"Can God Really Dwell on Earth?" (June 7, 2026 Sermon)

Text: 1 Kings 8:22-30

Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

God might meet us in a breathtaking sanctuary, but that does not mean God lives there. We open with 1 Kings 8:22–30, Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication, and sit with the surprising honesty at its center: “Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built.” That single line reframes how we think about temple, church, and sacred space. 

We talk about why beautiful worship spaces matter, not as trophies but as places where real people gather to sing, pray, celebrate baptisms and weddings, and grieve at funerals. We also name the subtle temptation many of us carry: turning a sanctuary into a way to manage the holy, as if God is safer when we can point to an address and a schedule. Solomon’s wisdom pushes back, and it invites a bigger, freer faith. 

From the pulpit to the week ahead, the message turns practical. God dwells in hospital rooms and waiting areas, in veterinary offices, at kitchen tables when money is tight, in graduation auditoriums full of hope and fear, and in every place where love and loss collide. Communion becomes the sending practice that ties it together: we come to the table to meet God here, and we leave ready to notice that God is already out there, too. If this encourages you, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Let

Opening Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:01

us pray. May your word fall into our hearts this day, O God, as breath comes into dust, as water feeds rivers and fields, rich with healing, abundant, alive, and true. Amen.

Scripture Reading From 1 Kings

SPEAKER_00 0:22

The scripture reading today is 1 Kings chapter 8, 22 through 30. And this is also known as Solomon's Prayer of Dedication. Please listen for the word of God. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love with your servants who walk before you with all their heart. The covenant that you kept for your servant, my father David, as you declared to him, you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant, my father David, that which you promised him, saying, There shall never fail you as successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel. If only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me. Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed that you promised to your servant, my Father David. But will God indeed dwell on earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built. Regard your servant's prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, My name shall be there, that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays towards this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Oh, here in heaven, your dwelling place, hear and forgive. Holy wisdom, holy word.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Alright, friends,

Why We Build Sacred Spaces

SPEAKER_01 2:51

y'all get a little bit of an unscripted sermon this day because it's been one of those weeks. Uh, so it will keep my comments brief, and I'm I am grateful this morning for the anthem that Jordan and Abigail just lifted up for us because it is an incredible segue into the text that we have before us, specifically the line that they just sang, that the heavens are your tabernacle, the heavens are your tabernacle. And God of glory beyond our galaxy is a really great segue into this story that we have before us, which is the story of Solomon dedicating the temple that had been years and years in the making as he began his reign. So, friends, let us pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. So, yes, indeed, the heavens are God's tabernacle, but most of us don't have the ability to go to the heavens, so we make places like this where we can come and encounter God. And I want to begin by saying that that is not a bad thing. I have had the privilege of worshiping in some of the world's most fantastic, beautiful places of worship. I have stood uh at uh mine and Trisha's honeymoon. We went to Rome, so we stood in St. Peter's Basilica. How many of you all have been to St. Peter's, right? It's hard to imagine, it's hard to explain just how big and beautiful of a space that is. And St. Peter's Square with the arms reaching out and embraced to the world as Jesus would have us do. Back in college, um 20 years ago, because I'm realizing that now, um, I went to uh to Istanbul, Turkey, and was able to stand in the Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque, where in the Aya Sophia, it's so grand, you can look up and you can literally see birds just soaring up at the top. Um I've I've worshipped at Washington National Cathedral. Uh I've been blessed to do two weddings uh this uh this year at uh at Duke Chapel, even though I hate Duke, that's a beautiful space right there. It's a beautiful space. And uh and Jasmine and Joshua, that's many of you all know, uh, had their wedding at Riverside Church in in Manhattan. These beautiful spaces. And of course, I want to include our own beautiful space here that may humble in comparison by size, but is no less a beautiful space that means so much to all of us and for good reason. This space is one of many factors of why I chose to be your your um your pastor. It was very low on the list because I came here for the people, but the people of this church have gathered in this space since Donna Barrier. What has it been? Since the late 50s? Is that when this cathedral was was built? I think it was 1958, I think it was. But for decades and decades, this sanctuary has been a beautiful place where we have gathered to marry, uh marry one another and to baptize, celebrate baptisms. We have gathered in this space to worship and to sing, to cry as we've said goodbye to loved ones. I love that this worship space that we gather in truly is ours. If you have, if you're maybe a little bit new to our congregation, if you haven't had the chance when you leave this day, look at the wood carvings that are on the end of all of the pews that were carved by members of this congregation nearly 75 years ago. This table that we are going to break bread with was built by Rick Cromer, who we sang to heaven about a year ago. And these beautiful stained glass windows, which were purchased back in the 50s for a whopping sum of like $600. Um, but aren't they beautiful? This is a wonderful space where we gather, and I want to honor that and give thanks to that. And

Solomon Dedicates The Temple

SPEAKER_01 7:07

I kind of want to set the stage with that because at this point in 1 Kings, it's been several years since Solomon has prayed that prayer that we that we journeyed with last week, where he asked God for for a Lev Shomeah, a listening heart. And in the time since, he has spent a very long time building this temple over years and years and years. It was a staggering achievement. If you are having trouble falling asleep at night and want a couple chapters of the Bible to fall asleep to, the chapters that precede today's story, uh today's story do nothing but list out in excruciating detail the dimensions and the adornments of the temple. And then we get to this place after years and years of building this temple that it's time to dedicate it. And it's important to recognize that this temple was not just a theological accomplishment, it was a political decision that was meant to really place Israel on the geopolitical map with the other big players. So there are a lot of different reasons that they have built this temple, but in this moment, Solomon gathers all of the people together in this beautiful worship space and gives thanks to God for the fact that God is meeting them there and goes on and on about how the holy will be met there. So

God Cannot Be Contained

SPEAKER_01 8:32

we hold that in one hand, and Solomon does this crazy curveball after giving thanks, rightfully so, that God is met in this place, whether that is the temple or here at Guilford Park or St. Peter's or a small little church out in the middle of rural North Carolina, it doesn't matter. This is where God finds us, and yet Solomon has the wisdom to say the following But will God indeed dwell on earth? Solomon goes on to say, this is in verse 27, even heaven and the highest, uh even the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that we have built. I love that line because I think Solomon knew what many of us know that sometimes we have a tendency to treat our worship spaces in ways that we don't always realize, in ways that I don't think that we intend to try to domesticate God, as Walter Brugman said at many times during his scholarship, that whether we realize or not, sometimes if we're not careful, the places that we build to gather can be a place where we manage and try to possess the holy. But Solomon says that cannot be done. And I kind of want us to remember that this day, that yes, indeed, this place is holy. It is where we gather to sing, to pray, to wonder, to be challenged by the words of Scripture, and yet Solomon was right that we cannot contain God in this space. My guess is that a sermon such as this has been preached from this pulpit before. But we all, pastors included, myself included, need that reminder for time

Communion As A Sending Practice

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to time. Because yes, God is here, but God dwells everywhere. God dwells in the hospital room beside the bed of Skip Bailey a few weeks ago when I gathered with his family to sing there is a balm in Gilead. God dwells in the veterinary office when we gather to say goodbye to our furry loved ones. God dwells at the kitchen table with uncomfortable conversations about how we're going to afford groceries or rent. God dwells in the auditorium where our graduates are celebrating their achievement and wondering what is next. God will dwell wherever this bread is taken after this worship service to our sick and our homebound. I think that's what makes communion such a special thing that we do mostly in this room, but not always, because we come to the table, we are gathered in this beautiful space to dwell with God, and then we leave with God, and God goes with us. So your simple homework assignment this day is to come to the table, come just as you are, with whatever brokenness you may feel, whatever joy or burdens you may carry, and dwell with God in this space. Meet God here, really here, and then carry the God you meet here into all the places in the world where God already dwells. In the name of God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, may all of us God's beloved children say Amen.