Preaching - Vision

For the last month or so I've begun working alongside Bellshill Central Parish Church of Scotland on a community engagement and mission planning process. This kind of thing is a really fun part of my varied work, as I help churches to listen to their communities, understand what is being said and what the needs are, and then work with them to put a plan together for future mission.

As part of this process, they kindly invited me to lead a Vision Sunday, followed by a bit of congregational engagement. This was a great opportunity that I was all too happy to accept. Since we started the process, some new options have arisen for this church in terms of its future governance, but that places even more importance on this process so that the good people of Bellshill Central Church have a clearer understanding of the needs of the people in their parish.

I was very kind to the reader, and gave just 4 verses for her to read from the Bible! But they are 4 very important verses. These came from Matthew 28:18-20, and Acts 1:8, but I also later used Proverbs 29:18 to help the thought process. These verses all clearly spoke about the vision that God wants us to have, and set up very nicely for what I had to say, which included a breakdown of the places mentioned in Acts 1:8 - Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. And whilst the message shared below refers to Bellshill as you would expect, you can apply the sentiments to wherever you are in the world.

As always, you can either listen to, or read the full sermon below. And if you'd like me to come to your church to preach, please do get in touch plus there's a diary on the Ministry page so you can see when I'm available.

Vision Sunday Bellshill

19:19

Vision Sunday – Bellshill Central Parish Church – Sunday 9 August 2026

Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8, plus Proverbs 29:18

How’s your vision?  I’m not talking about your eyesight and, anyway, mine is shocking!  I mean your spiritual vision.  Do you know the vision God has for your life? For this Church? If you do, are you moving towards it?  What does that even look like?

As we spend time today thinking about the Vision for the future of Bellshill Central Church of Scotland, and for you as individuals, we’re going to understand how we find that, how we step into it, and how we put it into action. So let’s get visioning!

Before we get to our Scripture, let’s just lay some foundations for this as we explore the power of vision and faith.  A vision backed by faith invites divine resources, and it’s those divine resources through the power of the Holy Spirit that can lead us on as God intends for us as individuals and as church together.

To know our vision, our first steps are prayer, and reading Scripture.  Prayer is where we should spend time with God.  It’s not just our time to reel off the shopping list of needs, but a time to hear from Him.  And the best way to hear from Him, is to read His Word!  And then, we share in community as we’re doing now, in Bible Studies, in small group gatherings.  Ask Him.  Hear from Him.  Share with others.  These lay the perfect foundation for understanding and growing into the vision God has for us.  And growing into it is important.  There’s no point receiving God’s vision and then doing nothing about it.  We need to take action, tell the story to others, and ask for help to bring others along on the journey.  As we read in Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

With the foundations laid, and our support network established, it’s then time to spread the net wider.  We start with who and what we have, then we intentionally build from there.  And that’s a key part of the community engagement process we’re undertaking, but more than that, it’s an important part of being church in any community.  And it starts with friends and family, then extended to colleagues and supporters.  These are networks to press into, nurture, and to walk alongside as you grow together, even if that is at different levels and paces.  The connection is important whatever is happening, because this is your mission field to exercise the vision.  And as church, it is from these mutually supportive groups that we create teams, find leaders, and see gratitude for God, for each other, and for our community. 

So to set this out in simple steps, we find a vision that stirs our heart, and a passion that moves our feet.  We surround ourselves with people who strengthen our faith, and use skills that direct our hands, using resources that make a way.  Throughout it all, we adopt a posture that makes space for God.  Why, because this is how we ensure we’re still walking in that vision.

Seeing the Vision Clearly

Proverbs 29:18 is often quoted.  I’ve got it here from 3 translations over different ages – King James, New International, and The Message.  And whilst using different words which I put here for appropriate effect, the sentiment is the same.  If as individuals or corporately as Church we do not listen to God and seek to do his will, then we just make a mess of things.  Now yes, it is true that God can use our mess and turn it into a message, but it is better if we just focus on God from the off, and don’t restrict ourselves to one time guidance from Him.  I particularly like how Eugene Peterson puts this verse in the Message paraphrase: “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”  As we start out on this important process of listening to the needs of our community, our starting point, as we’re doing this morning, is to listen to God and look to what he is already doing, ready to follow his lead and therefore walk in His Blessing.  You see, vision is about clarity, not cleverness.  Spiritual vision begins with God’s revelation, not our imagination.  Without God’s vision, individually, and together as church, we can drift into survival mode instead of Spirit-led mission.  And that’s is exactly what this process is about.  We’re not saying that the church is just surviving – please don’t get me wrong here.  This is simply an opportunity to ensure we are walking with God fully and following that Spirit-led vision for the community as it is now and is shaping for the future.  But, it’s important to note that vision is not about predicting the future.  It is about perceiving God’s heart for us, for our church, and for our community.

So, I should maybe ask “What do you see when you look at Bellshill Central Church?”  and then, if that wasn’t challenging enough, “What do you think God sees?”

Finding the Vision God Gives

One of the readings we heard earlier was from Matthew 28:18–20, with the infamous Great Commission from Jesus.  Almost final instructions from Jesus to His disciples, and a call to action for us even today.  He begins by acknowledging the divine authority with which he speaks.  This call to action into God’s vision for us, is rooted in that authority.  We don’t go out into the world because I say so, the minister says so, Presbytery says so, or even the General Trustees say so.  We go out to follow the call of God because He says so.  We go out to undertake the core vision for every church which is to make disciples.  It’s no accident that discipleship is part of the five marks of mission for the Church of Scotland that we looked at earlier.  It comes right back to this great commission from the mouth of Jesus and as we also reflected earlier, the key word is to go. And we do that before people will come to us. But where do we go?  Simply, we are called to go to where the people are, to help them to also walk with God, nurture them, and bring them into a full living and immersed knowledge of the Trinity, ensuring to tell each of them about everything that we have been taught through the Word of God as well.  And the amazing promise of what otherwise sounds like an incredibly daunting prospect, is that Jesus promises to be with us always, forever and for eternity.  What a promise and what a relief!  And because Jesus is with us in every step, we can look to him, learn from him, and seek His guidance in every step.

So we’ve already looked at the fact that vision is discovered by Listening to Scripture, Listening to the Spirit, Listening to the community’s needs, and Listening to one another.  Now we see that vision is found when we ask two important questions: “Lord, what are You already doing here?” and “How can we join You?” 

Stepping Into the Vision With Power

If we’re going to join God in this mission of His, we’ll need help.  And of course, Jesus’s promise to be with us for all time, was taken a step further as he went on to promise, before his ascension back to heaven, that, as we heard from Acts 1:8, that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.  An act that has to change us and stir us to step into that vision with renewed power. 

To reiterate, vision requires Spirit-empowered courage, not human confidence.  And that’s exactly what this verse is talking about.  And it’s clear that for most of the time, and despite the often impetuous nature of some of them, the disciples didn’t rush ahead, but they waited for the Spirit.  Because although they often didn’t quite understand what was going on, they soon knew that the Holy Spirit gives Boldness, Compassion, Clarity, and Direction.

Now, with this verse, it would be tempting to read it and think that we just fall in to the “to the ends of the earth” bit, because we’re in Bellshill, which even though my geography is rubbish at best, I’m pretty sure we’re not in Jerusalem, Judea, or Samaria.  However, whilst there was an initial geographic element to this call from Jesus, there is more to it – isn’t that always the case!  Here’s what those areas represent:

Jerusalem: Your main circles of existence, e.g. your home, family, friends, and Church.

Judea: Those who are culturally similar to you, and geographically near.

Samaria: Those who are culturally different to you, but still geographically near.

Ends of the earth: Those who are culturally different and geographically far.

Using these definitions, most of you will spend the majority of your time in Jerusalem, with those closest to you.  Are you reflecting Jesus in your home and family, or with your friends?  Are you spending time with your church community to be strengthened and encouraged?  All of that is a helpful training ground for what comes next and reflects how Jesus approached the training of his disciples.

Then Judea, where you will also spend a fair bit of time, because this is where you live.  Your street or community.  This is where you spend time with people who are like you, i.e. the same nationality, beliefs etc, to do what you can in the place where God has put you right now.  How do you show his love in your community?  At the school gate, the local shop, the park, the bus stop etc?  Where are the places that you can speak with those you feel most comfortable being around?  This is developing that training ground.

Then it potentially gets a bit tougher, as we go to Samaria.  We’re still in your street or community, but now it’s about those who are not like you.  Someone from a different country for example.  A refugee family? Someone who’s not had a good run in life, who are maybe struggling with addiction or another issue that isn’t on your radar?  Even someone who God has sent to live in your community?  This is where the training ground of Jerusalem and Judea will help.  Very few of us could (or should) head straight to Samaria without some foundation building.  It’s almost like Jesus has laid out a perfect evangelism training ground for us!

And so, we come to the ends of the earth, which is where many of us thought we would fit in these few words of Jesus, and yet I imagine you’re now thinking quite the opposite.  Because this is for those who are specifically called to serve in another country, with people who are not at all like them.  Suddenly, when we dig deeper into God’s vision, this all looks very different.

But the call is the same.  Do what you can to serve God not just in this building, but in the wider community.    And not just over the coming weeks of this process, but for all time. 

Putting the Vision Into Action

So, with all that in mind, it is clear that vision becomes real through small, faithful steps.  This isn’t always about the grand actions.  Yes, even the smallest of task and activity can make the biggest of differences.  There are no spectators in the Kingdom.  And as John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Church said: Everyone gets to play! What is it that is in your hand, heart, head, dreams, skillset, experience, or network?  It’s not there by accident.  We can strengthen our welcome and hospitality.  We can deepen our prayer culture both personally and corporately.  We can invest even more in families and young people.  We can serve the vulnerable.  And all the time, ensuring that we’re growing disciples, not just attendees, and building our community presence.  Yes, we’re about to create and distribute a questionnaire which will produce a mission and action plan.  But through all of this we must remember that vision is not a document, but a direction.

A Hopeful, Forward-Looking Ending

The great news is, as confirmed through our readings this morning, God is already ahead of us.  The Spirit is already at work in Bellshill.  Today as Vision Sunday is not about applying any kind of pressure, but about exploring possibilities.  There is a community that needs the church.  Yes, part of that will be through Bellshill Central Church of Scotland.  But we even have the opportunity to work with other churches of other denominations.  We can partner with even more local community groups and not just those using the Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre.  The doors are open, and there is hope, as long as we build on the foundations of the past and look forward to whatever it is that God has in store for us in the times ahead. 

So will you join me in this prayer:

Father in Heaven

Our hearts are stirred by the possibilities in front of us.

Please would you guide and provide for us.

Would you bring others alongside us.

Help us steward the gifts that You have given us.

We commit all that we are to you.

Your Will be done.

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen