Erasing the Engraving to an Unknown God

• Preacher: The Rev. Andrew Van Kirk

• Scripture: John 14:15-21

Reflection Questions

1. Reflection Questions

   1. The sermon argues that "In God We Trust" is functionally agnostic — it says something about us but nothing substantive about God. In your professional or neighborhood circles, where polite religious vagueness is often the norm, what would it look like to speak about a knowable God without being preachy or off-putting?

   2. We often "search and grope for things that are significant enough for us to feel something, but not significant enough to demand we change." Looking honestly at the past week, what activities or pursuits filled that role for you? Where did you reach for emotional engagement that came without the cost of transformation?

   3. The sermon names prestige TV, alcohol, sports, music, politics, social media, and news as common ways we "numb our spiritual senses." Which one of these is your particular drug of choice in this season of life, and what do you think you're really seeking when you reach for it?

   4. How does the way you spend unstructured time reflect what you actually believe about whether God can be known?

   5. Jesus ties knowing God to keeping his commandments — "clean up your room because company (the Holy Spirit) is coming." What's one specific area of obedience you've been treating as optional? How might addressing it open up your capacity to actually experience God's presence?

   6. "If you're feeling short on one [holiness or knowledge of God], you're probably feeling short on the other." Without going into more detail than you're comfortable sharing, which one feels shorter for you right now, and what would be a realistic first step toward the other?