The God You Can Experience | Pastor Russ Moore

Easter functions as a hinge of hope and identity, marking both the season and the reason people can start again. Palm Sunday exposes how quickly popular opinion flips and how often expectations about the Messiah veer toward politics, power, or personal ease. Scripture reframes purpose: Jesus did not primarily come to tidy behavior, deliver political victory, or merely secure a distant afterlife; the central act aims to restore humanity to God’s presence, to make life full again. Three distinct ways to encounter that presence emerge: omnipresence, relational presence (including indwelling), and the manifest presence. Omnipresence insists that God stands everywhere at once—knowledge of that should produce reverence and the stabilizing conviction of significance. Relational presence shifts God from “out there” to “with and in” people, inviting consistent awareness that God accompanies daily routines, valleys, and ordinary tasks. Indwelling presence places God’s Spirit within believers, changing identity and enabling spiritual fruit, power, and a hope rooted in resurrection life. The manifest presence makes God plain and tangible—an experiential encounter where theology becomes felt reality, where worship, alignment with God, hunger, and communal prayer often create openings for transformative encounters. Historical and biblical examples—from Joseph and Jacob to John’s account of Jesus breathing the Spirit—illustrate that presence often arrives amid messiness, not merely in ideal seasons. Expectation management matters: many misunderstandings about Jesus arise from wanting a narrower role for God—comfort, moralism, or mere future escape—rather than restoration into God’s ongoing life. Practical engagement moves from knowing (omniscience) to practicing awareness (relational), to cultivating hunger and openness for tangible encounters (manifest). The call invites deliberate habits: remember God sees and values every life, cultivate the daily discipline of sensing God’s nearness in ordinary moments, and pursue spaces—corporate worship, prayer, and lowered defenses—where the manifest presence can transform dryness into renewal. Ultimately, presence proves preferable to mere prosperity or convenience; the public acclaim that crowns Messiah on a Sunday cannot stand in place of God’s enduring presence that reshapes identity, mission, and hope.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Resurrection anchors life and hope Resurrection secures hope not as wishful thinking but as a realignment of identity: a living victory that enables fresh starts, resilience amid suffering, and a vision for future restoration. Anchoring hope in resurrection reframes setbacks as temporary disruptions rather than final verdicts, inviting perseverance and moral courage rooted in what God has already accomplished. This hope also compels ethical risks—living kindly and sacrificially—even when public opinion shifts quickly. [00:55]
• 2. Jesus restores connection with God Jesus aims to repair the original rupture that left humans alienated from God, offering presence rather than only rules or rewards. Restoration implies ongoing transformation: wounds mend over time as relationship deepens, not by performance but by persistent turning toward God. This restoration transforms vocation, relationships, and self-understanding by reorienting life around communion rather than achievement. [06:34]
• 3. Know God's omnipresence as comfort God’s everywhere-ness should produce both a stabilizing reverence and a deep sense of personal significance—God notices ordinary, hidden moments. That knowledge reframes secrecy, shame, and loneliness into spaces where God’s awareness invites healing and accountability without theatrical exposure. Living under omnipresence curbs cheap public approval and redirects effort toward faithful integrity in private and public life. [14:44]
• 4. Pursue tangible encounters with God Tangible encounters transform doctrinal belief into practical power: when God manifests, people experience healing, clarity, and renewed courage that words alone cannot produce. Such encounters tend to follow sustained hunger, alignment with God’s ways, communal prayer, and worship rather than quick formulas. Seeking the manifest presence cultivates a faith that both reasons well and meets God in life-changing ways. [31:21]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:32] - Why Easter Matters
• [00:55] - Resurrection as Anchor of Hope
• [02:10] - Palm Sunday: Public Praise to Pain
• [04:31] - Misunderstandings About Jesus' Mission
• [06:34] - Jesus Came To Restore Presence
• [09:28] - Omni: Introducing Omnipresence
• [14:44] - Knowledge, Reverence, and Significance
• [20:33] - Relational Presence: God With Us
• [29:26] - Indwelling Presence: Spirit Within
• [31:21] - Manifest Presence: Experience God Tangibly
• [40:54] - Invitation to Encounter and Prayer

1. According to Psalm 139, where is it impossible to be separated from God’s presence?
2. What contrast does Jesus draw in John 10:10 between the thief’s purpose and his own?
3. In the sermon, what were the three dimensions of God’s presence described? [09:28]
4. What name did Hagar give God in Genesis 16, and what does it mean? [16:50]

1. Why do you think people’s expectations of Jesus often lean toward political power or personal comfort rather than restored relationship? [04:31]
2. How does the truth that God is everywhere (omnipresent) change the way a person might view their hidden struggles or private moments? [15:30]
3. What might it look like to practice awareness of God’s presence in ordinary, daily tasks like washing dishes or driving? [26:27]
4. Why do you think tangible encounters with God often happen in messy or difficult seasons rather than ideal circumstances? [23:34]

1. Where in your life right now do you most need to remember that “God sees me”? What would change if you truly believed he sees you in that situation? [17:13]
2. This week, how can you intentionally practice saying “God is with me” in moments of stress, boredom, or loneliness? What might shift in your heart as you do? [25:02]
3. Have you ever experienced a tangible encounter with God’s presence? If so, what stirred that hunger in you? If not, what might be holding you back from seeking him in that way? [31:21]
4. In what area of your life do you feel dry or stagnant spiritually? What would it look like to ask God to fill you again and trust that he wants to meet you there? [39:32]
5. How can you create space this week—through worship, prayer, or community—to intentionally seek God’s manifest presence? [40:54]
6. Where have you been tempted to trade God’s presence for comfort, convenience, or approval? What would it look like to choose his presence over those things today? [37:37]