Near to the Heart of God

In one paragraph

This message, preached by Pastor Carl on the second Sunday of Advent, centered on Psalm 145 and the nearness of God. Using the hymn "Near to the Heart of God" as a thread, he led the congregation through what it looks like to bless God in every season, and he called people to remember and tell the stories of what God has done in their own lives. Pastor Carl opened with a confession. The week had...

Read together

1. Luke 2 shepherds hearing the birth announcement and going to Bethlehem
2. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 candle lighting reading: 'now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way'
3. Matthew 1 angel telling Joseph not to fear, to name the child Jesus because he will save his people from their sins
4. Colossians 3 wedding reading cited as a command to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
5. Psalm 145:18 the Lord is near to all who call upon him, stated as the basis for the sermon
6. Psalm 145:1-2 David declaring he will exalt God the king and bless his name forever and ever
7. Psalm 145:3 great is the Lord, highly to be praised, his greatness is unsearchable
8. Psalm 145:4 one generation will praise God's works to another and declare his mighty acts

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl shared that a hymn came to him in the night when he felt he had nothing to say. Has a song, scripture passage, or prayer ever brought you unexpected comfort during a hard moment? What was it, and what made it reach you the way it did?
2. McAfee wrote 'Near to the Heart of God' for a brother whose daughters had just died, and he could not even go inside to comfort them. How have you seen or experienced comfort being offered across distance or barriers, and what made it meaningful despite those limits?
3. Psalm 145 says 'Every day I will bless you' and 'one generation will praise your works to another.' What does it look like practically to choose praise during a busy or hard season, and who in your life has modeled that for you?
4. Pastor Carl told the Wichita story as an example of a personal mighty act of God, something he could not have orchestrated himself. Do you have a story like that? What keeps us from telling those stories more often?
5. Both stories shared in the sermon involved strangers discovering unexpected connections in unlikely places. What do you think it means to recognize a moment as a 'divine appointment,' and how does that recognition change how you respond in the moment?