07/05/26: Kayla Haley, "Journey to God

Devotional

Day 1: When God’s Call Silences the Static

The journey begins when God’s voice cuts through life’s noise, demanding a choice between old patterns and new life. Like Jackie Hill Perry’s moment of clarity amid mental chaos, God’s call often arrives as an unwelcome interruption—a divine collision with our resistance. This confrontation awakens us to the reality that breathing isn’t living, and comfort isn’t purpose. Change requires surrendering the channels we’ve curated to avoid truth. [12:36]

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23, ESV)

Reflection: What “channel” have you been switching to lately to avoid God’s voice? How might His call be inviting you to trade comfort for true aliveness?

Day 2: Letting Go of the Mentor’s Blueprint

Athena’s rebuke—“Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you?”—mirrors the tension between old identities and new callings. Growth often means releasing the scripts others wrote for us, even good ones, when they conflict with God’s design. Like Odysseus choosing mercy over battle strategy, discipleship requires unlearning systems of control to embrace Christ’s counterintuitive wisdom. [16:43]

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
(Hebrews 12:11, NIV)

Reflection: Whose voice from your past still shouts, “This isn’t who you’re supposed to be?” How is God reshaping that blueprint into something new?

Day 3: The Bag of Storms and the Myth of Solitude

Odysseus clinging to the storm bag mirrors our temptation to isolate with burdens. Hermes’ intervention—offering partnership against Circe—exposes the lie that faith is a solo quest. Just as Odysseus needed allies to navigate divine challenges, we require community to hold our storms when exhaustion hits. God built us for shared battles, not heroic individualism. [22:51]

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal...If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
(1 Corinthians 13:1,3, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you white-knuckling a “storm bag” alone? Who has God placed nearby to help carry it?

Day 4: Frozen in the Underworld’s Echo Chamber

The screaming ghosts in Hades represent our internal accusers—past failures, others’ judgments, our own shame. Like Odysseus paralyzed by blame, Christians often freeze when fears overlap. Yet the journey forward requires releasing control to the One who walks through hells with us. True progress begins when we stop negotiating with ghosts and fix our eyes on Home. [35:32]

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
(Matthew 22:37-39, NIV)

Reflection: Which “ghost” from your past most often triggers a freeze response? How could loving God actively in this area disarm its power?

Day 5: The Redirected Bow and the Journey’s True North

Noah’s rainbow—a hung-up war bow—symbolizes God’s covenant to redirect wrath onto Himself. Like Odysseus finally seeing Ithaca, this truth reorients everything: our journey isn’t about escaping punishment but running toward Love’s open arms. Every struggle, delay, and detour finds meaning when wrath becomes redemption and wandering becomes pilgrimage. [48:55]

“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.’”
(Genesis 9:12-13, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you been living as if faith is about avoiding God’s anger rather than receiving His love? How does the cross redefine your journey’s destination?

Sermon Summary

The journey to God starts with a war. Odysseus’ voyage home becomes a mirror for a Christian’s walk, where the first blow is a piercing word that wakes the dead to life. Romans 6:23 stands behind Jackie Hill Perry’s “She will be the death of you,” and the choice it forces: keep breathing in death or step into life. Hebrews 12:11 names the cost. If change is real, it will hurt, and that hurt becomes the doorway to peace for those who are trained by it.

Athena’s rebuke — “turn off your heart” — pictures the old formation that resists grace. The tug of old loyalties and the pull of new mercy collide, and the heart must choose. Temptation still drags at the eyes, but now God is in the room, and desire learns to bow. The Cyclops aftermath exposes control and consequence, and the Ocean saga turns the screws further: a bag of wind, a storm of distrust, a crew unraveling. The rich young ruler steps on stage to say why it hurts so much to change. Identity built on anything but Christ is not just heavy. It is worthless.

Love then takes center stage. Not a mood, but God himself. First Corinthians 13 speaks of patience, kindness, and endurance as the very character of God poured into a people, and Matthew 22 binds the law to love of God and neighbor. Circe opens a door through mercy spoken, Hermes lends help, and community becomes gift instead of crutch. The Underworld names the other half: fear freezes, fawns, and flops until control sneaks back in. The line between becoming like God and being with God gets drawn where control is released.

Act two puts feet under confession. Sirens test desire, Scylla tests cost, betrayal tests resolve, and Zeus frames the choice by reminding Odysseus of Penelope’s voice. The journey is not mainly away from hell. It is toward beauty. A seven year stall on an island does not stall God. Athena changes, Telemachus is spared, and unseen grace keeps moving. When Poseidon rises, the man who let go of his old design stands, and Ithaca finally receives him. Home is not a prize for performance. Home is the embrace of love.

The rainbow’s bow hangs toward heaven, and the cup in Gethsemane fills the covenant to the brim. Wrath is redirected. Read 1 Corinthians 13 with the name of God and the face of Christ, and the mirror clears. Faith remains. Hope remains. God remains. Change will hurt, but the beauty at the end is worth it.

Key Takeaways

1. Real change will cost something [14:18] True repentance does not polish the old self. It dethrones it. Hebrews 12:11 names the pain as God’s training in peace, and Romans 6:23 exposes why staying put is just breathing in death. The Spirit’s scalpel cuts to heal, and the wound is precisely where new life takes root. [14:18]
2. The journey moves toward beauty [39:08] Fear of hell cannot sustain a soul, but the beauty of God can. The heart is kept by a voice and a face, not a threat. When the finish line is love himself, sacrifice becomes sane and hope becomes stubborn. [39:08]
3. Control must yield to surrender [35:56] Fear often hides behind a need to manage outcomes. Freeze, fawn, and flop look different, but all tighten the fist. Surrender is not passivity. It is trust that lets God be God and lets love do what control never can. [35:56]
4. God calls to relationship, not titles [20:21] Performance and reputation cannot carry a soul home. God is love, and the call is to walk with Love, not to perform for love. Gifts, knowledge, and visible zeal mean nothing if God is not the treasure. [20:21]
5. Community is how God moves [43:12] Help from Hermes, mercy from Circe, and Athena’s late repentance all show how grace travels through people. Even in the stuck seasons, unseen obedience reshapes stories beyond sight. Asking for help is wisdom, not weakness, because love is relational by design. [43:12]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:43] - Mic check and setup
[02:47] - Wrestling with topic and God’s nudge
[06:09] - Epic the Musical as lens
[10:55] - Framing the journey to God
[12:36] - Jackie Hill Perry’s wake up call
[14:18] - If change is real, it hurts
[16:06] - Athena’s rebuke and new mercy
[22:51] - Bag of winds and broken trust
[25:57] - Rich young ruler and worth
[27:23] - Love, community, and the Spirit’s fruit
[31:22] - You are not meant to go alone
[33:53] - Fear responses and hidden control
[37:41] - Sirens, Scylla, and a hard choice
[39:08] - Not away from hell, toward beauty
[41:48] - Athena changes and Telemachus lives
[45:31] - Facing Poseidon and coming home
[47:52] - The war bow and the covenant
[50:39] - Reading 1 Corinthians 13 with God
[52:09] - The beauty that makes it worth it

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (ESV)
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Observation Questions

According to Hebrews 12:11, why is discipline (or change) painful, and what does it produce?
In the sermon, how does the story of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) illustrate the idea that identity built on anything but Christ is "worthless"? [25:57]
What specific examples from 1 Corinthians 13 are rephrased in the sermon to describe God’s character? [51:02]
How does Odysseus’ journey home mirror the tension between "becoming like God" and "being with God"? [36:43]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul compare spiritual gifts like prophecy, faith, or generosity to "a clanging cymbal" if they lack love? How does this connect to the sermon’s emphasis on relationship over performance?
The sermon argues that "the journey is not mainly away from hell, but toward beauty." How does this perspective reshape motivations for following Christ? [39:08]
In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul says we see "dimly" now but will one day see "face to face." How might this truth help someone struggling with fear or control during their spiritual journey?
Odysseus’ crew opens the bag of winds because they distrust him. What does this reveal about how distrust sabotages surrender to God? [22:51]

Application Questions

The sermon states, "Control must yield to surrender." What is one area where you’re clinging to control instead of trusting God’s design? What practical step could you take to release it this week? [35:56]
How might your daily choices change if you viewed your spiritual journey as moving toward the beauty of God rather than just avoiding sin? [39:08]
The rich young ruler’s identity was tied to his wealth. What earthly thing (reputation, success, relationships) do you unconsciously treat as a "prize" for your worth? How can you reorient that to Christ? [25:57]
1 Corinthians 13 says love "bears all things, endures all things." When has someone’s patience or kindness (reflecting God’s love) helped you in your faith? How could you intentionally extend that same love to others?
The sermon emphasizes community as "how God moves." Who is your "Hermes" or "Circe"—someone God has used to help you? How can you express gratitude or lean into community this week? [43:12]
Fear responses like freezing or fawning often mask a need for control. When have you noticed fear dictating your actions? What truth about God’s character (from 1 Corinthians 13) could combat that fear? [34:54]
Odysseus’ seven-year stall didn’t "stall God." What season of waiting or stuckness are you in? How might God be working in ways you can’t yet see? [44:06]

Sermon Clips

43s

#CalledToRelationship

“``Odysseus may not be on a journey to God but his experience pretty clearly reflect the struggles that most Christians face on theirs. We want others to see us as good Christians. We want to be good Christians. We want everything to be a reflection of being Christ like and in that process we somehow forget the beauty of our God. When we are called to God, he isn't calling us to a title. God is not calling you to become God is calling you to a relationship with God. Not because of our loyalty because we're pretty fickle beings. It's not because of our potential. It is because he is love.”

58s

#JourneyToHome

“Our journey to God is not with the sole purpose of avoiding the suffering of hell. We are not fighting to become out of the reach of hell of our own power because we can't. We are on a journey to God, not a journey away from hell. We are on a journey to love and a journey to home. If change is real, it's going to hurt, but it's worth it because our journey is to something far more beautiful than any possessions we could ever have on this plane. At this point in epic, things get a little strange. At the end of the Thunder saga, it had been thirteen years since Odysseus had left home. And when watching the musical, everyone was a little shocked when the Wisdom saga opened with seven years later on a blank screen.”

93s

#WorthBeyondWealth

“The young man was stunned at this command and went away grieving. The most common interpretations of this are that Jesus was pointing out where the young man's trust truly lied, not in God, but in his riches. And those interpretations are true and good, but they always stop before getting to the why. Why was the young man stunned? Why did he go away grieving? What was he grieving? His possessions or his beliefs about what they represented? Jesus didn't just say that he had to give away his possessions. He was saying that his possessions did not amount to the love and treasure that he would find in heaven. They were not worth what the young man thought they were. What he had lived his entire life trying to get. They weren't worth it. He was stunned because he had lived his entire life following the commandments and building up his riches in the world. And Jesus said, that is not worth what I am offering you. The story is not just about giving up your old life and your preconceived notions. It's about discovering that the parts of identity not founded in Christ are simply worthless. Not burdens keeping you away, but the things that prevent you from finding true value in God and in love.”

68s

#LetGoOfControl

“Because fear comes from something and stress usually has a purpose. Disorders are what happen when that purpose becomes distorted over time. But there was always a purpose to the stress and falling into these responses leads to forgetting what the purpose of your journey was all along. In the case of a Christian, fear in any form but often the freeze response can make you take back control without even realizing it. Control drives most human emotions especially the bad ones. It's what made Eve listen to the snake and Adam put the blame because they wanted control. It's what's stopping Odysseus from fully letting go of his preconceived notions. It is the line between sacrificing everything for what you are trying to become and giving everything to God to become someone And just like Odysseus had to push past and let go of everything dragging him down, we must also push past our fears, let go of control, and make the decision.”

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07/05/26: Kayla Haley, "Journey to God

Devotional

Day 1: When God’s Call Silences the Static

Day 2: Letting Go of the Mentor’s Blueprint

Day 3: The Bag of Storms and the Myth of Solitude

Day 4: Frozen in the Underworld’s Echo Chamber

Day 5: The Redirected Bow and the Journey’s True North

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

07/05/26: Kayla Haley, "Journey to God

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