UNEXPECTED PLACES

Summer at Bay Chapel  |  JULY 19, 2026Pastor Wes MorrisGenesis 28:10-17 (NIV) Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”God is often at work in the places we least expect.√ GOD MEETS US IN THE IN-BETWEEN.Genesis 28:10–11 (NIV) Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. √ GOD IS CLOSER THAN WE REALIZE.Genesis 28:15 (NIV) “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”√ GOD’S PRESENCE CHANGES OUR PERSPECTIVE.Genesis 28:17 (NIV) He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of Heaven."v11 A certain place...v16 Surely the Lord is in this place...v17 How awesome is this place...UNEXPECTED PLACESI. GOD, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SHOW ME IN THIS SEASON?Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. II. GOD, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO CHANGE IN ME?Romans 5:3-4 (TLB) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. III. GOD, HOW CAN I BE FAITHFUL WHILE I’M HERE?Colossians 3:23 (GNT) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.