Holy Noticing | No. 2
God Is Smiling at You, Not Scowling

Nathan Martin • Lead Pastor
October 6, 2026

4 Minute Read

Each Sunday, we end our worship gathering with a benediction - a prayer of blessing designed to help us orient our lives around interacting with God in each moment of our lives. As we’re focusing on Holy Noticing over the next few weeks, we’ll break down each line of the benediction to help focus our thoughts throughout the day on God’s activity in our lives.

Our benediction states: May your chief joy in life be the Father’s deep and abiding delight in you!

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

“‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’

“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Numbers 6:22-27 (NIV)

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

Psalms 37:3-6 (NIV)

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 (NIV)

The most important thing about any of us is what we think about when we think about God. Certainly, it is true when it comes to Holy Noticing. I will not desire to seek God’s face if I am convinced that God is scowling at me, simply watching me with dull-eyed boredom, or even glaring at me, hoping to catch me slipping up so He can punish me. If that’s my picture of God, I will want to hide my face from Him.

But if I believe He is as the Scriptures describe His posture toward His children—smiling upon me with favor, His face shining toward me with love—then my eyes will naturally seek out His face. If you spend any time around babies or small children, you notice how much they love to catch your eye. Eye contact is critical to the mental and emotional development of children because it communicates safety, security, and affection.

Our God delights in His children. He has lavished His love on us! And He invites us to delight in Him in return. Our chief joy in each moment could be the Father’s deep and abiding delight in us. The goal of our day could be to turn our attention to His presence with us and seek His smiling face. But we must choose this.

Otherwise, we will settle for lesser delights. We will spend our moments anxiously trying to find something to enjoy. We’ll obsess over our next meal or an exciting way to spend the night. Or, worse, we might choose to simply zone out and mindlessly entertain our moments away.

But there is another way of life—a life of deep joy as I become more and more aware of the Father’s loving delight toward me, where, no matter how boring, difficult, or tiring the circumstances of my day may be, I can delight in the smiling face of my Father. And I might find that His joy is infectious, and it would lead me to share that joy with those He’s given me.

What will you choose today?

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From this Collection: Holy Noticing
October 8, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Holy Noticing | No. 4
Each Sunday, we end our worship gathering with a benediction - a prayer of blessing designed to help us orient our lives around interacting with God in each moment of our lives. As we’re focusing on Holy Noticing over the next few weeks, we’ll break down each line of the benediction to help focus our thoughts throughout the day on God’s activity in our lives. Our benediction states: As He sends you into the world to pursue the ones He is pursuing. Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:3-7 (NIV) On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:19-23 (NIV) One of the most remarkable things about God is that He doesn’t wait for His lost children to come to Him. Jesus describes the Father as a good shepherd on a tireless search for His lost sheep—not out of obligation, but from the anticipation of great rejoicing when the sheep is found. It’s the Father’s love that compels Him to seek those who don’t yet know they’re lost, and in His love, He has invited us to join Him in the search. After His resurrection, Jesus told His followers that He was sending them out just as the Father had sent Him. He filled them with His Holy Spirit and gave them the authority to proclaim the good news that Christ is forgiving sins and calling lost children home. And this same ministry has been passed on to you and me. Holy Noticing is not simply about becoming more aware that God is with me, but in becoming aware that the Spirit of God, who is alive and active in my life, is also active in the lives of those who don’t yet know His name. He is bringing conviction to their hearts, awakening a desire for life with Him—though they may not recognize this desire in themselves. But Christ has sent His followers out to join the Father in His pursuit of the one lost sheep. So this week, as you’re going around praying for God to open your eyes and ears and hands, would you begin to turn your attention to who God has placed in your life? Who are the people you see throughout your week—friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers? What if you began to pay attention to what God is doing in their life, so that when you see signs of His activity, you might be able to say to them, “I believe God is working in your life, and if you’d lean into Him, everything could change”? But it doesn’t begin with the right words to say; it begins with noticing how God is speaking to us and others. So let’s start listening.

Nathan Martin

Lead Pastor

October 7, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
Holy Noticing | No. 3
Each Sunday, we end our worship gathering with a benediction - a prayer of blessing designed to help us orient our lives around interacting with God in each moment of our lives. As we’re focusing on Holy Noticing over the next few weeks, we’ll break down each line of the benediction to help focus our thoughts throughout the day on God’s activity in our lives. Our benediction states: May You walk in step with the Holy Spirit in every moment. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:13-25 (NIV) Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:5-17 (NIV) There is a mindless way that most of us exist day by day. We don’t tend to think of ourselves as mindless because our minds are always racing—concerns over work responsibilities, errands that need to be run, worries for our children, anxiety about the future, and countless other rabbit holes our thoughts can scurry off to. But most of these notions that come into our brain are not things we have chosen to think upon. Our minds are the part of ourselves that chooses what we will think upon. To be mindless is to give up authority over our thoughts, and instead allow our desires, our fears, and even our sinful nature to direct our thinking. This is what the apostle Paul describes when he writes about “minds set on what the flesh desires.” It’s a mind that is held hostage by our moment-by-moment desires. This kind of living doesn’t lead to life. It leads to what Paul describes in Galatians as the “acts of the flesh.” We are led by our worst impulses and our most base desires. We are simply living to feed our appetites rather than directing our appetites toward delighting in God. But there is good news. Christ offers us a life of freedom—a life led by the Spirit, where our mind is set upon what the Spirit desires and God produces the fruit of life with Him within us. Our lives can be filled with loving affection toward others, joyful and peaceful approaches to our circumstances, patient and good and kind and gentle and faithful ways of interacting with friends and neighbors and family, and a way of life where we direct our minds and control our behavior rather than letting our desires rule us. But this life is a choice. It’s a moment-by-moment decision to direct our thinking away from whatever our minds naturally drift toward, and instead to turn our attention to the God who is present with us and actively bringing about our good in each moment. It’s a life of Holy Noticing. So what will you think upon today?

Nathan Martin

Lead Pastor

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October 6, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Holy Noticing | No. 2
Each Sunday, we end our worship gathering with a benediction - a prayer of blessing designed to help us orient our lives around interacting with God in each moment of our lives. As we’re focusing on Holy Noticing over the next few weeks, we’ll break down each line of the benediction to help focus our thoughts throughout the day on God’s activity in our lives. Our benediction states: May your chief joy in life be the Father’s deep and abiding delight in you! The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27 (NIV) Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalms 37:3-6 (NIV) See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 (NIV) The most important thing about any of us is what we think about when we think about God. Certainly, it is true when it comes to Holy Noticing. I will not desire to seek God’s face if I am convinced that God is scowling at me, simply watching me with dull-eyed boredom, or even glaring at me, hoping to catch me slipping up so He can punish me. If that’s my picture of God, I will want to hide my face from Him. But if I believe He is as the Scriptures describe His posture toward His children—smiling upon me with favor, His face shining toward me with love—then my eyes will naturally seek out His face. If you spend any time around babies or small children, you notice how much they love to catch your eye. Eye contact is critical to the mental and emotional development of children because it communicates safety, security, and affection. Our God delights in His children. He has lavished His love on us! And He invites us to delight in Him in return. Our chief joy in each moment could be the Father’s deep and abiding delight in us. The goal of our day could be to turn our attention to His presence with us and seek His smiling face. But we must choose this. Otherwise, we will settle for lesser delights. We will spend our moments anxiously trying to find something to enjoy. We’ll obsess over our next meal or an exciting way to spend the night. Or, worse, we might choose to simply zone out and mindlessly entertain our moments away. But there is another way of life—a life of deep joy as I become more and more aware of the Father’s loving delight toward me, where, no matter how boring, difficult, or tiring the circumstances of my day may be, I can delight in the smiling face of my Father. And I might find that His joy is infectious, and it would lead me to share that joy with those He’s given me. What will you choose today?

Nathan Martin

Lead Pastor

October 5, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Holy Noticing | No. 1
Each Sunday, we end our worship gathering with a benediction - a prayer of blessing designed to help us orient our lives around interacting with God in each moment of our lives. As we’re focusing on Holy Noticing over the next few weeks, we’ll break down each line of the benediction to help focus our thoughts throughout the day on God’s activity in our lives. Our benediction states: Go now in obedience and humble service to King Jesus. Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV) Our life with God begins, not with a choice on our part, but with God’s choice. Our life is a response to the love of God shown to us through Jesus—the love of God that led Jesus to give up the glory of angels’ praise and perfect splendor to take on flesh and blood to live among us; the humility of Christ that left the riches of heaven to become poor and take on the very nature of a servant; the obedience of Christ to follow His Father’s will even to death. It is by this great love of God that we are invited to share life with the Father, Son, and Spirit. And it is in response to this love that we choose to follow Christ’s example in the ordinary, day-to-day moments of our lives. We, too, must live in obedience and humble service to the King who gave His life for us. The humility required to live a life of obedience to Christ is described by the apostle Paul as “doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” Each day, we are presented with endless agenda items, to-do lists, and appointments that we must meet. And in each of those encounters, it is natural to focus on what we want to accomplish or get out of the situation. But a life of Holy Noticing is one where I am learning to be aware of God’s will in each moment—a life of noticing that God is at work around me, and He is inviting me to lay down my agenda so I may live by His will. So today, begin praying everywhere you go: “Father, open my eyes to see. Open my ears to hear. Open my hands to give, that your will may be done in me.” And as you do, allow the Spirit of God to lead you in humility to look less at what you want to see done, and instead to look to what God would want done—for the person in front of you or this work assignment on your desk. God has a way He desires the world to function, and He is at work making it so. Will you join Him?

Nathan Martin

Lead Pastor