Sunday Service 09/27/2026
The Shekinah Glory of God | Doug VanOrder | Dwell New Life City
What are we really asking for when we pray, “Lord, show us Your glory”?
We sing about God’s glory. We pray for His presence. We long for Him to move among us. But have we considered what it means to encounter the manifest glory of the living God?
In this message at Dwell New Life City, Doug VanOrder takes us on a journey through Scripture to explore the Shekinah Glory of God—the visible manifestation of God’s glory dwelling among His people.
Doug begins by explaining two important terms:
Shekinah is a term from Jewish tradition rooted in the idea of dwelling, settling, or residing. It is often used to describe the manifest presence of God among His people.
Kavod is the Hebrew word commonly translated as glory, carrying the sense of weight, honor, and majesty.
Together, these concepts help us consider the extraordinary moments throughout Scripture when the glory of God was revealed in ways people could perceive.
But before exploring those encounters, Doug asks us to consider an important question:
If God manifested His glory among us, how would we respond?
Isaiah saw the Lord seated on His throne and cried out in awareness of his own unworthiness.
Daniel was overwhelmed by the visions he received.
John, who had walked closely with Jesus during His earthly ministry, fell at the feet of the glorified Christ as though dead.
These were men who knew God, yet their encounters with His glory left them undone.
Doug also shares a deeply personal experience in which he was reminded of both the holiness of God and the extraordinary hope we have in Jesus Christ.
Our confidence in approaching God is not found in our own righteousness. It is found in Jesus.
Through His sacrifice, we have been invited into relationship with the Holy God whose presence caused mountains to tremble and people to fall on their faces.
Following the Glory Through Scripture
From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem, Doug traces the story of God’s desire to dwell among His people.
We see the Lord leading Israel through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.
We see His glory revealed at Mount Sinai through thunder, lightning, fire, smoke, and the trembling of the mountain.
We see the glory of the Lord fill the Tabernacle so completely that Moses could not enter.
We see fire come from before the Lord as the people worship, and later, the cloud of His presence filling Solomon’s Temple.
Yet Scripture also records the heartbreaking departure of God’s glory from the Temple in Ezekiel’s vision.
The story could have ended there.
But then came Jesus.
John 1:14 declares that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that we have seen His glory.
The God who revealed His presence through cloud and fire came near to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ.
And the story of God’s dwelling with His people reaches its ultimate fulfillment in Revelation, where we see the New Jerusalem illuminated by the glory of God.
The Bible’s story is not simply about humanity searching for God.
It is also the story of God making a way to dwell with His people.
SEEK. STAY. SET OUT.
Doug closes with a practical invitation drawn from Israel’s journey through the wilderness.
SEEK HIS PRESENCE.
Jeremiah 29 reminds us that when we seek the Lord with all our hearts, we will find Him.
May we never become so familiar with the things of God that we lose our hunger for His presence.
STAY IN HIS PRESENCE.
When the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, Israel remained in camp.
There is a time to stop striving, remain before the Lord, and simply be with Him.
SET OUT WHEN HE MOVES.
When the cloud lifted, Israel followed.
We cannot become so attached to where we experienced God yesterday that we refuse to follow where He is leading today.
The goal is not to preserve an experience.
The goal is to remain with Him wherever He leads.
May we become a people who approach the Lord with reverence and awe, seek His presence with our whole hearts, and willingly follow wherever He calls us.
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📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
Isaiah 6:1–7 — Isaiah encounters the holiness and glory of God.
Daniel 8:15–18, 27; 10:4–12 — Daniel is overwhelmed by heavenly visions.
Revelation 1:12–17 — John encounters the glorified Jesus.
Exodus 13:21–22 — The Lord leads Israel by cloud and fire.
Exodus 19:10–20 — God’s presence descends upon Mount Sinai.
Exodus 24:9–11 — Moses and the elders of Israel behold God.
Exodus 33:18–20 — Moses asks the Lord to show him His glory.
Exodus 40:34–38 — God’s glory fills the Tabernacle and His presence guides Israel.
1 Kings 8:10–11 — The glory of the Lord fills Solomon’s Temple.
John 1:14 — The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.
Revelation 21:3, 22–23 — God dwells with His people, and His glory illuminates the New Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 29:12–14 — Seeking the Lord with all our hearts.
Psalm 27:8 — “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
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A QUESTION TO CONSIDER
Are we willing to seek His presence, remain where He is moving, and follow Him when He calls us somewhere new?
Seek. Stay. Set Out.
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