SEASONS PT. 1: A JOURNEY OF SEASONS

God’s goodness stands at the center of this season of remembering, grieving, and looking ahead. God has been faithful through twenty years of One Church, and every good and perfect gift has come from above. God formed a church where there was no church, brought people where there were no people, and breathed life into a family that became of one heart and one mind.

Genesis 12 shows Abram stepping into a new season with nothing but God’s voice. God says, “Leave and go,” without handing Abram a GPS, a map, or all the details. The new season brings wonder, and Abram surely wondered where in the world he was going. Still, God’s call carries God’s promise: as Abram goes, God blesses, and that blessing reaches others.

Joseph’s story shows that a new season also brings work. Joseph gets sold, dragged into Egypt, falsely accused, thrown into prison, and still gets to work wherever God plants him. God gives him favor in Potiphar’s house, in prison, and before Pharaoh. Genesis 50 shows the beauty of it all: what others intended for harm, God intended for good, so that many lives would be saved.

Moses’ burning bush shows that a new season can stir up worry. Moses hears God call him, but his first answer is full of fear: “Please send somebody else.” God answers, not by flattering Moses, but by reminding him who made the mouth, who gives speech, who sees, who hears, and who goes with His people. God is enough, and His power has not changed.

David’s Psalms show that worship belongs in every season. Worship is not always hands lifted high and a smile on the face. Sometimes worship is a whisper, a cry for mercy, a “How long, O Lord?” spoken through tears. God is present in all of it.

Psalm 1 gives the picture of trees planted by the riverbank, bearing fruit in each season. The fruit changes from season to season, but God does not drag His people through a season just to watch them wither. John 16 adds the promise: Christ chooses and appoints His people to go and produce lasting fruit. The call for this new season is plain and strong: send roots down deep, knees on the floor, face in the Word, because God is in it.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Go before the map appears God’s call to Abram did not come with every detail filled in. The new season began with a voice, not a roadmap, and faith had to move before understanding caught up. Obedience becomes the place where blessing starts spilling beyond one life into the lives of others. [42:25]
• 2. Work where God plants His people Joseph did not choose Egypt, slavery, prison, or the long road to Pharaoh’s court. Yet each hard place became holy ground because God met faithful work with favor. God’s good purpose did not erase the harm, but it did outlast it and turned it toward the saving of many lives. [48:50]
• 3. Worry cannot outrank God’s call Moses worried about his weakness, his mouth, and his ability to stand before Pharaoh. God answered by pointing Moses away from himself and back to the Creator who made the mouth in the first place. The presence of fear did not cancel the calling, because God Himself promised to be with him and instruct him. [53:27]
• 4. Worship belongs in every season David’s worship held both praise and anguish, both lifted hands and broken-hearted questions. God receives the song that shouts with joy and the prayer that can barely make it out as a whisper. Worship becomes the place where a changing season is brought honestly before the God who does not change. [60:51]
• 5. Deep roots bear lasting fruit Psalm 1 does not promise fruit only in easy seasons, happy seasons, or prayed-for seasons. The planted tree bears fruit in each season because its life comes from the river, not from the weather. The call is simple and strong: knees on the floor, face in the Word, roots down deep in Him. [65:58]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [31:51] - Good Morning and Family Time
• [34:17] - Remembering God’s Faithfulness
• [35:00] - The First Launch Team Stories
• [37:51] - God Breathes Life Into a Church
• [39:50] - New Seasons Often Bring Wonder
• [43:03] - New Seasons Require Work
• [49:26] - New Seasons Stir Up Worry
• [55:49] - New Seasons Invite Worship
• [61:16] - Bearing Fruit in Every Season
• [65:34] - Knees on the Floor, Face in the Word
• [68:26] - God’s Bigger Picture in Transition
• [73:24] - Thankful for a Season in Your Path

Bible Reading

Genesis 12:1
“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’” [40:12]

Genesis 50:20
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” [48:43]

Exodus 4:11-12
“Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.’” [53:27]

Psalm 1:3
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

John 15:16
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” [01:05:04]

Observation questions

1. In Genesis 12:1, what does God actually tell Abram to do, and what details does He not give him? [40:52]
2. In Joseph’s story, what different places did he have to work faithfully before he reached Pharaoh’s court? [46:28]
3. In Exodus 4:11-12, what reasons does God give Moses for why Moses should go anyway, even though he feels unable? [53:27]
4. According to Psalm 1:3, what are the marks of a tree planted by streams of water, and what does it do in its season? [01:01:26]

Interpretation questions

1. Abram is told to go before he is shown the land. What does that reveal about the kind of trust God often asks for in a new season? [42:25]
2. Joseph’s hardships were real, and yet Genesis 50:20 says God meant it for good. How can both of those things be true at the same time without pretending the evil was small? [48:33]
3. Moses focuses on his weakness, but God points back to Himself as Creator and Helper. What does that show about where confidence should come from when a person feels unqualified? [54:37]
4. Psalm 1:3 and John 15:16 both speak about fruit in a person’s life. What seems to make that fruit lasting rather than shallow or temporary? [01:05:42]

Application questions

1. Is there an area of life right now where God may be saying, “Go,” but the map is still missing? What would obedience look like in the next week, not someday down the road? [42:25]
2. Joseph worked where he was planted, even in places he never would have chosen. What is one place in life right now that feels hard or unwanted, and how might faithfulness look there instead of waiting for a better season? [47:12]
3. Worry often gets very close to faith. What specific worry has been pressing on the heart lately, and how does God’s answer to Moses speak into that fear? [55:31]
4. Worship does not always sound like loud praise; sometimes it is a whisper, a cry, or a “How long, O Lord?” What has worship looked like in this season personally, and has there been honesty with God about it? [01:00:51]
5. “Knees on the floor, face in the Word” is simple, but not always easy. What tends to crowd out prayer and Scripture in daily life, and what small change could help roots go deeper this week? [01:05:58]
6. God does not drag His people through a season just to watch them wither. Where has there been a fear of withering, fading, or becoming fruitless, and what would it mean to trust God for fruit even here? [01:03:02]
7. Jesus says He chose and appointed His people to bear lasting fruit. What kind of fruit would be most needed in life right now—peace, patience, faithfulness, courage, kindness, self-control—and how can the group pray toward that together? [01:05:15]