Sermon Title: Encountering God
Scripture: Mark 1:32-39

“Behold, my beloved, I have shown you the power of silence, how thoroughly it heals and how fully pleasing it is to God … it is by silence that the saints grew … it was because of silence that the power of God dwelt in them, because of silence that the mysteries of God were known to them.” Father Ammonas, cited in “Celebration of Discipline” - Richard Foster

Notice in this story, like so many others, you see Jesus’ pattern of retreat and return

I. Identity. Who we experience ourselves to be.

In solitude, we encounter what Nouwen called “the inner voice of love” — the voice of God, speaking over our life exactly as we are, with all our flaws and failures as well as our successes and victories.

II. Calling

“We do not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them.” “New Seeds of Contemplation” - Thomas Merton

III. Hearing.

When we go into solitude, we spend most of the time just listening:

To Scripture

To the circumstances of our life

To the whisperings of our heart

To the thoughts God gives us

Listening is at the heart of true spirituality

Additional Notes: