His strength.

Sadly the people of Israel had a hard time with this too. Let’s read the passage again with the rest of what Isaiah wrote.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’” – Isaiah 30:15

In other words, they decided not to trust God. They felt their circumstances were bigger than God so they would rely on other things besides God.

They decided to take matters into our own hands. They decided to do it their way instead of God’s way.

Here’s the irony: when we finally let go and surrender, we have the power to become the person God created us to be – which is the far better version than we could have ever pulled off ourselves!

We underestimate the power of the Father that we have access to!

You and I can only do so much in our own strength.
Remember: Our Father is always stronger.

We aren’t capable of carrying the weight of the world on our back!
And we aren’t even asked to do so, so why do we keep trying?!

We can rest in the power of our Father! He can carry us, transform us, and send us out to change the world because His Spirit is within us!!

Remember, we don’t just repent once in our lifetime.
We confess our need for Jesus and we turn from our way to His way to begin our relationship with Him, but that is also how we grow in Him!
We confess and repent every day and even throughout the day.

Every time we start trying to do things in our own power, in our own understanding, in our own strength, we need to confess and turn back to Him and let Him transform us, equip us, and guide us.

How we come to a relationship with God through Jesus.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We come to Jesus by grace through faith – in other words because of his love for us and our acknowledgment that we need him.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

So we start our relationship by grace through faith and that is how we live for him every day. Aware of his love for you and stepping out in faith – acting on what we sense He wants us to do that day and each moment.

God longs to be gracious to you.

We are invited into a relationship with the Creator of the Universe!
He can become closer than a father, a friend, a spouse, or any human relationship because only He knows all of who we are and loves us. Only He can be there for us 100% of the time.

Listen again to God’s heart for the people even when they are in rebellion.

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! – Isaiah 30:18-19

He goes on to promise even more as they turn to Him and away from their idols.

“He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.” – Isaiah 30:23

You see, every good gift we have is from God. When our hearts are filled with an awareness of our blessings and with gratitude, the anxiety disappears.

In fact, recently scientists have discovered you cannot be both anxious and grateful at the same time. Your brain has to switch one off to turn the other on.

Meditate on God’s goodness, His compassion, and justice.

He hears us.

He doesn’t promise a life without suffering. He promises to be with us in the suffering.
And God can use the suffering to help us find deeper healing and deeper connection with Him and with others.
He weeps with those who weeps. He comforts those who need comfort.

Notice again what Isaiah says about adversity and God’s presence with us in it:

As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:19b-21

 God allows us to face our consequences sometimes. Sometimes He rescues us from what our consequences. Sometimes God allows us to have what we want – even though it is not what’s best for us.

It’s never too late to turn to Him.

And notice the 5th principle I wanted to mention from this passage:

The Spirit will guide us.

He allows us to go through life’s challenges because He loves us enough to give us freedom. Sometimes we make decisions with that freedom that hurts ourselves or others.

Sometimes other people use that freedom to hurt us or others or themselves.

But God has not abandoned us to a life without His help.

He came to us. He walked among us. His name is Jesus.

He taught with authority, healed the sick, cared for the outcast, confronted the religious leaders, and ultimately willingly died as He took on the sins of humanity. Yet on the 3rd day, He rose from the dead! He promised His Spirit to be with us once we surrender our lives to follow Him!

His Spirit is within us! When we surrender our lives with Jesus at the center, the same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives inside of us!

Are you looking for God to be at work?

God is wanting to show you the way. You need to listen.

The problem is not that God is not speaking. The problem is we aren’t listening!

Do you see how He may be answering your prayers in ways you didn’t expect?

Are you sensitive to the Spirit?

If not, ask Him for His help and start today!