Come and Talk with Me

In one paragraph

This message was preached on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's by Brian Hunter, standing in while Pastor Steve had the day off. He drew from Psalm 27, read aloud together by the congregation, to talk about why this particular stretch of days tends to go spiritually flat and what it might look like to use it differently. The central idea was simple: God is still saying "come and talk with...

Read together

1. Psalm 27 read aloud in full by congregation members as the main text of the sermon
2. Jeremiah 12:5 quoted as a word spoken over a student named Maddie about being trained to run with horses

Talk about it

1. The speaker described the stretch between Christmas and New Year's as a kind of spiritual doldrums, where forward momentum fades and we drift without direction. Have you noticed that pattern in your own life during this season, and what does it tend to look like for you?
2. The sermon worked through the idea that a person is made up of spirit, soul, and body, and that the spirit is meant to be the one in charge. In your day-to-day experience, which part of you seems to be running the show most of the time, and what does that look like practically?
3. The speaker pointed to Psalm 27 verse 8, where the response to God's invitation is immediate: 'Lord, I am coming.' He said that everything else, even if just for a moment, becomes neglected in that response. What tends to get in the way of that kind of quick response for you when you sense God inviting you to be quiet and listen?
4. The sermon suggested replacing the word 'enemies' in Psalm 27 with whatever opposition or pressure you are actually facing right now. What would you put in place of that word if you did that exercise this week?
5. The speaker closed by sharing a word from Jeremiah 5 chapter 12 verse 5 about being trained to run with horses, and said God holds different people to different standards because he has different races marked out for them. How do you respond to that idea, and where in your own life do you feel like God might be training you for something harder than what you are currently facing?