In the trenches of the First World War a young stretcher-bearer wrote a line about trusting the slow work of God, and that line opens this unusual service of gratitude. Instead of a sermon there are stories: camps and mission trips, a Ukrainian pastor who fled the war, an after-school club where a boy finally learned to read in fifth grade. Together they illustrate the psalmist’s call, be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46), because in God’s kingdom the most important work happens slowly and unnoticed. Listen, and take a moment to see what God has quietly done in you over the past years.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Jesus described the Kingdom of God with images of a seed that grows though no one knows how, a lost sheep that must be searched for, and a tiny mustard seed. What do these images say about the pace and way God works?
- Paul writes, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." How do these words change the way you see your own service and its results?
- The psalmist calls, "Be still, and know that I am God." Why, according to the sermon, does failing to stop lead to exhaustion and chasing things that matter little for the Kingdom?
- Leonid says we see God most clearly in the darkest times and that blessings have real faces. Whose faces come to mind when you look back on a hard season of your life?
- A boy who could not read in fifth grade now wants to study education, and Ilona returned to the school where police once took her away. Where do you see a change in yourself that is invisible from one year to the next?
- What is one concrete way you can stop this week to thank God for His slow work, and who would you like to thank personally for walking alongside you?
