7 5 26 - Campfire Stories | Is God Actually Speaking...or Am I Overthinking?

Jul 05, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing God’s Voice Through Unfamiliar Whispers

The story of young Samuel teaches that God often speaks through unexpected channels. When God called Samuel three times, the boy kept running to Eli, not yet recognizing the divine voice. Only through Eli’s guidance did Samuel learn to respond, “Speak, Lord.” This mirrors how God uses trusted mentors, friends, or even strangers to help us discern His voice when confusion clouds our hearing. Just as Eli’s wisdom bridged Samuel’s uncertainty, God places seasoned believers in our lives to help interpret His nudges. The key lies in humility—admitting we need others to help us listen well. [26:11]

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” (1 Samuel 3:1–9, ESV)

Reflection: Who has been your “Eli”—someone who helped you recognize God’s voice when you couldn’t discern it alone? How might you humbly seek their guidance this week?

Day 2: When Community Becomes God’s Megaphone

Nick’s story of his daughter’s brain surgery reveals how God’s reassurance often comes through others. When fear overwhelmed him, friends like Kelly Rutherford prayed with raw honesty, while practical support from church members shouted “It’s gonna be okay” louder than any audible divine voice. The nurses marveled at the flood of visitors—evidence of a community embodying God’s presence. Like Samuel needing Eli, we’re designed to hear God’s heart through the hands and voices of His people. [28:17]

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27, ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life do you need to stop straining for a “booming voice” and instead lean into the faithful people God has placed around you?

Day 3: Bible Streaks vs. Grace-Fueled Listening

Nate’s shattered devotional streak exposed a subtle trap: treating Scripture as a performance metric rather than a relational gateway. His initial Bible reading aimed to “get it right” for youth group kids, but pride crept in. The “room of good intentions” masks our striving, while the “room of grace” invites trust over trophies. God’s Word transforms not when we clock in verses, but when we approach it as a love letter shaping our character. [41:13]

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18, ESV)

Reflection: Is your time in Scripture driven more by relational curiosity about God’s heart or by a need to “check the box”?

Day 4: The Whisper After the Fire

Elijah expected God in the earthquake or fire, but He came in a gentle whisper. Similarly, Nick nearly missed God’s nudge to invite a hurting teen to Merge because anger deafened him. Only when he learned the boy’s grief did he hear the whisper to offer grace. God often speaks clearest not in dramatic signs, but in quiet convictions that redirect our responses. Like Samuel’s “Speak, Lord,” we must create space to hear whispers beneath life’s noise. [48:20]

“And he said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11–12, ESV)

Reflection: When has God used a quiet conviction—rather than a dramatic sign—to redirect your words or actions?

Day 5: Testing Voices at the Crossroads

Discerning God’s voice requires filters: Does it align with Scripture? Does it make me more like Jesus? Does it bring peace? Nick’s confrontation with his daughter’s bully could’ve spiraled into rage, but testing the moment against God’s character revealed a broken kid needing mercy. Like Samuel returning to Eli for clarity, we must bring uncertain leadings to trusted believers and biblical truth before acting. [55:13]

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–21, ESV)

Reflection: What current decision or prompting in your life needs to be “tested” through Scripture and wise community this week?

Sermon Summary

John 10 sets the tone by letting Jesus name himself the Good Shepherd whose sheep “know my voice.” The text does not promise perfect hearing; it promises relational recognition. That image reframes discernment as friendship, not formula. First Samuel 3 then shows that recognition often needs help. Samuel mistakes the Lord’s voice for Eli’s until Eli teaches him to answer, “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” The narrative dignifies spiritual infancy and honors guidance; God is patient, and God uses people.

That theme of God speaking through people takes on skin in the story of a family walking through their daughter’s surgery. No thunder. No pillar of fire. But a steady stream of embodied “it’s gonna be okay” through presence, prayer, meals, childcare, and an army of friends on the long day. Community becomes the Lord’s tone and timbre. Discernment, though, needs filters. Voices that truly help tend to come from people who know Jesus, know the person, and want the person’s good. Years of serving and sharing life make counsel trustworthy.

Scripture then takes its rightful place as God’s primary speech. A candid testimony admits that Bible reading can feel confusing, even discouraging, until the story is seen as a slow revelation that clearest in Jesus. Transformation grew not from white-knuckled box-checking but from learning God’s heart. A vivid contrast appears like a fork in the road: the path to pleasing God, which ends in the room of good intentions and masks, and the path to trusting God, which opens into the room of grace. The first breeds pride and burnout. The second births rest, joy, and actual listening.

Prayer lands as an ongoing conversation. Elijah’s wind, quake, and fire do not carry God’s presence; the gentle whisper does. So the question shifts from “Is God speaking?” to “Is space being made to listen?” An everyday story of anger interrupted by compassion shows what the whisper can do. A protective father, ready to swing, learns of a grieving boy and suddenly hears how to answer with invitation instead of retaliation. The fruit looks like peace, clarity, and movement toward love.

Discernment finally gets three simple checks. God’s leading agrees with Scripture. God’s leading moves a person toward Jesus-shaped character. God’s leading produces peace rather than panic, even when it stretches comfort. Over time, a rhythm emerges: time in the Word breeds familiarity with God’s character; familiarity trains the ear for the Spirit’s gentle nudge; recognition grows courage to respond.

Key Takeaways

1. The Good Shepherd forms recognition. Discernment runs on relationship, not technique. Jesus promises that his people will know his voice, which means time with him matters more than perfect performance. Recognition grows the way any friendship does, through repeated exposure to tone, truth, and heart. The goal is not flawless hearing but familiar trust. [24:26]
2. Community mediates God’s steady voice. When the booming word does not come, the body of Christ often carries it. Presence in waiting rooms, prayers that carry the room when words fail, and practical care speak “it’s gonna be okay” in ways a shaken heart can receive. Long obedience together makes counsel weighty and safe when decisions are loaded. [32:11]
3. Scripture reveals God toward Jesus. The Bible’s older pages can feel strange until they are read as a slow unveiling that resolves in Christ. That trajectory pulls the reader from confusion into worship and from self-help into surrender. Real change comes less from keeping a streak and more from beholding the Son who fulfills every promise. [45:31]
4. Trusting God beats pleasing God. The path to pleasing God looks clean but breeds masks and pride; the path to trusting God is narrower yet full of grace. One exhausts the soul in rule keeping; the other rests the soul in Christ’s finished work. Only trust leaves room to actually hear instead of white knuckling one’s way through spiritual chores. [43:32]
5. Prayer listens for the gentle whisper. God is not obliged to show up in wind, quake, or fire. The Spirit often meets a person in quiet attention and mid-conversation awareness. The test of that whisper is its fruit: mercy over retaliation, peace over panic, and a nudge that looks like Jesus taking shape in real time. [48:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[20:31] - Holiday welcome and chairs joke
[21:07] - Voice game icebreaker
[22:27] - Is God speaking or overthinking
[23:20] - Elders join the campfire
[23:55] - Good Shepherd at Dedication
[24:26] - “My sheep know my voice”
[25:17] - Learning voices by time spent
[26:11] - Samuel learns to say “Speak, Lord”
[28:17] - Nick’s family enters a hard season
[29:57] - Waiting, prayer, and real-time presence
[32:11] - Community shows up in Richmond
[34:50] - Filtering voices and trusted counsel
[37:02] - Turn-and-share: who helped you hear
[38:07] - Nate’s start with Scripture
[39:40] - Confusion, discouragement, and persistence
[41:13] - The streak, pride, and a gut check
[42:21] - Pleasing God vs trusting God
[44:41] - What the Bible actually is
[45:50] - Learning by serving NextGen
[48:02] - Elijah and the gentle whisper
[49:28] - Pray without ceasing as awareness
[50:11] - A kitchen call and a whisper
[53:33] - Restoration and a new invitation
[55:13] - Three checks for discernment
[57:10] - A simple rhythm for listening
[58:34] - Next steps and invitation
[62:00] - Amen

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 10:27 (ESV)
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Observation Questions

What does Jesus emphasize about His relationship with His sheep in John 10:27?
In the story of Samuel and Eli (1 Samuel 3:1-10), how did Samuel finally recognize God’s voice? [26:11]
What examples from the sermon illustrate how God’s voice came through community rather than dramatic signs? [32:11]
How does Elijah’s experience in 1 Kings 19:11-12 contrast with common expectations of hearing God? [48:43]

Interpretation Questions

Why might God choose to speak through ordinary people and daily acts of care (like meals or childcare) instead of dramatic miracles? [29:57]
How does the distinction between “pleasing God” and “trusting God” affect our ability to hear His voice? [43:32]
What does it mean for Scripture to be a “slow revelation” of God’s character, and how does this shape our approach to reading it? [45:31]
Why might God’s “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12) be more transformative than dramatic signs in moments of crisis? [53:33]

Application Questions

Who in your life consistently reflects Jesus’ character and speaks truth to you? How could you intentionally lean into their guidance this week?
When have you prioritized “checking boxes” (like Bible reading streaks) over listening for God’s heart? What practical step could help you shift from performance to relationship? [41:13]
Describe a recent decision where you felt panic versus peace. How might the three discernment checks (Scripture, Christlike character, peace) clarify God’s leading in similar situations? [55:13]
What distractions or “noise” make it hard to hear God’s whisper? Could you create 5 minutes of quiet daily this week to pray, “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening”?
Is there a relationship or situation where you’re tempted to retaliate? How might pausing to ask, “What does mercy look like here?” open space for God’s whisper? [52:31]
Where do you need to trust God’s patience with your “spiritual infancy” rather than feeling pressure to hear Him perfectly?
How could you intentionally serve or encourage someone this week in a way that embodies God’s “it’s gonna be okay” to them? [34:21]

Sermon Clips

49s

#GoodIntentionsMask

“``And it's I don't think it's any coincidence. I had been rereading this book called The Curate. Ain't it? The authors, they they use this illustration of Christian life. We come to this fork in the road. And to the left, there's this pathway and it's wide and it's flat and it's well trodden. A lot of people take this path and at the end of it there's this room of good intentions and it's beautiful and you walk in there and the people look beautiful and it's full of Christians who are doing all the things. They're reading their bible every day. They're going to church. They're volunteering. They're giving their their money to the church and to good causes. But when you look closely, everyone's wearing a mask in that room. This mask where, you know, it's like a covering of their true selves.”

57s

#PathToGrace

“Now the other pathway is this pathway to trusting God, and it's a little more rugged. It's narrower, but it's beautiful. And it leads to this place, the room of grace. And everybody in that room, no one's wearing a mask. They're still doing all those things. Those are good things, but they're doing it from this foundation of this trust in who God is, what he's done. And that was the pathway that I'd found all those years ago. After years and years in church, I'd finally found it and that's what had started this transformation in my life. But when I looked back on missing that day of my devotional, I spent the next couple of weeks kinda thinking through this and I realized that over the years I have this tendency to go back from the room of grace to the room of good intentions. It's just my tendency.”

58s

#DiscernGodsVoice

“Yeah. I think when, god is speaking, some good questions to ask when we think god is speaking are, does it agree with scripture? Because god won't tell me something that contradicts with what's already been revealed. Does it make me more like Jesus? Is it this leading me toward love, truth, humility, forgiveness, generosity, or toward fear, pride, selfishness, and condemnation? So those things are gonna line up with the character of God if it's really from Jesus. And then is this thing producing peace or is it producing panic? Because if God is speaking, it's gonna be speaking peace into your life. It may be speaking some sort of, like, challenge. Like, he may be challenging you to do something that might feel a little uncomfortable, but it's not gonna produce panic.”

60s

#FriendsAsComfort

“The night before, as I was sending a message to a group of friends, just saying, guys, I'm I don't I'm so scared. Like, the first part was bad enough. The second part is super scary. And I was just getting encouragement. But little did I know there was a second message created that I wasn't a part of. One of them one of the my friends started. He said, I'm driving tomorrow. What time do want me to pick everybody up? So we get an army of people that next morning just to be with us during this major procedure. And the whole time, we're we're hearing that Sherry and I are hearing that it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. I never got the booming voice. I never got the whisper. All of those people being there, being a part of this, visiting her during and after was exactly what we needed to hear. I don't think I could've handled hearing it directly, but I heard it in the way that we needed to hear it. So it was wonderful. Yeah.”

47s

#ScriptureRevealsJesus

“But the Bible, it's this slow revelation of who God is, and it starts off in the Old Testament. We find about out that he created the earth, and then he did these things for Abraham and for Moses and for he promised all these things. But all of those people, they're slowly learning more and more about who God is until this revelation of who he fully is in the person of Jesus. And it's beautiful, and that's what draws us back more and more. And it's that relationship with him. It's that relationship with people. It's even you, Nick, who made a difference in my life that that transforms us. It's not the other way around.”

50s

#HumbleDiscernment

“So just remember that the goal isn't to become someone who confidently says, god told me. That can feel a little that might come across a little pious or but the goal is to become someone who humbly says, I think God may be leading me in this direction. That might be a better way to approach something. If you're having conversations with friends or you've been praying about something and you feel like the Lord is really putting something on your heart to share with somebody. And then be willing to, like, test that leading. So don't just, like, maybe have a prayer time or feel like the Lord's leading you in something and then especially if it's something really big and not put it through some of these other filters.”

45s

#FamilySupportNetwork

“There are some strange pictures in there you might have noticed. It's like, well, this doesn't look like Lexi or a hospital. We have two other kids that when we're gone for a week, they need taken care of as well. So a lot of our family was with us, so they had to continue school. They had to continue on with their lives. Luckily, we had some wonderful people like Heather and Nate that were able to watch after Maylon and Braden, make sure they got fed, clothed, got to school, and they were able to, take care of them. So it's one less thing we had to worry about. And that is just another way of of God saying, it's fine. You guys focus on what you're here for. It's gonna be fine. Yeah.”

49s

#RhythmWithGod

“So as we kind of wrap up our time today, we just feel like there's kind of a rhythm that goes here. It's not like a formula, but more a rhythm of the more time I spend with God in his word, the more familiar I become with his character. And the more familiar we become with his character, the easier it is to recognize his gentle nudges in prayer. And the more I recognize his voice, the more willing we can become to respond. So, we're just gonna spend some time praying over just some next steps that you might wanna take today.”

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7 5 26 - Campfire Stories | Is God Actually Speaking...or Am I Overthinking?

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing God’s Voice Through Unfamiliar Whispers

Day 2: When Community Becomes God’s Megaphone

Day 3: Bible Streaks vs. Grace-Fueled Listening

Day 4: The Whisper After the Fire

Day 5: Testing Voices at the Crossroads

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

7 5 26 - Campfire Stories | Is God Actually Speaking...or Am I Overthinking?

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