The Presence of God from Eden to the New Creation

Camden Bucey speaks with Daniel R. Hyde about A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Presence of God (Christian Focus, 2026), tracing this great biblical theme from Eden’s garden sanctuary through the tabernacle, temple, exile, incarnation, church, and new creation. Scripture’s map leads not to a sacred location or a fleeting spiritual sensation, but to Jesus Christ, the true temple and the glory of God dwelling among us.The conversation also offers pastoral help for seasons when God feels distant. Feelings ebb and flow, but the Lord’s covenant promises remain sure. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ meets his people in the ordinary means of grace and gathers them as his body. The Christian hope reaches its fullness in Revelation 22:4: the redeemed will see God’s face in the risen and glorified Christ.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:58 A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Presence of God01:39 Ministry at Oceanside United Reformed Church02:59 The biblical theology series and the book’s origins05:28 Augustine and discovering the Bible’s great theme08:18 Is God’s presence a feeling?11:32 A map to a person, not a place12:59 Omnipresence and covenant presence16:42 God’s presence as blessing and judgment17:58 The presence of God across redemptive history18:29 Eden as the first earthly temple21:14 Edenic imagery in the tabernacle and temple24:49 Worship, geography, and reversing exile29:29 Exile and the departure of God’s glory32:45 Jesus Christ as the return of the glory33:05 When believers feel that God is distant37:34 The ordinary means of grace38:01 The Holy Spirit as a divine person40:57 God’s presence in the gathered church46:03 Seeing the face of God in Christ50:40 Living as the people of God’s presence52:49 Michael Morales’s book in Rome54:07 ConclusionResourcesA Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Presence of GodEpisode resourcesParticipantsCamden Bucey and Daniel R. Hyde