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Finding God in Dark Seasons through Psalm 139

You Are Never Alone: Finding God in Dark Seasons

Written by Havana Sonday on May 26, 2026. Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on You Are Never Alone: Finding God in Dark Seasons

Life inevitably brings seasons of grief, uncertainty, loneliness, and loss, but Psalm 139 reminds us that God never abandons His people. This week’s message explored how finding God in dark seasons begins with recognizing that God’s presence is constant—even when we don’t feel it.

This Week’s Sermon: The Presence of God

Key Takeaways

God knows every detail of your life and understands you more deeply than anyone else ever could.
God’s presence doesn’t depend on your feelings—He remains with you through every season.
Even the darkest moments cannot hide you from God’s love or His care.
Simple daily practices can help us become more aware of God’s constant presence.
Jesus invites us to live with hope because His light continues to shine in every darkness.

Sermon Highlights: Finding God in Dark Seasons

Life has a way of changing without warning. It can be a heartbreaking phone call. Sometimes it’s the loss of someone you love. Sometimes it’s a diagnosis, a broken relationship, or simply waking up one day realizing life doesn’t look the way you imagined it would.

Those moments often leave us asking difficult questions. Where is God? Does He see me? Has He forgotten me?

This week’s teaching reminded us that those questions are not new—and neither is God’s answer. Finding God in dark seasons isn’t about trying harder to feel spiritual. It’s about discovering the truth that God has already been with us all along.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The heart of this message is simple but deeply comforting: God is always present with His people. Whether we recognize His presence or not, He sees us, knows us, and walks with us through every season of life. Finding God in dark seasons begins when we trust God’s promises more than our changing emotions.

Key Scriptures

Psalm 139:1–12

David reflects on God’s complete knowledge of his life and His constant presence. No matter where David goes—or how dark life becomes—God is already there, guiding and holding him.

John 1:5

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This verse reminds us that Jesus’ light continues to shine even when darkness feels overwhelming.

1. Finding God in Dark Seasons Starts with God’s Presence

David’s life was filled with incredible victories, but it was also marked by loneliness, grief, betrayal, and heartbreak. He fled from enemies, mourned the loss of loved ones, experienced family conflict, and endured seasons of deep suffering. Yet through every chapter of his story, David came to understand one life-changing truth: God never left him.

“Whether I felt him or not, he was there.”

Psalm 139 opens with David celebrating the fact that God knows him completely. God doesn’t simply know facts about us. He knows our thoughts, our struggles, our fears, and even the parts of our lives we don’t fully understand ourselves.

For anyone finding God in dark seasons, this truth offers tremendous hope. We never have to convince God to notice us because He already does.

2. Finding God in Dark Seasons Means Trusting God More Than Your Feelings

One of the most encouraging parts of the message was the reminder that we won’t always feel God’s presence. Many believers experience seasons when God seems distant. Those feelings are real, but they are not the final reality. David asked, “Where can I go from your Spirit?” before answering his own question: nowhere.

Whether we find ourselves celebrating life’s greatest joys or sitting in its deepest pain, God remains faithful. His presence isn’t dependent on our emotions or our circumstances. Finding God in dark seasons means learning to trust God’s promises even when our feelings tell a different story.

3. Finding God in Dark Seasons Happens in Ordinary Moments

It’s easy to think God only works during dramatic spiritual experiences. Psalm 139 paints a different picture.

God notices when we sit down and when we stand up. He sees us at work, at home, driving to appointments, folding laundry, caring for our families, and lying awake at night. Most of life is made up of ordinary moments, and God is present in every one of them.

The pastor encouraged us not to focus on creating emotional experiences with God but on becoming more attentive to the God who is already near. Simple prayers throughout the day can become reminders that we never walk through life alone.

“The goal is not manufacturing spiritual feelings. The goal is learning to live attentively in the presence of a God who is already here.”

4. Finding God in Dark Seasons Leads Us to Hope

The sermon concluded by pointing toward Jesus and the hope found in His light. Communion, or the Eucharist, serves as a tangible reminder of God’s grace. It reminds us that God’s love isn’t based on perfect performance but on His faithful character. Even when we are distracted, weary, or struggling, God continues to welcome us.

The closing invitation centered on John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” That promise still holds true today. Finding God in dark seasons doesn’t mean darkness disappears overnight. It means darkness never gets the final word because Jesus is present with His people.

Practicing This Week

Begin each morning by reminding yourself, “God is with me.”
Take a few moments each day to talk with God about ordinary parts of your life.
Read Psalm 139 slowly this week and notice what it teaches about God’s presence.
Think back over a difficult season and ask where you can now see God’s faithfulness.
Remember that God’s grace is always available, even when you don’t feel close to Him.

Questions for Reflection

When have you experienced a season where God felt distant?
Which part of Psalm 139 speaks most deeply to your current circumstances?
How might remembering God’s constant presence change the way you face this week?
What ordinary moment could become an opportunity to talk with God today?
Where can you already see God’s faithfulness in seasons that once felt dark?

Every life includes seasons of uncertainty, grief, and pain. Yet the promise of Scripture remains unchanged: God is present, even when we cannot see Him clearly.

As you move through this week, remember that Jesus is not waiting for you to find Him before He draws near. He has already come close. His light continues to shine in every darkness, and His grace is always enough.

welcoming others like Jesus through grace instead of judgment

Dropping the Stones and Welcoming Others Like Jesus

Written by Kay Stonecypher on May 13, 2026. Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on Dropping the Stones and Welcoming Others Like Jesus

This week’s teaching explored how Jesus responds to people with grace instead of condemnation. Through Romans 15 and the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8, we were challenged to let go of judgment, extend warmth to others, and practice welcoming others like Jesus.

This Week’s Sermon: Welcoming Others

Key Takeaways

Everyone needs grace, which changes how we treat other people.
Welcoming others like Jesus begins with warmth, compassion, and humility.
Self-righteousness can be just as destructive as outward sin.
Jesus invites people out of shame without condemning them.
Letting go of bitterness and judgment creates space for healing and connection.

Sermon Highlights: Welcoming Others Like Jesus

Most people know what it feels like to be judged. Sometimes it happens through harsh words. Sometimes it happens through silence, coldness, or rejection. And if we are honest, most of us also know what it feels like to hold judgment toward someone else. Human relationships can become complicated very quickly.

This week at The Journey Church, the teaching focused on welcoming others like Jesus. Through stories of rescue, grace, and compassion, we were reminded that Jesus consistently moved toward broken people instead of away from them. He welcomed people with warmth, honesty, and love while still calling them into a better way of living.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The main idea of the message was this: welcoming others like Jesus means putting down our “stones” of judgment and learning to approach people with warmth, grace, and humility.

The sermon reminded listeners that every person carries pain, fear, regret, or loneliness that may not be visible on the surface. Because of that, followers of Jesus are called to become people who rescue, welcome, encourage, and create safe spaces for others instead of condemning them.

Key Scriptures

Romans 15:7
“Welcome one another just as Christ has welcomed you.” This passage served as the central invitation of the message. Welcoming others like Jesus means receiving people with warmth and grace before trying to fix or judge them.

John 8:1–11
The story of the woman caught in adultery showed the contrast between condemnation and compassion. While the religious leaders carried stones of judgment, Jesus responded with mercy, dignity, and truth.

Romans 1–12
The sermon referenced Romans as a broader picture of Christian faith and transformation. After explaining the grace of God, Paul calls believers to live differently by welcoming and loving others.

1. Welcoming Others Like Jesus Starts With Warmth

One of the most practical parts of the message focused on the idea of warmth. The pastor described warmth through simple things like facial expressions, tone of voice, curiosity, and kind words. These small things matter more than we often realize.

Many people are quietly carrying heavy burdens. Someone may be worried about their marriage, struggling financially, grieving, anxious, lonely, or overwhelmed. We often have no idea how much “rescuing” a person may need in a given moment.

Welcoming others like Jesus means choosing to become a safe and calming presence instead of adding more judgment or pressure to someone’s life. It means communicating, “You are okay here. I’m glad you’re here.”

2. Welcoming Others Like Jesus Means Dropping the Stones

The message spent significant time in John 8, where religious leaders drag a woman caught in adultery before Jesus. While they wanted condemnation, Jesus exposed something deeper happening in their own hearts.

The sermon explored the difference between “sins of the flesh” and “sins of the spirit.” Outward failures are often easier to notice, but hidden attitudes like superiority, bitterness, self-righteousness, and hatred can quietly shape the way people treat others.

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

The image of holding stones became a powerful metaphor throughout the teaching. Some people carry stones of resentment toward family members. Others hold stones toward coworkers, former friends, political opponents, or people they simply dislike or distrust. Over time, those stones become heavy.

Welcoming others like Jesus requires the courage to let those stones go. Jesus challenges every person in the story — and every person listening today — to examine their own heart before condemning someone else.

3. Welcoming Others Like Jesus Reflects Grace

At the center of the message was the grace of Jesus. After everyone leaves, Jesus tells the woman, “Neither do I condemn you.” Those words are deeply powerful because Jesus is the only person in the story without sin, yet He chooses compassion over condemnation.

That does not mean Jesus ignores destructive behavior. He still tells her to leave her life of sin behind. But He speaks truth from a place of love instead of shame.

“Welcoming others brings us closer to the heart of Jesus.”

Welcoming others like Jesus does not mean pretending sin does not matter. It means recognizing that every person is broken and in need of grace. The church is meant to become a place where people encounter that kind of grace and are slowly transformed by it.

4. Welcoming Others Like Jesus Changes Us Too

The sermon also reminded listeners that extending grace changes the giver as much as the receiver. Bitterness, judgment, and resentment slowly harden the human heart. Carrying those emotional stones eventually weighs people down spiritually and emotionally. But acts of kindness, forgiveness, honesty, and compassion begin softening those hardened places.

Welcoming others like Jesus moves people closer to the heart of Christ because Jesus Himself welcomed people who were ashamed, confused, fearful, and broken. That invitation still stands today.

Practicing This Week

Think about whether you are carrying any “stones” of bitterness or judgment toward someone.
Practice welcoming others like Jesus through warm words, attentive listening, or simple kindness.
Reach out to someone you may have distanced yourself from unnecessarily.
Ask God to reveal any hidden self-righteousness or resentment in your heart.
Encourage someone this week who may quietly feel lonely, ashamed, or overlooked.

Questions for Reflection

Who is hardest for you to welcome with grace right now?
What “stones” might you still be carrying emotionally?
When have you personally experienced undeserved grace from someone else?
How does Jesus’ response to the woman in John 8 challenge you?
What would welcoming others like Jesus look like in your daily life this week?

One of the beautiful truths in this week’s message is that Jesus welcomes people before they have everything figured out. He meets people in their shame, confusion, bitterness, and failure with grace and truth.

Welcoming others like Jesus begins when we remember that we also need mercy. None of us are beyond grace, and none of us are called to carry stones forever. Jesus still invites people into a different way of living — one shaped by compassion, courage, and love.

People at a church picnic sitting in the grass

Church Potluck Picnic in the Park

Written by Kay Stonecypher on May 9, 2026.

Church potluck picnic at Oakhurst Park Pavilion at 6:30 p.m. Bring a dish to share. The church will provide tableware, drinks, and ice cream. Feel free to bring outdoor games to share (cornhole, frisbee, etc.) See you there!

Women’s Group

Written by Kay Stonecypher on May 9, 2026.

This is a social group for women at The Journey Church. They usually meet on the 2nd Saturday of every month in a member’s home or somewhere in the community. If you’d like to be kept up to date on where the next gathering will be, please sign up on the Connect Tables at church and Christie Sears Thompson will reach out to you.

British tea party table setting for church fundraiser

British Tea Party Fundraiser

Written by Kay Stonecypher on May 9, 2026.

Kelly Thomas is hosting a British tea party, complete with a variety of teas, scones, and other treats on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th, from 3:00–5:00 p.m. Kelly is putting this on as a free-will fundraiser for those who would like to donate financially. All funds will go to The Journey Church. Please sign up at church on the Connect Tables at church on Sunday.

Finding true connection through God’s peace in relationships and faith.

Why We Struggle With Connection—and Where Peace Begins

Written by Kay Stonecypher on April 15, 2026. Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on Why We Struggle With Connection—and Where Peace Begins

This week’s teaching explored why we long for connection but often struggle to experience it, and how God’s design—and His peace—leads us back to wholeness. It matters because in a world full of relational tension, God offers a better way forward through shalom, a deeper kind of peace that restores connection.

This Week’s Sermon: I Desire Connection

Key Takeaways

We were created for connection, but brokenness often leads us to withdraw or attack instead.
Real relationships require vulnerability, even though it feels risky.
Every person carries brokenness, so grace is essential in every relationship.
God’s vision for relationships is shalom—deep, interconnected peace.
We can actively bring peace into our relationships by becoming “shalom makers.”

Sermon Highlights: Finding True Connection Through God’s Peace

Most of us want deeper connection in our lives—but we also know how complicated that can be. Relationships can feel risky. We’ve all experienced moments where opening up led to hurt, misunderstanding, or disappointment. So we learn to protect ourselves. Sometimes we pull back. Sometimes we push back. Either way, we end up stuck in a tension: we want connection, but we’re not sure how to get there without getting hurt.

That’s where this week’s teaching meets us—with an honest look at that tension and a hopeful path forward by finding true connection through God’s peace.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

We were created for deep, meaningful connection, but because of brokenness, we often struggle to experience it. The good news is that God invites us into finding true connection through God’s peace—a kind of relational wholeness the Bible calls shalom.

Key Scriptures

Genesis 1–3 — These chapters show God’s original design for connection, the introduction of brokenness, and the relational tension that followed.
Genesis 2:15–25 — Highlights that humans were created for meaningful work and deep connection, including vulnerability without shame.
2 Corinthians 5:17 — Points to the hope of becoming a new creation, moving us toward restoration.
Philippians 4:7 — Describes God’s peace as something that guards our hearts and minds.
Matthew 5:9 — Calls us to be peacemakers, or “shalom makers,” in the world.

1. Finding true connection starts with God’s design

In Genesis 2, we see a powerful truth: even in a perfect world, God says, “It is not good for man to be alone.” That’s not a flaw—it’s a clue. We were made for connection. Before anything was broken, there was relationship. Not just between people, but within God Himself. The Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit—reflects connection at the deepest level.

“Is there anybody I can love and who will love me? I just want somebody to love.”

Finding true connection through God’s peace begins by recognizing that connection isn’t optional for us. It’s foundational. When we ignore that, we feel it—loneliness, disconnection, or a sense that something isn’t quite right.

2. Finding true connection is hard because of brokenness

Genesis 3 introduces the reality we all live with now: broken relationships. Shame enters the picture. Hiding becomes normal. Vulnerability feels dangerous.

The sermon described this through the “porcupine dilemma.” Like porcupines, we have ways of hurting each other—through words, actions, or withdrawal. So we either pull away or lash out. And yet, even with all that, we still long for connection.

Finding true connection through God’s peace means acknowledging this tension honestly. We are all, in a sense, “as is”—each carrying our own wounds, patterns, and imperfections. Recognizing that doesn’t make relationships hopeless. It actually opens the door for grace.

3. Finding true connection through God’s peace requires vulnerability

One of the most striking images in Genesis 2 is this: “They were both naked and felt no shame.” It’s not just about physical vulnerability—it’s about emotional and relational openness. That kind of openness feels almost impossible now. We’ve learned to guard ourselves. We carefully choose what we reveal and what we hide.

But finding true connection through God’s peace involves moving, even slowly, toward that kind of honesty again. Not recklessly, but intentionally. It means allowing ourselves to be known—by God first, and then by others in safe, healthy ways. It’s not about perfection. It’s about trust, built over time, rooted in grace.

4. Finding true connection through God’s peace leads to shalom

The Bible’s vision for relationships isn’t just “getting along.” It’s something deeper: shalom. Shalom means peace—but not just the absence of conflict. It’s a sense of wholeness, harmony, and connection between God, people, and creation.

“Blessed are the shalom makers, the peacemakers.”

Finding true connection through God’s peace is really about stepping into that kind of life. A life where we are at peace within ourselves, which allows us to bring peace into our relationships. This is what Jesus invites us into. Not perfect relationships, but relationships marked by grace, safety, and growing connection.

Practicing This Week

Take a few minutes each day to ask God for peace in your inner life.
Notice where you tend to withdraw or attack in relationships, and pause before reacting.
Choose one relationship where you can take a small step toward honesty or openness.
Practice being a “shalom maker” by responding with patience instead of defensiveness.

Questions for Reflection

Where do I tend to withdraw or attack in my relationships?
What would it look like for me to experience more of God’s peace internally?
Is there a relationship where God might be inviting me toward greater openness?
How can I bring peace into my family, friendships, or workplace this week?

We don’t have to figure this out perfectly. The invitation isn’t to become flawless—it’s to become open to God’s work in us. As we move toward finding true connection through God’s peace, we can trust that He is already at work—restoring, healing, and reconnecting us, one step at a time. There is grace for the process. And there is hope for deeper connection than we may have thought possible.