Sermon Note: God is In the Radio

Introduction

What if God is speaking through the songs we already know? That’s the question we’re exploring in this new series, God is In the Radio. For the next several weeks, we’ll be listening with theological curiosity to music that wasn’t written for church—but might still hold sacred echoes. By pairing secular songs with scripture, we’re practicing spiritual listening—tuning our hearts to hear grace breaking through the static.

This week’s message launches the series with the Queens of the Stone Age song that inspired the title itself. “God is In the Radio” is gritty, ambiguous, and strangely reverent. It pulses with a sense of longing and presence—suggesting that something holy might be leaking through the noise. As we begin, we ask: Could it be that God is still speaking—between the frequencies, under the noise, in the middle of our real lives?

Illustration Video

Video Discussion Questions

1. What emotions or thoughts did you experience while listening to the song?
2. What do you think it means to say “God is in the radio”? Is that statement hopeful, cynical, confused—or something else?
3. The lyric “leaking through the stereo” suggests a subtle presence. Have you ever experienced God’s presence in a surprising or unexpected place?
4. The refrain repeats: “You come back another day and do no wrong.” What spiritual resonance—if any—do you hear in that line?
5. Does the song feel like a prayer, a protest, a confession, or something else entirely? Why?
6. How does the mood or atmosphere of the song shape your interpretation of its message?
7. Can music without religious intent still be spiritually meaningful? Why or why not?
8. What do you think it means to “tune in” spiritually? What interferes with that?
9. If this song is a metaphor, what might it be trying to express about longing or divine presence?
10. What would it look like in your life to listen for God “between the stations”?

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 (NRSVue)

¹²“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.

¹⁶“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

²⁰The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

Study Questions

1. In verse 13, Christ identifies himself as “the Alpha and the Omega.” How does this image of Christ as both origin and fulfillment shape your understanding of God’s role—not just in history, but in your present life?
2. Verse 14 speaks of “washing robes” to gain access to the tree of life. What might it mean, in a practical or spiritual sense, to “wash your robe”? How do daily practices of grace, justice, and compassion prepare us to live into God’s kingdom?
3. The invitation in verse 17 is strikingly open: “Let everyone who is thirsty come.” What does this reveal about God’s inclusivity? How might it challenge modern assumptions about who is “worthy” of grace? Does this conflict in your mind with verse 14? Why or why not?
4. The recurring promise—“I am coming soon”—can feel both comforting and ambiguous. How do you understand this sense of divine imminence today? What does it mean to live in hopeful readiness without fear or urgency that excludes others?
5. Revelation ends with a benediction of grace (v21). Why do you think grace has the final word in scripture? How does this closing line offer perspective for how we live, love, and listen in a chaotic world?
6. Revelation 22 echoes the image of the tree of life from Genesis. What does it mean that scripture ends where it began—at the tree—and how might this shape your understanding of redemption as restoration?

Weekly Action

Choose one space in your daily routine—your commute, your morning coffee, a walk, or even the background hum of home life—and treat it as sacred. Pause and listen for God, not necessarily in words but in feeling, rhythm, silence, or surprise. If music is playing, listen twice: once with your ears, and once with your spirit. Each day, ask: “Where might God be leaking through the static today?” Write down one observation, lyric, phrase, or moment of clarity that helped you “tune in” to the Spirit’s presence. Hold this prayerfully in your heart, and consider sharing it with a family member or trusted spiritual partner.

Prayer

Creator of the universe, you made the world in beauty and restore all things in glory through the victory of Jesus Christ. Wherever your image is still disfigured by poverty, sickness, selfishness, war, or greed, may the new creation in Christ appear in acts of justice, love, and peace. Attune our hearts to your voice—not only in scripture, but in the noise and nuance of our world. May we listen for your Spirit in unexpected places, unlikely voices, and even through static. Come, Lord Jesus, and help us to hear. Amen.

Disclosure: This Sermon Note was created by LJUMC staff with resources from Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church and with the support of AI tools.