Sermon Series Introduction:
With God: In Life, is a journey through the poetic and wisdom books of the Old Testament. From the depths of Job’s suffering to the heights of love in the Song of Songs, we will explore how God’s intimate presence—the "with-ness" of God—meets us and transforms us in every season and emotion of the human experience.
Whether you are navigating the dark valley of suffering where the "why" has no answer, searching for the "right paths" of wisdom in your daily work, or wrestling with the fleeting "vapor" of a life under the sun, this series offers a tether to our Shepherd who is intimately present and abundantly providing. Let’s discover that the answer to life’s deepest tensions is not a list of reasons, but the person of Jesus.
Discipline of Prayer Using Scripture:
Through this series, we will practice the discipline of prayer using Scripture. When we pray using the words of Scripture, we pray God’s word back to him, using it to vocalize what may feel impossible to say, to bring up emotions and experiences we may hide from God, and to shape the desires of our hearts and actions of our will to align with God. Praying the words, images, and ideas of the Bible back to its author also reminds our souls that he is with us no matter where we find ourselves.
One of the beauties of the Bible is that it is the most diverse sacred text in the world. God’s word contains every literary genre from poetry to prose, from narrative to instruction. Learning about the various books and genres helps us experience them more fully and can be inspiration for our own conversations with God. In scriptural prayer written by others, engaging with art and music based on Scripture, and crafting your own prayers based on biblical passages, may you find yourself more tethered to the word of God and the One who incarnated those inspired words to live…With God In Life.
Read | Job 1:1–2:10
There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.
His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”
Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
“Very well,” the LORD told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.
One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying:Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will leave this life.
The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.
One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the LORD. The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the LORD. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
“Very well,” the LORD told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.
His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
Click here to listen to the Scripture in ESV.
Job has no idea about what is going on in the heavenly courtroom as he suffers. Why do you think the author of Job gives us that perspective? How does that shape your understanding of Job’s prayer?
Focus & Pray
Art is a beautiful expression of God’s gift to us and can help us imagine, visualize, and better understand Scripture. View this work of art, titled Job’s Answer, connected to Sunday’s sermon passage.
Observe what you see in the image, from colors to composition to recognizable elements, without trying to understand what it is supposed to mean. Then read about the work, using these details to help you interpret the work of art. Ask God what he might be saying through the image, and listen for his insight in your thoughts and feelings, then take a moment to respond through prayer to what God showed you in this image.
Commentary:
Lauren Stevens is a printmaker and artist who graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2021 with a BFA in printmaking. This copper etching was created as part of her undergraduate degree work.
Stevens invites viewers to pause and wait with Job in the midst of suffering, considering the intricacy of each artifact of creation she has painstakingly etched into the surface of this work. The indescribable glory of God’s wisdom is on display through each creature, including the righteous sufferer himself. Without directly addressing Job’s predicament, God answers Job’s pleas with many questions, ultimately inquiring which of his created creatures is capable of understanding and holding together the wondrously complex heights and depths of the cosmos. The answer is implied, and we are reminded that God’s wisdom is outside of the grasp of creaturely understanding.
This etching is part of the Christ Community Permanent Collection, and it can be viewed at the Downtown Campus. Four Chapter Gallery will host an exhibit of Stevens’ work in June, July, and August 2026.
Art Source: Job’s Answer, Lauren Stevens, 2021. Used by permission. laurenstevensart.com
Going Deeper
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.
