Experiencing God
Knowing & Doing the Will of God
"God is inviting you into an intimate love relationship through which He reveals to you His will, His ways, and His work. When you recognize where God is working, you can join Him in what He is doing. Carefully listening to His voice will anchor you in His plan and set you free to live it with boldness and freedom. Then you will experience God doing through you what only He can do."
Class Hosted by Dean Orbison
Hear God's Voice
Discover how God speaks through His word, the Holy Spirit, and the circumstances He uses in your life. Learn to recognize His guidance and respond with confidence and faith.
What You'll Learn
Know God's Will
Gain a biblical understanding of God's will by learning to seek His direction, trust His timing, and follow His leadership one step at a time.
Spiritual Growth
Strengthen your relationship with Christ through daily obedience, prayer, and Bible study as your grow in faith and become more like Him.
Schedule
Day & Time
Select Sundays at 6:15 PM
Class Dates
June Dates: 14th & 28th
July Dates: 12th, 19th, & 26th
August Dates: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
Location
West Corinth Baptist Church - 120 Corinth Church Rd Mooresville, NC 28115
Frequently Asked Questions
The 'Experiencing God' class is open to all church members and visitors looking to deepen their spiritual walk and understand God's will for their lives.
What materials do I need to bring?
We encourage each participant to bring an Experiencing God workbook, a Bible, and a heart that is open to what God wants to teach you. Workbooks are available through the church while supplies last. If you do not have a Bible, we would be happy to provide one for you.
Is childcare provided?
Unfortunately, childcare is not available during this study. However, we are excited to offer an Experiencing God Youth Study that meets on the same days and at the same time for students ages 8 and up. This provides an opportunity for families to grow together while studying God's Word in age-appropriate classes.
What if I miss a session?
While regular attendance is encouraged for maximum growth, we will provide session summaries and can help you catch up on missed content. See below for unit recaps.
Who can attend this class?
Session Recaps
Unit 1 challenges us to reconsider how we approach God’s will. We often begin by asking, “What does God want me to do?” But the better starting point is God Himself. Following God is not primarily about receiving a detailed plan for our future but rather it is about developing a close relationship with the One who already knows the future.
Jesus modeled this perfectly. He did not act independently or simply ask God to bless His own plans. He watched to see what the Father was doing and joined Him. In the same way, God invites us to depend on Him one day at a time.
We may want God to reveal the entire journey before we take the first step, but He often gives us enough direction for the next act of obedience. As we walk closely with Him, He guides us according to His timing and purposes.
This week’s reminder: God’s will is not merely a destination to discover. It is a relationship to live.
📖 Unit 1 - God's Will & Your Life
📖 Unit 2 - Looking to God
Unit 2 teaches us to shift our attention away from ourselves and look to God. Our natural tendency is to create plans based on our abilities, resources, and preferences and then ask God to bless them. A God-centered life begins differently. It starts by asking, “What is God already doing, and how is He inviting me to participate?”
God is always at work accomplishing His purposes. Our responsibility is not to invent work for God but to remain spiritually alert, recognize His activity, and respond when He invites us to join Him.
This requires humility. God’s assignments are often greater than anything we could accomplish in our own strength. That is intentional. When God works through an obedient person, the results point to His power rather than human ability.
Looking to God also means releasing our right to control the outcome. We listen, wait, pray, and move when He directs us.
This week’s reminder: The question is not “What can I do for God?” but “What does God desire to do through me?”
📖 Unit 3 - God Pursues a Love Relationship
Unit 3 focuses on the foundation of the Christian life: God desires a continuing love relationship with us that is genuine and personal.
God does not merely want our service, attendance, or religious activity. He wants our hearts. Before we can understand His will or participate meaningfully in His work, we must learn to know Him, love Him, and remain close to Him.
Our relationship with God begins because He loved and pursued us first. He demonstrated that love most clearly through Jesus Christ. Our obedience is therefore not an attempt to earn His acceptance but rather it is a loving response to the grace we have already received.
Time spent in Scripture and prayer is not another obligation to complete. Instead, it is how we learn God’s character, recognize His voice, and deepen our trust in Him. When our love for God grows, obedience becomes an expression of relationship rather than empty duty.
This week’s reminder: God is more interested in who we are becoming than in how much religious activity we can accomplish.
📖 Unit 4 - Love and God's Expectation
Unit 4 connects our love relationship with God to His invitation to join His work. When God reveals something He is doing, that revelation is an invitation to become involved with Him.
God’s invitation may appear through a need, a conversation, a burden placed on our heart, an opportunity to serve, or a truth He emphasizes through Scripture. The invitation will always agree with God’s character and His Word.
Joining God requires us to remain available. We can become so committed to our schedules and plans that we overlook the work happening directly in front of us. But when we love God, we begin caring about what matters to Him. We become more sensitive to the people He places in our path and the needs He wants us to address.
God does not invite us because He needs our help. He invites us because He loves us and wants us to know Him more deeply through firsthand experience.
This week’s reminder: When God shows us where He is working, we should treat it as a personal invitation to respond.
📖 Unit 5 - God Speaks Part 1
Unit 5 reminds us that God speaks because He wants His people to know Him, understand His purposes, and participate in His work.
God communicates through the Holy Spirit, using Scripture, prayer, circumstances, and the church. These should never be treated as competing sources. God uses them together, and everything we believe we have heard must be tested against Scripture. God will never guide us in a way that contradicts His written Word.
When the Holy Spirit applies Scripture to our lives, the Bible becomes deeply personal. A familiar passage may suddenly expose a sin, answer a question, provide direction, or reveal something about God’s character. Prayer also becomes more than presenting requests, but rather it becomes a relationship in which we listen, respond, and allow God to shape our desires.
Recognizing God’s voice develops through closeness and obedience. The more faithfully we respond to what God has already shown us, the better prepared we are to recognize His continued direction.
This week’s reminder: God’s voice will always be consistent with God’s Word and character.
📖 Unit 6 - God Speaks Part 2
Unit 6 continues the discussion of how God communicates with His people. God may use circumstances and other believers to confirm what He is saying, but circumstances must be interpreted carefully and prayerfully.
An open door does not automatically mean something is God’s will, and a difficult situation does not necessarily mean we are outside His will. We must view circumstances from God’s perspective rather than relying only on appearances. Scripture provides the standard, while prayer helps us seek God’s wisdom and understand what He may be doing.
God also speaks through the church. The body of Christ. Mature believers can offer wisdom, correction, encouragement, and confirmation. We were never intended to make every spiritual decision in isolation.
Whenever God speaks, He reveals something about Himself, His purposes, or His ways. His communication is not merely about giving us information. It is designed to draw us into a deeper relationship and prepare us for obedience.
This week’s reminder: Hearing God requires patience, biblical discernment, prayer, and a willingness to listen to godly counsel.
- God works in sequence to accomplish His divine purpose.
- Two words in a Christian's language CANNOT go together: 'NO, GOD'
📖 Unit 7 - The Crisis of Belief
Unit 7 teaches that when God invites us to join His work, we often experience a crisis of belief. A moment when we must decide whether we truly trust Him.
God’s assignments frequently exceed our experience, resources, or natural ability. We may feel unqualified or afraid. At that moment, we must choose whether to focus on our limitations or on God’s power and faithfulness.
Faith is more than agreeing that God can do something. Biblical faith leads to action. What we do next reveals what we genuinely believe about God. Refusing to move until every risk disappears may feel responsible, but it can become delayed obedience when God has clearly spoken.
The crisis of belief is not necessarily a sign that we misunderstood God. It may be the exact place where our faith is being strengthened. God-sized assignments create opportunities for others to recognize that only God could have accomplished the result.
This week’s reminder: God’s invitation will often require faith because His work cannot be completed through human strength alone.
- When God speaks my response requires faith!
- Sight is the opposite of faith!
- When God lets me know what He wants to do through me, it will be something only God can do.
- WHAT I BELIEVE ABOUT GOD WILL DETERMINE WHAT I WILL DO!
📖 Unit 8 - Adjusting Your Life to God
Unit 8 emphasizes that we cannot continue living exactly as we have been and still follow God into a new assignment. Joining God requires adjustments.
Those adjustments may involve our schedule, relationships, finances, priorities, location, comfort, habits, or reputation. Sometimes the adjustment is external and visible and at other times, it is an internal surrender of pride, fear, control, or personal ambition.
We do not adjust our lives to earn God’s love. We make adjustments because we trust Him and want to follow where He leads. Knowing God’s will without responding is not enough. There comes a point when belief must become surrender.
Adjustments can feel costly because they require us to release what is familiar. Yet refusing to adjust may cause us to miss the experience of seeing God work through our obedience. Whatever God asks us to surrender is small compared with the privilege of walking closely with Him.
This week’s reminder: We do not ask God to adjust His plans to ours. We adjust our lives to Him.
📖 Unit 9 - Experiencing God Through Obedience
Unit 9 teaches that obedience is where we truly experience God at work. We may study His Word, recognize His invitation, and believe He has spoken but the experience remains incomplete until we obey.
In Scripture, love for God and obedience to God are inseparable. Obedience does not mean we understand every detail or feel completely prepared. It means we trust God enough to act on what He has revealed.
Our obedience also affects more than our own lives. A faithful response can bless our families, churches, workplaces, and communities. Likewise, disobedience may keep others from receiving something God intended to accomplish through us.
We should not measure obedience only by visible results. Sometimes God allows us to see immediate fruit; other times, the outcome develops slowly or remains hidden. Success is doing what God asked and entrusting the results to Him.
As we obey, we encounter God’s presence, power, and faithfulness in ways we could not experience from a distance.
This week’s reminder: We come to know God more deeply when we trust Him enough to obey.
📖 Unit 10 - God's Will & The Church
Unit 10 reminds us that discerning and doing God’s will is not limited to individuals. God also reveals His purposes to the church as the body of Christ.
Every believer has been given a place and function within the body. No member possesses every gift or sees the complete picture alone. As believers pray, study Scripture, share what God is doing, and listen to one another, the church can recognize God’s direction more clearly.
Unity does not require everyone to have the same personality, preference, or role. It means submitting our individual agendas to Christ, who is the Head of the church. When each member remains connected to Christ and serves faithfully, the entire body is strengthened.
Conflict often arises when personal preferences become more important than God’s purposes. The answer is not uniformity but spiritual maturity, humility, love, and a shared desire to obey God.
This week’s reminder: God places believers in a church so that we can hear, serve, grow, and participate in His work together.
📖 Unit 11 - Kingdom People
Unit 11 expands our focus beyond ourselves and our individual congregations. God is working throughout the world to advance His kingdom, and He invites His people to see life from that larger perspective.
Kingdom people are more concerned with God receiving glory than with receiving recognition themselves. They celebrate whenever God works, even when another person, ministry, or church receives the opportunity. Competition gives way to cooperation because the true goal is not building our own name but it is making Christ known.
A kingdom perspective also changes how we view our everyday lives. Our homes, workplaces, resources, relationships, and abilities all become opportunities to represent Christ and participate in His mission.
God may call us to cross barriers of culture, comfort, denomination, generation, or background. When He does, we must remember that His kingdom is larger than our familiar circles.
This week’s reminder: God’s work is far greater than any one person or congregation, yet He graciously gives each of us a role within it.
📖 Unit 12 - Experiencing God in Your Daily Life
Unit 12 brings the study’s lessons into everyday life. Experiencing God is not meant to be a temporary program or a collection of ideas. It is an ongoing way of walking with Him.
Each day, we can remain attentive to God’s activity, nurture our relationship with Him, recognize His invitations, listen for His voice, respond in faith, make necessary adjustments, and obey what He reveals.
Spiritual growth does not end when the study concludes. God continues shaping us through Scripture, prayer, circumstances, the church, and acts of obedience. We should regularly remember what He has taught us and share testimonies of His faithfulness. Remembering God’s work strengthens our faith for the next assignment.
There may be seasons when God’s activity seems obvious and seasons when He appears quiet. In both, we remain faithful. We continue seeking Him, trusting His character, and obeying the truth He has already given us.
This week’s reminder: Experiencing God is not merely knowing facts about Him. It is knowing Him personally and walking with Him daily.
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"Before starting Experiencing God, I often found myself asking God to bless the plans I had already made. This study has completely changed my perspective. I've learned to slow down, spend more time in prayer, and look for where God is already working instead of trying to fit Him into my plans. Each week has challenged me to trust Him more, and I've already seen Him open doors and answer prayers in ways I wasn't expecting. If you're looking to grow closer to God and strengthen your faith, I can't recommend this study enough."
Briana Brown
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"Even in the short time we've been doing the Experiencing God study, God has shown me how He can use His people in ways that seem so simple. Looking back, I realize there were opportunities I may not have recognized before, but now I see His hand at work more clearly.
The one thing that stands out to me the most is that God is working all around us. If we want to join Him in what He is doing, it requires adjustments in our lives. Sometimes that means following Him without knowing exactly where He is leading or what the end result will be. It simply requires trusting Him and being obedient one step at a time.
This study has already challenged me to look for where God is at work and be willing to join Him. God doesn't make mistakes, and we are where we are in our lives because of His will and His purpose."
Kathy Hardwick
Class Member Testimonies
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"In today’s busy and demanding world, taking the time to reflect and build a personal relationship with God is sometimes pushed to the back burner. Experiencing God is a great study that teaches you to slow down and listen to God."
Valerie Bowen
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"I was convicted on day one of the 1st week! Most of my jobs have been in some form of retail where I was in charge or management. I've been told that I was "bossy". I always planned my week according to what had to be done and how we would accomplish everything! Day 1 taught me that I need to follow Jesus one day at a time! I need to slow down MY thoughts and listen for God to tell me what to do one step at a time!"
Linda Moody
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"Experiencing God strengthened my walk with Christ.
This study helped me recognize God's work in my everyday life and trust His plan more than my own. I learned that following Him is about joining Him where He is already at work. My faith has grown, my prayer life is stronger, and I have a deeper peace knowing He is leading each step. I would encourage anyone to take this class—you won't leave the same."
Anonymous
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"During this 3 weeks of this study, I have found that my personal relationship with God has been lacking on my end. As I was going over Day 1 of Week 3 the question came up, "Do you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind?"
As I was preying and reflecting on this question I came to realize that I DO, not because of anything I did but it is what He has done for me.
Here are a few reasons that came to mind:
- First and foremost, the works of the cross (death, burial, and resurrection).
- The removal of alcoholism, the use of tobacco products, being with me through the death of my mom and dad, and the most recent being with me through my battle with cancer.
God has been with me even when I wasn't with him, moving all around me when I was blind."
Earl Greer
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"I came to learn, but I left transformed.
Experiencing God challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and trust God in new ways. It reminded me that He is always working around us—we simply have to be willing to follow. This study renewed my faith, encouraged my heart, and gave me practical ways to grow closer to the Lord every day. I'm so thankful I took this class."
Anonymous