When God is With His People

A Story of Presence and Distinction

Scott Uselman opened this sermon mindful that sometimes, as a church family, we need to “shake it off” and remember why we gather. He drew us to Exodus 34:10-28, the moment after Israel’s golden calf incident, a turning point for a people called to be different so that God would dwell among them.

He compared learning God’s ways to being held to educational standards. As he said, “If God has a standard, we want to make sure we're hitting His standard.” The real heart was this: our distinct calling, like Israel’s, comes from God’s desire to be present with us. Scott Uselman recalled a formative ministry experience in Indiana, “Rock,” short for Reclaiming Our Community’s Kids. What shaped that ministry was not just effort or good programs, but wanting the unmistakable presence of God to mark everything they did:

“What was different about our program…was that the presence of God was with us.”

It was not just about doing good; it was making room for God Himself to move through our work.

He gave a window into his life with God, recalling how he prayed to be genuinely changed, not just to look religious:

“I want people to know that you’re with me. I want to be distinct.”

Why Distinction Matters Before God

Scott Uselman led us to see the roots of Israel’s identity: deliverance from Egypt, the great acts of God, and then the solemn giving of the Ten Commandments, not hidden, but “read out loud to the entire nation.” He described this as more than a legal issue, it was intimately relational, “almost like a wedding ceremony,” where both parties made promises.

Yet Israel’s repeated temptation was to blend in with the nations around them. At the heart of this passage: God’s people are called to be radically distinct, not joining themselves to idol worship or mixing their lives with other gods. He read from Exodus, highlighting God’s jealousy, and made it clear:

“For God’s presence to continue to go with his people, for him to be among his people, for them to be distinct from the rest of the world, we have to be very careful to be distinct…we are not going to associate ourselves and mix ourselves with those who worship other gods.”

Scott Uselman was careful to clarify that this was not legalism or pride, but honoring God’s holiness so that His presence remains. He tied this to Jesus’ words to be “wise as serpents, as gentle as doves,” and to early church warnings about food sacrificed to idols.

He pressed on the subtlety of compromise: the temptation to align ourselves with practices or cultures not rooted in Christ. He said God’s presence should be what makes us unique as a church, not our resemblance to social programs or other religions. If we lose that, “it doesn’t matter” what else we do.

The Spiritual Feasts: Attending God’s Table

Scott Uselman next turned to the heart behind God’s commands for spiritual feasting. Ancient Israel was to celebrate the festivals given by God, as a way to remember and show that all life and provision came from Him. He compared the feasts to the church’s celebration of communion and Easter today, times we come together, not just for tradition, but to encounter God and dedicate ourselves anew.

He saw these celebrations as relational echoes of a marriage being restored after betrayal. When Israel failed with the golden calf, God showed a wounded love, yet insisted on clear, regular ways to reaffirm the relationship:

“Somehow when they did this with the golden calf, they actually hurt God. That’s why he said, ‘I am a jealous God.’”

“I'll know that you love me if you can do these things... I want you to appear before me. I want you to give me the first fruits... your fidelity should be to just me.”

Scott Uselman cast the spiritual feasts as moments to “appear before Jesus” as a family, bringing what we have, receiving what He gives, staying aligned with Christ alone. The point was not empty religiosity but the intentional honoring of God and living as a testimony to all who watch our lives.

Keeping the Ten Commandments: The Shape of a Holy Life

The final charge was to keep the Ten Commandments, but Scott Uselman was quick to ground this in ongoing relationship, not just external rules. God’s presence, he argued, comes when we give intentional effort to love Him and our neighbor. Even if we fall short of perfection, the point is the heart:

“If you want my presence to go with you, everybody has to say they’re going to honor these Ten Commandments that I have given.”

He explored the practical outworking of this in our ethics, relating it to stories from Ruth and James, but kept returning to Jesus’ summary: love God, love your neighbor. The distinctiveness God calls us to shows up as contentment, integrity, faithfulness, and a refusal to covet what is not ours.

Scott Uselman also unpacked the spiritual consequences of choosing otherwise, warning that drifting into aligning with other gods, practices, or values is not a small thing, it risks the very presence of God among us. He was not harsh, but deeply earnest:

“The church would do well in my opinion to be more focused on teaching how to remain in the presence of Jesus Christ rather than teaching we can do whatever we want in the presence of Jesus Christ.”

In the end, he summarized the principle: because God is holy, He expects His people to be holy. When His people are holy, He is present with them. Holiness, in the Wesleyan tradition, is not about pride but about loving people and refusing to participate in what grieves God.

As he closed, Scott Uselman called our church to search our lives for anything that might be pulling us away from distinct trust in Christ.

Living It Out

We are a people marked by God’s presence when we pursue distinction from the world’s idols, attend the tables God sets for us, and give effort to live the commandments as an act of love. This is not about perfection or earning, but about showing with our choices who really matters to us. Where are we called to be careful and intentional this week, so that God’s presence can be experienced more fully in our homes and our gatherings?

Discussion Questions

1. Where do we most feel the tension between blending in and standing out as people belonging to God?
2. How does participating in worship and communion change our awareness of God’s presence during the week?
3. What are practical ways we as a church family can help each other keep the spirit of the Ten Commandments and remain distinct for God?