September 2026
A Way Through: Walking with God Through the Wilderness
September has always felt like a month of transition to me. Summer begins to loosen its grip, school is back in session, routines return, and we start looking toward fall. There’s a sense that we’re moving from one season into another.
That makes September a fitting time for us to spend a few weeks with the Israelites in the book of Exodus.
Our September sermon series is called “A Way Through: Walking with God Through the Wilderness.” We’ll follow God’s people through some moments when they weren’t quite sure what was going to happen next. They’ll stand at the edge of the Red Sea with nowhere to go. They’ll wonder where their next meal will come from. They’ll become thirsty and frustrated in the wilderness.
And through it all, God will be there.
September 6 – “When Relationships Break”
Matthew 18:15–20
We’ll begin the month with Jesus’ teaching about relationships, conflict, forgiveness, and what it means to live together as the church. Following Christ doesn’t mean we’ll always agree. It does mean we’re called to treat one another with grace, honesty, and love.
September 13 – “When God Makes a Way”
Exodus 14:19–31
The Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea. There seems to be no good option. Then God makes a way where they couldn’t see one. Sometimes faith begins with taking the next step before we know exactly where the road will lead.
September 20 – “What Is It?”
Exodus 16:9–15
The people are hungry, tired, and beginning to complain. God responds by giving them manna, enough for each day. It’s a story about trusting God for what we need today instead of spending all our energy worrying about tomorrow.
September 27 – “Water From the Rock”
Exodus 17:1–7
By the end of the month, the Israelites are thirsty, frustrated, and asking a question people of faith still ask: Is God really here? God doesn’t abandon them because they ask the question. God meets them in the middle of it.
I think these wilderness stories have something important to say to us.
Most of us know something about wilderness. We’ve lived through seasons when the way forward wasn’t clear. We’ve worried about whether there would be enough. We’ve wondered what God was doing, or even whether God was there at all.
The good news of Exodus isn’t that faithful people never experience wilderness. They do.
The good news is that God goes into the wilderness with them.
God stands between them and what threatens them. God opens a path. God provides bread. God brings water from a rock. Again and again, when the people think they’ve reached the end of the road, God reminds them that the story isn’t over.
As we walk through these stories together, I hope we’ll begin to recognize some of the ways God is still doing the same thing among us.
I’m also continuing to learn the rhythms of Rector FUMC and the community around us. I’m grateful for the conversations, visits, meals, ministry opportunities, and ordinary moments that are helping Rector feel more and more like home. I’m excited about what God may be preparing for us in the months ahead.
We don’t have to know everything that lies ahead.
We just have to keep walking.
And when the road gets difficult, we can remember the God who led Israel through the sea, fed them in the wilderness, and brought water from a rock.
That God is still with us.
Following Jesus. Loving People. Sharing Grace.
Blessings,
Rev. Candace