Worship - Sept. 13, 2026 10:30am - "Don't You Recognize It?

Isaiah’s question lands differently in seasons of loss: “Don’t you recognize it?” God says a new thing is sprouting, yet grief often sees most clearly what is ending, what has been lost, and what cannot be held onto any longer. Creation in September makes the point. Leaves turn, gardens finish, fields approach harvest, and the world begins letting go. New life does not always look like spring.

Faith does not require anyone to call loss good, pretend grief does not hurt, or explain every broken thing as though God must have had a reason. Faith dares to say that loss is not the end of the story. God is still here, and God is still at work, especially when the new thing cannot yet be recognized. Bare ground may hold a seed. Winter may be real. God’s life may be taking root beneath the soil before anything breaks through.

Paul’s words bring relief to a church celebrating a new season: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.” God gives the growth. The church does not have to manufacture results, predict the future, prove every new thing is better, or get everything right. God calls God’s people to plant, water, pay attention, love one another, and show up. Mistakes do not remove God from the work; they become places where people help one another get back up.

Paul also names the deeper truth behind a renovated spiritual home: God’s building is not the church. God’s people are the church, Christ is the foundation, and the Spirit dwells in them. Place matters because generations have prayed, celebrated, grieved, sung, and been shaped there. Yet Jesus gathers disciples in order to send them out.

Jesus sends the seventy-two into homes, towns, tables, grief, need, and ordinary life, expecting them to find God already at work. The rhythm is not merely a new Sunday schedule but gather, grow, and go. God gathers people around Christ, grows them in compassion, justice, worship, and devotion, and sends them into neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, hospital rooms, and communities still rebuilding. God’s agents of justice, healing, and hope go with open eyes, open hearts, and open hands, asking, “What are you doing here? How might I join you?” Then God invites one beautiful, small, tiny step.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. New life may begin underground Isaiah’s sprouting image refuses to limit newness to visible success or easy beginnings. Loss, waiting, and bare ground can be real without becoming final. God’s hidden work does not make grief painless, but it keeps grief from having the last word. [56:43]
• 2. Faith tells the truth about grief Faith does not demand cheerful explanations for what has broken. Faith permits sorrow to be sorrow while still trusting that God remains present and active. Hope becomes honest when it says, “This is not the end of the story.” [57:24]
• 3. God gives growth, not human striving Paul’s words free God’s people from the burden of manufacturing outcomes. Planting, watering, loving, and showing up are faithful acts, even when results remain unseen. God alone brings life to maturity. [59:21]
• 4. The people, not building, are church God’s people are God’s field, God’s building, and God’s temple. A beautiful worship space matters deeply, but it cannot replace the Spirit’s dwelling among God’s people. Christ remains the foundation wherever the church is sent. [60:35]
• 5. Gather, grow, and go Jesus gathers disciples around himself and then sends them into the world as guests, neighbors, healers, and witnesses. God is already at work beyond church walls, in places of joy and grief alike. Discipleship begins by noticing and joining God’s work with one small step.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [48:57] - God Is Doing a New Thing
• [52:46] - Celebration and a New Season
• [53:41] - Seeing Isaiah Through Loss
• [55:27] - New Life Does Not Always Look Like Spring
• [56:43] - Letting Go and Hidden Roots
• [57:24] - Faith Does Not Deny Grief
• [58:08] - Celebrating a Renewed Church Home
• [59:21] - God Gives the Growth
• [60:35] - God’s People Are the Church
• [61:58] - Jesus Sends the Seventy-Two
• [63:40] - Gather, Grow, and Go
• [64:34] - Open Eyes for God’s New Thing
• [66:18] - One Small Step Into God’s Work
• [67:07] - Faith Practiced Through Compassion and Justice

Bible Reading

Isaiah 43:19
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” [39:34]

1 Corinthians 3:6–7
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” [50:33]

1 Corinthians 3:9, 16
“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” [51:28]

Luke 10:1–12
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, “Peace to this house.” If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.”’” [01:02:04]

Observation questions

1. In Isaiah 43:19, what images does God use to describe a “new thing,” and where does that newness appear?
2. What signs of letting go in creation—leaves turning, gardens finishing, harvest approaching, and bare ground—help describe a season when new life may not be easy to see? [56:10]
3. In 1 Corinthians 3:6–7, what are Paul, Apollos, and God each said to do?
4. According to Luke 10, what are the seventy-two told to do when they enter homes and towns, and how are they to relate to the people they meet? [01:02:15]

Interpretation questions

1. Isaiah says that God is doing a new thing, yet people do not always recognize it right away. Why might loss, change, or uncertainty make God’s new work difficult to see? [54:23]
2. Faith does not require people to call loss good or deny that grief hurts. How can someone honestly name grief while also trusting that God is still present and at work? [57:24]
3. Paul says that people plant and water, but God gives the growth. What does this mean for a church or a person who feels pressure to make every new effort succeed? [59:32]
4. Jesus sends the seventy-two out as guests who receive hospitality, offer peace, and look for healing. What does this suggest about joining God’s work in a neighborhood rather than simply bringing answers to people? [01:02:31]

Application questions

1. Is there a loss, ending, or change in your life that you have been trying to hold onto because you are not ready to let go? What would it look like to tell the truth about that grief before God without forcing yourself to call it good? [57:24]
2. Where might you be seeing only “falling leaves” or “bare ground” right now—at home, at work, in the church, or in your community? What small sign of life, however hidden or incomplete, might be worth paying attention to? [01:04:54]
3. Paul’s words free God’s people from having to manufacture growth. Where do you tend to measure your faithfulness only by visible results? What might planting, watering, loving, or simply showing up look like in that situation? [01:00:11]
4. God’s people are the church, and God’s Spirit dwells among them. How might that truth change the way you think about being Christ’s presence outside a worship space—in ordinary places like a workplace, school, store, or family gathering? [01:01:33]
5. Jesus sends disciples into homes and communities with open hands, ready both to give and to receive. Who in your life or neighborhood might you approach more as a guest and learner this week? What could it mean to receive their hospitality, story, or wisdom? [01:02:44]
6. “Gather, grow, and go” is a rhythm of Christian life. Which part of that rhythm feels most natural for you, and which part needs more attention right now: gathering around Christ, growing in compassion and justice, or going into the places where people carry joy and grief? [01:03:41]
7. God’s invitation may be no more than one beautiful, small, tiny step. What is one specific step you sense you can take this week to join God’s work of justice, healing, or hope? [01:06:18]