Sermon – Making Room for God’s Future
Exodus 14:19-31; Romans 14:1-14; Matthew 18:21-35
Sermon preached by The Rev’d Helen Phillips on Sunday 13 September, 2026
There are moments in the life of every church when the way ahead is not immediately clear.
We may sense that something is changing. We may recognise that the patterns which brought us to this point will not necessarily carry us into the future. We may believe that God is inviting us to move, yet still be unable to see the whole path.
We would often prefer God to provide a detailed map. We would like to know where we are going, what will be required of us, and what the outcome will be.
God, however, often gives us something other than a map. God gives us his presence, his promises, one another, and enough light for the next faithful step.
That is why today’s readings are such a helpful place from which to begin the Missional Discernment Pathways process.
In Exodus, the people of Israel find themselves at the edge of the sea. Behind them is Pharaoh’s army. In front of them is an obstacle they cannot cross. The way forward appears impossible.
Yet God is present.
The pillar of cloud comes between the Israelites and the Egyptian army. The wind blows. The waters part. A path appears where, only moments before, there was no path.
The Israelites do not create the way forward. God opens it.
Their part is to trust God enough to step into it.
We may imagine that they marched confidently through the sea without hesitation. The reality was probably rather more human. There may have been questions and uncertainty. Some may have wanted to go first, while others hung back. Some may have looked towards the far shore with hope, while others kept looking over their shoulders at what was behind them.
Faith does not mean that everyone feels equally confident. Faith means that, together, we learn to recognise and respond to the movement of God.
That is at the heart of missional discernment.
Missional discernment is not primarily about producing a plan for the parish. It is not simply about maintaining everything we currently do, attracting more people, or securing the future of the institution.
It begins with deeper questions.
Where is God already at work?
What is God doing in and around this parish?
Who are the people among whom God has placed us?
What might God be inviting us to notice, to release, to begin, or to become?
We begin with the conviction that God is present and active. The path may not yet be obvious, but God is able to make a way where we cannot presently see one.
Romans 14 tells us something about how we travel that path together.
The Christians in Rome had differing convictions about food and sacred days. These were not trivial matters to them. Their practices were connected with conscience, identity and faithfulness.
Paul does not simply declare that one group is right and the other is wrong. Instead, he says:
“Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions.”
Paul recognises that Christians can sincerely seek to honour God and still reach different conclusions. Their practices differ, but their deepest allegiance is shared.
He therefore asks:
“Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister?”
Those are important questions for any church entering a season of discernment.
When we begin talking about mission, ministry and the future, we will not all see the same things. We will bring different experiences, hopes and concerns.
Some people may be excited by the possibility of change. Others may be anxious about what could be lost. Some may want to move quickly. Others may need more time to listen, pray and understand.
These different responses do not necessarily indicate faithfulness on one side and faithlessness on the other.
The person who values what has been inherited may be honouring God through gratitude and faithful stewardship. The person calling for something new may be honouring God through attentiveness to the Spirit and concern for those beyond the present congregation.
We need both memory and imagination. We need people who help us remember who we are, and people who help us consider who God may be calling us to become.
The challenge is to resist turning our preferences into tests of someone else’s faithfulness.
Paul reminds us:
“We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.”
None of us belongs only to ourselves. The parish does not belong to any individual, group or generation. The church belongs to Christ.
“If we live, we live to the Lord.”
This changes the central question.
The question is no longer, “How do I make sure that my preferred outcome is chosen?”
The question becomes, “How might we, together, live faithfully to the Lord?”
That requires generosity. It requires us to listen without immediately preparing our reply. It requires us to believe that another person may notice something we have missed.
It also requires humility.
None of us can see the whole picture. Clergy cannot see it alone. Parish leaders cannot see it alone. Long-standing members cannot see it alone. Newcomers cannot see it alone.
The wider community also has experiences, needs, gifts and questions to which we must listen.
God often reveals the way forward as the people of God pray, listen, speak honestly, and attend carefully to one another.
Today’s Gospel adds one more essential quality: grace.
Peter asks Jesus how often he must forgive another member of the church. He suggests seven times, which already sounds generous. Jesus answers:
“Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”
Any genuine discernment process will include moments when we misunderstand one another. Someone may speak clumsily. Someone may feel unheard. Old frustrations may surface. We may become defensive when something we cherish is questioned.
At such moments, our task is not to pretend that everything is fine. Our task is to remain committed to one another in Christ. We tell the truth with love. We seek understanding. We ask forgiveness when we need to. We offer forgiveness because we ourselves live by the mercy of God.
This is how a group of people with different opinions becomes a discerning Christian community.
Over the coming months, the Missional Discernment Pathways process will invite you to listen.
You will listen to Scripture and to the Spirit.
You will listen to one another.
You will listen to the story of this parish, giving thanks for the faithfulness that has brought you to this moment.
You will listen to the people and community around you.
You will look for signs of God’s activity and begin imagining how Walkerville might participate more fully in what God is already doing.
The purpose is not to impose a predetermined answer. It is to create the space in which we can discern God’s invitation together.
The Israelites could not see a path until God opened it. The Christians in Rome could not follow Christ faithfully while judging or despising one another. The disciples could not embody the kingdom without becoming people shaped by grace.
These readings therefore give us three commitments with which to begin.
We will trust that God is present and able to make a way.
We will welcome one another without quarrelling over opinions.
We will practise the grace that we ourselves have received.
The path may not yet be clear. We may not all travel at the same pace. We may have different perspectives about what faithfulness will look like.
Yet we do not travel alone, and we do not undertake this work for ourselves.
We live to the Lord.
This church belongs to the Lord.
This community is loved by the Lord.
The future into which we are being invited is already held by the Lord.
Our task is to listen, to trust, and to take the next faithful step together. Amen.