Expected the Unexpected — Week 1: From Mundane to Mircale
(• Bible Engagement Live, Volume 4)
Theme: When we learn to welcome God into the interruptions of our everyday life, He takes what feels ordinary and unexpected and turns it into something supernatural.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, church family.
Today we’re stepping into a brand-new series from the Bible Engagement Project called “Expect the Unexpected.” And honestly… doesn’t that describe life pretty well?
I mean, how many of you planned out your week… and then your week said, “Yeah, that’s cute. Try again.”
Life has this way of handing us interruptions.
Moments that weren’t on our calendar.
Conversations we didn’t think we had time for.
Needs we didn’t expect to walk into.
Situations we didn’t ask for.
And yet—over and over again—those are the places God loves to work.
Not the moments where everything is controlled, scheduled, predictable…
but the moments where something unexpected shows up and we choose to slow down long enough to see God in it.
This whole series is rooted in one simple truth:
God’s power often shows up in the interruptions we didn’t plan.
And today we look at an interruption that changed a man’s life, ignited a miracle, and opened a door for the gospel no one saw coming.
Peter and John… on an ordinary day… doing an ordinary thing… when God placed an interruption right in front of them and said,
“Pay attention. I’m in this moment.”
TRANSITION TO SCRIPTURE
If you have your Bible, go with me to Acts 3: 1-11
Let’s look at a moment that seemed like a regular day—until God stepped in.
1) God Often Works In The Moments We Don’t Notice
Acts 3 opens with what looks like a normal Tuesday.
Peter and John are doing something completely ordinary — going to the temple at the hour of prayer. Not a mission trip. Not a special gathering. Not a revival service. Just… routine faithfulness.
And a man—lame since birth—is being carried to the gate called Beautiful.
Same spot.
Same routine.
Same request for money.
Same story every single day.
Nothing looked special.
But God loves to step into the moments that feel “unspecial.”
Moments we might overlook.
Moments we might rush past.
Truth is:
Most divine appointments don’t look divine at first.
They look inconvenient. Interruptive. Out of the way.
We pray, “God, use me!”
But sometimes the moment He chooses doesn’t feel convenient.
Sometimes the miracle begins with someone you didn’t want to talk to…
or a situation you didn’t expect…
or a need you didn’t think you had time for.
MODERN ILLUSTRATION — THE DOORDASH PRAYER
I read a story of a pastor who ordered DoorDash. He didn’t want to talk; he just wanted food. He tried to quickly grab the bag and close the door—but the delivery driver said, “Hey man… could you pray for me? My wife left me this morning.”
He almost missed it.
But that unexpected interruption was the actual ministry of the night.
Church — sometimes what we call an interruption; God calls an assignment.
2) God Calls Us To See Whole People, Not Just Their Need
The beggar calls out for money.
He thinks he knows what he needs.
He thinks he knows what Peter and John have to offer.
But Scripture says Peter looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!”
Before Peter gave the man anything…
he gave him attention.
He didn’t see a problem.
He didn’t see a burden.
He didn’t see an inconvenience.
He saw a person.
One of the most Christlike things you can do in today’s world is to actually see people.
Look them in the eye.
Give attention.
Show presence.
Healing often begins when someone realizes,
“Someone sees me.”
Peter and John didn’t have money.
But they had something better:
the presence and power of Jesus.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION — JESUS SEES WHO OTHERS MISS
There’s a moment in the Gospels where Jesus comes face-to-face with someone drowning in grief…
and the way He responds shows us exactly how God sees people.
If you’ve got your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 7, and let’s read this together.
I want to read this straight from my Bible.
READ: Luke 7:11–15
Notice something powerful here:
Jesus didn’t wait for her to ask for help.
She didn’t pray a prayer.
She didn’t shout for Him.
She didn’t run to Him.
His compassion was triggered simply because He saw her.
He didn’t just see a funeral procession —
He saw a widow whose entire world had fallen apart.
He saw her story, her fear, her loneliness, her future…
and it moved Him to action.
And church — this is exactly what we’re talking about.
This is what it looks like to see whole people, not just their immediate need.
This is what it means to welcome the unexpected interruption, because that interruption might be the very moment God wants to reveal His heart to someone.
And this isn’t new for God.
This is who He has always been.
Hagar has been mistreated and driven into the wilderness, feeling completely alone and unseen—and it’s in that place that God comes to meet her.
READ: Genesis 16:7–16
Hagar becomes the only person in all of Scripture to give God a name.
She doesn’t say, “You are the God who fixes everything,”
or “You are the God who gives me what I want.”
She says, “You are the God who sees me.”
The God who sees the forgotten.
The hurting.
The overlooked.
The people others walk past.
The widow at Nain.
Hagar in the wilderness.
The beggar at the gate.
These stories show us the heart of God:
He doesn’t just fix problems. He sees people.
And if we’re going to walk with Jesus in the daily interruptions of life, then we have to slow down long enough to see the person in front of us… just like He does.
3) God Uses Our Obedience To Reveal His Power
Peter says:
“Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
He didn’t have the resource the man wanted…
but he had the authority the man needed.
Peter didn’t heal the man — Jesus did.
Peter simply obeyed the moment.
Instantly, strength enters the man’s ankles.
He jumps up.
He walks.
He leaps.
He praises.
He draws a crowd.
All from a moment that wasn’t on anyone’s calendar.
God took a mundane walk… and turned it into a miracle.
He took the man’s brokenness… and turned it into a testimony.
He took Peter’s obedience… and turned it into an opportunity for the gospel.
This is what God does.
He uses people willing to be interrupted.
Because here’s the thing: when God highlights something in His Word…
He often starts highlighting it in our week too.
And that happened to me these last few days.
REAL ALASKA STORY
As many of you know, I was in Eagle this week for work, and weather shut everything down.
Low visibility.
Heavy snow in Chicken.
IFR conditions.
Daylight restrictions.
Pilots grounded.
So, I was stuck.
Weathered in.
Refreshing METARs and forecasts every 30 minutes.
I just wanted to get home.
I had a plan.
I had things to do.
And every delay felt frustrating.
But as I waited, I kept thinking about a real bush-plane story from 2 years ago.
A man from Arctic Village was trying to fly to Fairbanks for medical appointments. His flight was delayed for weather, then visibility, then another passenger. Everything ran behind.
When he finally boarded — on a totally different flight than booked — he ended up seated next to a woman from Fort Yukon. Before the plane even leveled off, she was quietly crying.
He asked if she was okay.
She said her son had taken his life three days earlier. She was flying to be with family because she couldn’t be alone.
In that moment he said he knew —
“This is why God delayed me.”
Not the original flight.
Not the original schedule.
Not the original seat.
Right there in that little plane, he held her hand and prayed with her. She kept saying, “I don’t know why I told you all this.”
But he knew.
He later said:
“God didn’t delay the plane.
God delayed me, so I’d be in the right seat. ”
And church — sitting in Eagle this week, frustrated by weather delays — that hit me hard.
Maybe the delay isn’t the enemy.
Maybe the interruption isn’t the obstacle.
Maybe the slowdown isn’t a setback.
Maybe it’s a setup.
What we call an interruption… God often calls an assignment.
And here’s what I love about God: He never stops with just one person.
When He steps in, when He interrupts, when He moves — the impact almost always spreads farther than anyone expects.
Let me show you what I mean.
4) God’s Interruptions Impact More People Than We Think
When God steps into someone’s story, He rarely stops with just that one person.
We see it right in Acts 3 — the man is healed, but all the people see it, recognize him, gather around, and are filled with awe. What began with one broken man became a moment that grabbed an entire community’s attention.
And this isn’t just an Acts 3 pattern — it’s a God pattern.
Let me show you this ripple effect in Scripture:
Mark 5:18–20
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
One delivered man becomes a missionary to ten cities — and all the people were amazed.
Luke 19:8–9
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.
One transformation in Zacchaeus leads to justice for the poor and salvation for his whole house.
Daniel 3:28–29
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”
Three men’s obedience leads a nation to acknowledge the power of God.
Joshua 2:9–11
“I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
One miracle at the Red Sea impacts entire nations for decades.
Do you see the pattern?
One moment of miraculous interruption
is never just about one person.
One healing touches hundreds.
One testimony opens hearts.
One act of obedience influences families, cities, and nations.
One interruption ? becomes God’s invitation.
Church, the interruptions God places in your path may feel small in the moment… but you have no idea how far the ripple will go.
And that’s why these interruptions matter.
You don’t know whose life is connected to your obedience.
You don’t know who God is preparing on the other side of your yes.
APPLICATION
So how do we live this out?
1. Start your day asking God to interrupt you.
“Lord, open my eyes today. Slow me down. Make me aware.”
2. Expect God to place someone in your path.
A coworker.
A stranger.
A family member.
A neighbor.
A child.
3. Don’t dismiss the small moments.
Two minutes can be a miracle in the making.
4. Give what you do have.
You may not have silver or gold — but you have Jesus.
You have compassion.
You have presence.
You have prayer.
You have hope.
And someone in your path needs exactly that.
CLOSING STORY — THE WALMART LINE
A woman once complained that the older lady in front of her at Walmart was moving too slowly… until she overheard the cashier say, “I heard your husband passed away. I’ve been praying for you.”
Suddenly the “slow line” wasn’t a burden — it was a divine appointment.
Sometimes God slows us down…
so He can grow us up.
CLOSING CHALLENGE
This week, I want to invite you into one simple practice:
Expect the unexpected.
Ask God every morning:
“Lord, interrupt me if You want to use me.”
And when the interruption comes…
Stop. Look. Listen.
And let God work.
Because miracles often start in mundane moments we didn’t plan…
with people we didn’t expect…
in places we didn’t choose.
ALTAR RESPONSE
Sometimes the interruption feels like a failure, and it is more than we can carry. As we respond today, maybe you’re carrying an interruption that feels heavy. Maybe life has disrupted your plans. Maybe you need healing, direction, strength, or hope. Bring it to the altar and make room for God to move in your life…in your situation.
Come.
Let’s pray.
Let’s lean into the God who meets us in the unexpected.
Sing Make Room
Benediction
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.
And as you go into this week,
may He open your eyes to the moments you didn’t plan,
the people you might have walked past,
and the interruptions that may just be His invitation.
May you see Him in the ordinary,
sense Him in the unexpected,
and trust Him as He turns the mundane into a miracle.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
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i “Community After Loss” – KTUU (Anchorage), Human Interest Story, 2023.
