Lakeside Service 8/16/26 "The Way" Sarah Morrison

Proverbs keeps bringing up “the way” and “the paths,” and that repeated language starts to feel like more than just a cute Bible word. Proverbs three says, “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight,” and Proverbs two says the wise will “walk in the ways of the good” and “keep to the paths of the righteous.” The text is not handing out little formulas that make life behave. Proverbs is giving principles that call a person to consider the bigger reality underneath each step.

Derek, the Hebrew word for “way,” means a well trodden road, a larger course of life, a culture, a way of seeing and doing. Orah, the word for “path,” points more to the specific trails and situations that branch off from that larger road. The way is the why, and the path is the what. The danger comes when a specific path gets treated like the whole universal way, because the church can turn one faithful action in one setting into a rule for every setting.

Jeremiah says, “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” The ancient way is not just old, it is eternal. The good way carries rest, because God’s way is not a life of frantic spiritual striving. Rest grows where the soul is established in the presence of God and is no longer acting out uncertainty about home.

The first walk in Scripture shows the heart of the way. God walks in the garden, and Adam and Eve hide. The tragedy of sin is that the desire to be like God turns into hiding from communion with God. The religious mindset keeps trying to become like God by working harder, while missing that being like God comes from walking with God.

The Mandalorian picture says, “This is the way,” because a people live from core principles, protect foundlings, and remember who they are together. The Maori homecoming gives another picture of the way, where a lost daughter is welcomed into a people, taught the rhythms, and given the joy of belonging. The haka declares that the foundation under her feet is strong and that fierce loyalty stands around her.

Jesus puts the period at the end of the sentence. Jesus does not merely point to a way. Christ says, “I am the way.” Acts calls believers “followers of the way” because the way is a person, the triune God drawing his people into communion, identity, rest, and a life that can be walked out on many different paths.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. DZs&t=2412s'>[40:12]
  • Rest belongs to the ancient way.
  Jeremiah ties the good way to rest for the soul, which means God’s road is not powered by panic. Spiritual striving often exposes insecurity about belonging, destiny, or home. The eternal way trains the heart to move from God’s presence rather than toward God’s approval.
  
  • Hiding breaks the first walk.
  Genesis shows God walking in the garden as a normal place of fellowship, and sin turns that walk into a place of hiding. The religious mindset tries to become like God while avoiding communion with God. The true way begins again where God says there is no need to hide.
  
  • Belonging teaches the rhythms.
  The Maori homecoming picture shows that identity is not learned by getting a rulebook first. A daughter is welcomed, named, protected, and then taught the ways of the people she belongs to. God forms security in that same deep place, where belonging comes before performance.
  
  • Jesus is the actual way.
  Jesus does not leave wisdom as an abstract road sign. Christ steps into the whole conversation and says, “I am the way,” so the path is learned by looking at his life, priorities, communion, and love. When the right path is unclear, the person of Christ remains clear.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [31:42] - The Wildcard Church Service Dream
• [36:16] - Proverbs and the Language of the Way
• [38:31] - Derek, Orah, Ways, and Paths
• [40:12] - Do Not Confuse Path and Way
• [41:38] - The Mandalorian and “This Is the Way”
• [44:06] - Jeremiah and the Ancient Paths
• [45:16] - Rest for the Soul
• [46:58] - The First Walk in the Garden
• [48:52] - A Maori Homecoming Picture
• [55:46] - Belonging, Identity, and Learning the Ropes
• [58:42] - Walking With God Without Hiding
• [60:14] - Jesus Says, “I Am the Way”
• [62:18] - The Fellowship of Believers and the Way
• [63:57] - Benediction and Sending

Bible Reading

Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” [00:37:22]

Jeremiah 6:16
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” [00:44:10]

John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” [01:00:21]

Proverbs 2:20
“So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.” [00:37:34]

Genesis 3:8
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” [00:47:33]

Observation questions

1. In Proverbs 3:5-6, what two things are people told to do, and what is God promised to do with their paths?
2. In Proverbs 2:20, what words are used for the larger direction of life and for the more specific course to be followed?
3. In Jeremiah 6:16, what are people told to do at the crossroads, and what is connected to walking in the good way? [00:45:16]
4. In Genesis 3:8, what is God doing in the garden, and what are Adam and Eve doing instead? [00:47:33]

Interpretation questions

1. If the “way” is bigger than the “paths,” how might that change the way a believer makes decisions when there is not one obvious rule for every situation? [00:40:12]
2. Jeremiah connects the good way with rest for the soul. What does that suggest about the difference between walking with God and living in spiritual striving? [00:45:31]
3. Genesis 3:8 shows that sin led Adam and Eve to hide from God’s presence. Why does hiding so often become part of religious living, even when a person is trying hard to be good? [00:48:14]
4. Jesus says, “I am the way.” How does that keep wisdom from becoming only a list of principles or techniques? [01:00:14]

Application questions

1. Where does life feel most like a crossroads right now: family, work, relationships, ministry, or something else? In that place, what would it look like to ask for the good way instead of just the quickest path? [00:46:06]
2. Spiritual striving often reveals uncertainty about belonging, approval, or home. When does the heart most easily slip into striving, and what usually seems to be driving it? [00:45:31]
3. The first break in the walk with God was hiding. What does hiding tend to look like personally: avoidance, pretending, overworking, staying busy, keeping conversation shallow, or something else? [00:58:42]
4. Belonging comes before performance. Is it easy or difficult to believe that God welcomes his people first and then teaches them his ways? What makes that hard to trust in real life? [00:51:20]
5. There are times when one faithful path gets treated like the only faithful path for everyone. Where has there been pressure to confuse one specific action with the whole way of God? [00:40:23]
6. When a specific decision is unclear, Jesus remains clear. What would it look like this week to look at the person of Christ more than trying to find a perfect formula? [01:00:25]
7. The fellowship of believers helps remind one another, “This is the way.” Who are the people that help bring a person back to Jesus, rest, and honesty, and how could that kind of mutual encouragement grow stronger? [01:02:18]