Set Free for This? | A Sermon on Wilderness, Thirst, and Honest Faith

What do you do when faith doesn't feel like it's working anymore?

In this sermon, Set Free for This?, Rev. Anna Dickson reflects on Exodus 17:1–7, where the Israelites, newly freed from Egypt, find themselves in the wilderness—thirsty, frustrated, and wondering, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Rather than dismissing their complaints, this message invites us to see them for what they are: not shallow grumbling, but honest cries from people in real need. Because this isn't about small inconveniences—it's about thirst. It's about the deep human longing for something more than we can provide for ourselves.

In this sermon, we reflect on:

• Why wilderness seasons are part of the life of faith
• The difference between surface complaints and deeper spiritual longing
• How Lent invites us into honesty rather than performance
• What it means to trust God when familiar signs of God's presence disappear
• The good news that God meets us even in the wilderness

In a culture of quick answers and easy spirituality, this message invites us to something deeper: to tell the truth about our lives, to acknowledge our thirst, and to trust that even in the most barren places, God is still at work—bringing living water from unexpected places.

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on March 22, 2026.