Now that you have seen, follow

3rd Sunday after Epiphany Matthew 4:12-23 Year A Now that you have seen, Follow Prelude Greeting Call to Worship Children of God, when fears press in on every side, we can proclaim with confidence: God is our light and salvation! Whom shall we fear? When our problems overwhelm us and we feel pressed in on every side, we can declare with confidence: God is the stronghold of our lives! Of whom shall we be afraid? No matter the troubles we face, we seek after God and to live in the house of God forever. God shelters and protects us in the day of trouble. Come, let us worship God with joy, for God is our light and salvation! We come to worship as bearers of the Light. Thanks be to God! Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, July 2025. Opening Prayer Holy God, we do trust you to guard and guide us from day to day. Thank you for this hour of worship when we can tune our hearts to sing your praise. Open our ears and our eyes to your presence among us. Be gracious to us as we seek your face in scripture and sermon and song. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling A Sermon for all Ages Children’s Sermon: “Watching or Following?” (Have a simple object if possible: a toy fishing pole, a piece of rope, or even your hands shaped like a net.) Good morning, friends! I have a question for you. Have you ever watched someone do something really interesting—maybe baking cookies, building something, or playing a game—and thought, “That looks fun!” You didn’t do it yet… you just watched. That’s called watching. In the Bible, when Jesus first met some of his friends, he said, “Come and see.” hat meant, “Come watch. Come learn. Come spend time with me.” But later, Jesus said something different. He said, “Come and follow me.” That didn’t mean, “Just watch me.” It meant, “Walk with me. Do what I do.” Here’s the difference. If I’m baking cookies and you just stand there and watch, you might get hungry. But if I say, “Come help me,” now you’re stirring, pouring, and tasting. Now you’re part of it! That’s what Jesus was doing. Then Jesus said something really funny. He said, “I will make you fish for people.” Now, did Jesus mean we use fishing poles to catch people? (No!) Fishing for people means helping people know God’s love. We fish for people when we: • are kind to someone who feels left out, • help someone who is sad, • invite someone to come with us, • forgive when it’s hard. Every time we love like Jesus, it’s like we’re saying, “Come and see God’s love.” And when we choose to follow Jesus with our actions, we’re saying, “I’m walking with Jesus.” So remember: • Jesus says, “Come and see.” • Jesus says, “Come and follow.” • And Jesus helps us share God’s love with others. Let’s pray. Prayer: Jesus, thank you for inviting us to come and see and to come and follow. Help us love others the way you love us. Amen. Prayer for Transformation and New Life Holy Companion of our difficult days, you call us toward what is new even when we feel worn or uncertain. We confess the weight we carry— worries we rehearse, the fears we nurture, the habits that hold us tight, patterns we cling to, the moments we turn from compassion, the truths we avoid. Unbind what tightens around our hearts. Lift what has grown too heavy. Make room in us for generosity, justice, and the courage to begin again. Shape us for your healing work as this new day unfolds. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Michael Anthony Howard) Words of Grace Hear the good news of the Gospel: People who have walked under heavy burdens have been met by the One who lifts them. People who have carried what felt unshakeable have felt the yoke break from their shoulders. Into every place of strain or sorrow, God’s mercy draws near. God’s compassion reaches out. God’s grace opens a way forward. In this promise, receive your freedom. In this grace, begin again. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Michael Anthony Howard) Scripture Matthew 4:12-23 Sermon Now that you have seen, Follow “From Come and See to Come and Follow I don’t know about anyone else, but it seems like January has just went on forever and ever. And it is not over just yet. Even theologically, this has been a long month. Exactly a month ago we were here celebrating the birth of a new baby. Within this one month, we have watched as wise men came to visit him as a toddler, we saw him left behind on a family trip to the temple at twelve, we watched him get baptized by his cousin. And in one month’s time he is thirty years old. Time is really flying by. And we have no idea of what he has been doing or where he was in that 18 years. Some people believe that he came to America and sailed back to Israel. We do know that his favorite cousin is inprisoned, and he decides to take over his ministry. Matthew never gives a hint of where Jesus was in those 18 years, but our scripture starts out by saying that when he heard that John was in jail, he retreats to Galilee to a little town called Capernaum. Matthew tells us that when Jesus begins his public ministry, the first thing he does is not perform a miracle, preach a long sermon, or organize a movement. He walks along the shore. Jesus sees ordinary people doing ordinary work—casting nets, mending nets, living their lives—and he says four simple words that change everything: “Come and follow me.” 1. From Curiosity to Commitment This moment in Matthew is not the beginning of the disciples’ relationship with Jesus—it is a continuation. In the Gospel of John, when Andrew and another disciple first encounter Jesus, they ask him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus replies, “Come and see.” (John 1:39) “Come and see” is an invitation to curiosity. It is an invitation to observe, to spend time, to ask questions, to sit with Jesus and discover who he is. Many of us start there. We come to church. We listen. We watch. We wonder. We “come and see.” But Matthew shows us that there comes a moment when curiosity is no longer enough. Now Jesus says, “Come and follow me.” That is different. “Come and see” is about exploration. “Come and follow” is about direction. Jesus is not inviting us to a new life, he commands it. “Come and see” asks, Who is Jesus? “Come and follow” asks, Who will you become because of him? 2. What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus? When Jesus calls Simon Peter and Andrew, and later James and John, he is not asking them to admire him. He is not asking them to agree with him. He is not even asking them to fully understand him. He is asking them to reorder their lives. Matthew says, “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Those nets weren’t just tools. They were security. They were identity. They were livelihood. To follow Jesus means allowing him to define: • our priorities, • our values, • our time, • our relationships, • and our purpose. A disciple is not simply someone who believes in Jesus. A disciple is someone who patterns their life after Jesus. Now this story of Jesus calling the disciples is so important that you can find it in all 4 gospels. We just heard this story in John last week, when Jesus says come and see, he is not talking to fishermen. But in Matthew Andrew and Simon Peter are brothers and so are James and John. Jesus tells them all to stop what they are doing and come and follow. He tells them that he will make them fishers of men. In this story Jesus doesn’t tell them how to get more fish (that is in Luke) he tells them to stop fishing and to see life from a whole new perspective. Instead of working for a living, live for a life of service. He tells them to bring the spirit of God into every little thing that you do. In 1983, Steve Jobs recruited John Sculley, the then-president of Pepsi-Cola, to become the CEO of Apple by challenging him to choose between a comfortable career and changing the world . This recruitment is a defining moment in tech history, culminating in the famous, blunt question: "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?". Jesus challenges each of us to bring meaning to our lives by becoming disciples. Discipleship is not about perfection. It is about direction. To follow Jesus means we are willing to keep moving—learning, changing, growing—wherever he leads. 3. We Are All Called to Be Disciples This call was not just for fishermen by the Sea of Galilee. It is a call that continues to echo. Jesus does not say, “Come and follow me if you are religious enough.” He does not say, “Come and follow me once you have your life figured out.” He simply says, “Come.” Every baptized believer is called to discipleship. Not just pastors. Not just church leaders. Not just “spiritual” people. To be a Christian is to be a disciple. There is no separation between the two. Discipleship is lived out in our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our neighborhoods. It shows up in how we love, forgive, speak, serve, and stand up for others. 4. “I Will Make You Fish for People” Then Jesus adds something that makes us nervous: “I will make you fish for people.” This does not mean manipulating others. It does not mean pressuring people. It does not mean winning arguments or checking boxes. Jesus starts where they are. They are fishermen—so he uses fishing language. Fishing takes: • Patience – you don’t force the fish • Presence – you have to show up where the fish are • Trust – you cannot control the outcome Fishing for people means living in such a way that others are drawn toward the life and hope we have found in Christ. We fish for people when: • we listen before we speak, • we love without condition, • we show up when others are hurting, • we tell our story honestly, • we invite rather than coerce. Most people don’t need a lecture. They need an invitation. “Come and see.” “Come and follow.” In Jesus world, there are no casual moments. Everything has a deeper meaning. Fish for people means more that we think. We think it means evangelism. Jesus is talking to actual fishermen, but he is think about the text in Jeremiah which says to hook the fish. As a prophet, Jeremiah is addressing the conditions that cause people to suffer. Many of the prophets note that people are struggling because those in power are not being fair to others. So when he says put the hook in the fish, the fish are rich and unfair leaders. So to be fishers of people is to insist upon justice in the world, to do what is right. We catch fish by doing what is right, by living in a fair way. We catch fish by making sure that everyone has a place at the table. Jesus invites us to transform our perpective, so that we can live in a just manner, and transform the lives of others. 5. Following Still Changes Everything Matthew tells us that Jesus goes throughout Galilee teaching, preaching, and healing. And he invites others to walk with him as he does it. That invitation and the directive still stands. Jesus still calls us from curiosity to commitment. From observation to participation. From “come and see” to “come and follow.” And when we do, he promises something beautiful: He will make us into people who help others find life, hope, and grace. Not because we are perfect, but because we are willing to follow. So today, the question is not: Have you ever come and seen? The question is: Where is Jesus asking you to follow next? A Local Illustration: Watching vs. Joining Think about something very familiar to us. In a small community like ours, it’s easy to watch good things happen. You can watch a food drive take place. You can read about volunteers helping after a flood or a storm. You can see photos of a community meal or a mission project posted online. That’s “come and see.” But there’s a difference between watching and showing up. At some point, someone doesn’t just post about the need—they hand you an apron, or a box, or a list of names and say, “We could really use your help.” That moment—when you step in, get your hands dirty, rearrange your schedule—that’s “come and follow.” You haven’t just observed compassion. You’ve participated in it. That’s the shift Jesus is inviting his disciples to make. Essential Personnel Even if we live where it rarely snows, the phrase is a familiar one. When budget talks collapse and the government shuts down, this is the phrase that is trotted out. When the earth suddenly moves under the people of California, often a certain group of people are called out while the rest are told to stay at home. When tornadoes blow through the Southwest and disrupt everything in their course, only certain people should risk the dangers involved. These are maintenance people, road crews, ambulance drivers, fire fighters, electric and gas company workers, truck drivers, and a whole host of service people who are taken for granted when things are running smoothly. We call them "essential personnel." Think about that phrase. Think about what it means to be essential personnel. Then, if you want to be humbled, think about what it is like to be non-essential personnel. Consider the fact that the world can go on without some of us. The good news is that in the church we are all, or at least all can be, essential personnel. We are called to be a special group of people and to do some important things. William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came The Angel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. He Took Me Fishing One of the fondest memories I have of my Grandpa Anderson, was when he took me fishing with him on the St. Lawrence River. I was probably only 6 or 7 the first year I went with him. We’d get up early in the morning before it was light, and motor out in our little boat to one of his favorite places. He’d rig up his poles with practiced hands, and deftly get his lines ready, and then he’d guide me ever so patiently, and carefully, through the steps to preparing my own line. Then as we sat there in the shell pink dawn, quiet, and still, he’d murmur his observations to me - " Now put your hand right here - do you feel that gentle movement? That’s a fish tasting the bait so I wait, and wait, and now!" Then he’d set the hook and the line would start whirring off the reel, and he’d wheedle that fish into the boat. I believe that Christ invites us to become disciples in similar fashion. Christ invites us to join him on a learning journey - to follow and learn the ways of the Spirit. Christ invites people to undertake a gentle journey towards growth and transformation. Christ invites everyone to leave their nets, and to turn around, and follow. Edmund L. Hoener, Jr., Making Light Work When we commit to growing in faith every day, when we are willing to serve Christ in everything that we do, then we have decided to come and follow Jesus. Let us pray….. _______________________________ Amen. Song I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. TFWS 2129 Pastoral Prayer DO NOT PRINT God of all creation, who called every being into life, who is mindful of humankind in all its diversity, who embodies us with dignity, granting different gifts and talents to shape life in this world, we ask for your Spirit to unite us where we face lack of understanding and disunity in our churches, in our communities, in our countries. And in silence, we lay before you the burdens of our hearts. (Silence) We ask for your Spirit to unite us in the face of the conflicts, hatred, and violation of life experienced in so many regions of the earth and, in silence, we bring to you the pain of the victims. (Silence) We ask for your Spirit to unite us wherever fear prevents us from caring for our neighbour, from meeting people of different ethnicities, cultures, and faith communities with respect and, in silence, we bring to you the brokenness of human relationships. (Silence) God of all creation, in Christ, we are reconciled, and so we ask for your uniting Spirit to help us overcome all our divisions that we may live in peace. Posted on the Monthly Prayers page of the Christian Aid website, http://www.christianaid.org.uk/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2017/09/prayer-for-unity-amidst-diversity.html. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment DO NOT PRINT. What an abundance of gifts we have to offer: musical talent, the melody of laughter, the use of our minds in solving problems, curiosity, compassion, patience, urgency, spiritual reservoirs and financial resources. All these gifts and others that bear our personal marks are symbolized in our offering. As we give, and as we worship God with this offering, let us commit ourselves to give as forgiven and reconciled people. (Adapted from an invitation in Chalice Worship, Chalice Press, 1997, p. 391) Prayer of Thanksgiving Thank you, Creator, for the abundance with which we are blessed, and for the capacity to share our resources. Help us utilize these gifts to their full potential, seeking to spread Good News through support of this congregation and the ministries to which we are committed. Renew in us a yearning to be disciples of Jesus, who shared his life with all he encountered. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube Let us take God's light into the world. We will go to join others in pilgrimage of trust. Let us go to gather the burdens of others. We will take away their fears and offer them to Jesus, who helps everyone in every moment. Let us go to live in the Spirit's presence. We will follow the Spirit into the peace which is offered to all of God's people. (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Community Time Joys and Concerns Benediction Your heart beckons you to “Come! To seek God’s face!” (based on Psalm 27:8) Let us listen to the needs of our heart and leave this house of worship ready to seek, find and follow our Savior. May the grace, hope, peace and love of God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer be with us all, now and forever. Amen. ( Presbyterian Outlook, Terri McDowell Ott) Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - The Powerful Moments That Change Your Life Forever - Matthew 4:12-23 I am a collector of lists. I want to share with you this morning my favorite list of all time. It’s a list of answers given by English school children on their religion exams. Noah’s wife was called Joan of the Ark. A myth is a female moth. Sometimes it is difficult to hear in church because the agnostics are so terrible. The Pope lives in a vacuum. The Fifth Commandment is “Humor your father and mother.” This is my favorite of all: Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day and a ball of fire by night. The point is: right answers are important, but have you thought about this – so are right questions! So the right question I want to raise with you today is this: How long has it been since you had a powerful moment that changed your life forever? The New Testament was written originally in common Greek and the Greeks had several different words for our one word love. Agape = unconditional love Eros = erotic… bargaining love (I’ll do this for you if you do that for me, which, if you think about it, is not really love at all) Phileo = philanthropic, brotherly, sisterly, or humanitarian love Storge = family love. New Testament Greek also had two words for time – chronos and kairos. Chronos, which give us our word chronology, is tick-tock time. Each second is exactly like the one that preceded and the one that follows it. It is boring time, humdrum time, drudgery time, meaningless time, empty time. Let me paint the picture of chronos time. Imagine a convict in a prison cell; a lawyer with insomnia, who hears the unrelenting incessant ticking of a clock; an office worker who hates his job and can’t wait for 5:00 to come so he can get out of there; a college student in a 3-hour biology lab (right after lunch) all experience chronos time. Chronos time is empty time; it is a void that must be filled. It is time we must “put in” or endure. It’s what we are talking about when, of all things, we talk about “killing” time. So, chronos equals tick-tock time, humdrum time, boring time, and routine time. Thank God, there is another kind of time… _________________________________ The Art of Following - Matthew 4:12-23 If you’re my age or older you may remember Homer and Jethro. They were a comedy team who specialized in country music parodies and satire. They were sometimes referred to as “the thinking man’s hillbillies.” One of their routines went like this: HOMER: Jethro, if you was to win the Irish sweepstakes for two million dollars, would you give me half? JETHRO: Why, Homer, you’re my best and closest friend. You know I would. HOMER: I do know you would. That’s what friendship is all about. HOMER: Jethro, if you had two big luxurious houses like those ones in the Beverly Hills and I was livin’ yonder under the bridge without no home, would you give me one of your big luxurious houses? JETHRO: Homer, you’re my best and closest friend. You know I would. HOMER: Yessir, we’re best friends. Didn’t I know you’d say that. HOMER: Jethro, if you had two prize winnin’ Holstein cows and I had nary one, would you give me one of your cows? JETHRO: Homer, you wouldn’t even have to ask. You’re my closest friend and you know I would. HOMER: Jethro, if you had two really great huntin’ dogs... JETHRO: Hold on a minute, Homer. I got two huntin’ dogs. Homer and Jethro knew that charity is easy to idealize but hard to practice. I saw a routine like that played out in the area of theology and religion when I was in seminary. The professor was lecturing on the gospel of Luke and he had come to the third chapter where we find John the Baptist’s sermon to the people of Jerusalem. _________________ Trying Something New After falling twice in the 1988 Olympic speed-skating races Dan Jansen sought out sports psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr, who helped him find a new balance between his sport and his life. He also helped Jansen learn to focus on the mental aspects of skating Peter Mueller became his coach, putting him through workouts that Dan has since described as the “toughest I have ever known.” By the time the 1994 Olympics arrived, Jansen had more confidence than ever. He had set a five-hundred-meter world record just two months earlier. The Olympic title in that event seemed to belong to him. Unfortunately, Jansen fell during the five-hundred-meter race. He was disappointed and shaken. But, Dr. Loeher immediately advised him to start preparing for the one-thousand-meter race. He said, the five-hundred-meter race is gone. Put it behind you.” However the thousand-meter race was Jansen’s weakest event. But, there was no other chance for him to receive a medal. Jansen won the one-thousand-meter race and did it in record time. Since Jansen had followed the wisdom of his coach, he had put his failure behind him and tried something new. We can play it safe and remain secure in what we know. Like the fishermen, our lives will remain in the darkness until we are willing to follow and move in a new direction. Jesus called the disciples to something that would not only give purpose and meaning to their lives, he called them to a vocation that would change the world. They followed, and from then on their lives would never be the same. Keith Wagner, Ice Fishing, Anyone? __________________________________ Working for Christ Christianity began as a working man's religion. No, that is not the gospel according to Marx; it is the Gospel According to Matthew. Matthew tells us that immediately after Jesus began a public preaching ministry, he took four fishermen as his apprentices. He was walking by the Sea of Galilee and spied Andrew and Peter casting their nets. He called them to follow him, promising to make them fishers of men. In Matthew's Gospel, then, linked tightly together are Jesus' ringing pronouncement, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and his invitation to the fishermen, "Follow me." You and I, who believe in Jesus Christ and count ourselves his disciples, are not to follow a trade or profession as though it were the Holy Grail. We are to follow Jesus. Work is to take a secondary role in our lives. If Christ is truly our Master, then work cannot be equally important. We may be engaged in work, but never married to it. And whenever we are pressed or tempted to make work supreme, we are to recall the story of the four fishermen. We are to remember how they left their nets and their boats to go and be with Jesus, to do what he would have them do. John C. Purdy, The Call to Adventure Follow Me… "Follow me, and I will make you fishers," said Jesus. Fishing takes practice, preparation, discipline. One must learn how to best throw the net, how to make the mouth of the net come open too. I can throw the actual cast net a long way, but I can't always make the net come open so that it will actually form a circle around the fish. One must learn how to cast the line on a rod. Again, some folks can cast a long way, but their accuracy is awful. There may be fish on the right, but they know only how to cast the line to the left. There may be fish on the left, but they keep casting to the right. Casting, like discipleship, is an acquired habit. It rewards practice. Fishing is noticing the weather, watching the wind and the clouds. Fishing, like the gospel, dear friends, like the gospel, fishing is always practiced in context. It does no good to sit at one lake and wish I was on some other lake. It does no good to stand at the ocean and wish the weather were different. On that day, in that place, I fish in context according to what the conditions are. So it is with the proclamation and the living out of the Christian gospel. It does little good wishing that we were somewhere else, in a different time or in a different country perhaps. Our context is this time and this place. Know where the wind blows. Watch the clouds. Samuel G. Candler, Follow Me and I Will Make You Go Fishing A Problem of Presentation Jesus came preaching that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." What was there about that kingdom that got these fishermen so excited? And why are we not just as excited? Maybe we don't understand what the kingdom is. Or maybe it just hasn't been presented very well. It reminds me of a woman who read somewhere that dogs were healthier if fed a tablespoon of cod liver oil each day. So each day she followed the same routine. She chased her dog until she caught it, wrestled it down, and managed to force the fishy remedy down the dog's throat. Until one day when, in the middle of this grueling medical effort, the bottle was kicked over. With a sigh, she loosed her grip on the dog so she could wipe up the mess. To her surprise the dog trotted over to the puddle and begin lapping up what had been spilled. THE DOG LOVED COD LIVER OIL. It was just the owner's method of application the dog objected to. Sometimes I think something like that has happened to the good news of the Kingdom of God. It has been so poorly presented to us that we have never been captured by its attractiveness and its power. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Follow Me There was a field covered with freshly fallen snow. A father and a son enter the field. As they walk across the field, you notice that the father pays no particular attention to where he is going, but his son, on the other hand, follows directly behind, making a special effort to step in his father’s footprints. After the two have crossed the field, you notice that there is only one set of tracks visible in the field, although two had walked across it. The Christian life is that way. In our daily walk we ought to be following Christ's example. Whether in times of suffering, sorrow or need, whether in times of health, joy, or abundance--if someone were to observe the snow-covered fields of your life, would there be one set of tracks, those of Christ? Or would there be two sets, one belonging to Christ and the other distinctly yours? Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p.53. Adapted One Unknown At the end of Albert Schweitzer's book "The Quest for the Historical Jesus" Schweitzer writes these words: He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside. He came to those who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me!" and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands, and to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, he will reveal Himself in the toil, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is. Staff, www.Sermons.com Have You Caught Any People for Christ Have you been fishing lately? Have you caught any people for Jesus? If you are a typical Presbyterian (or Methodist or Lutheran or mainline Christian of any sort) the answer probably is a shrug of the shoulders and a bewildered look. "He can't be serious, can he?" A few years ago there were some statistics floating around in church circles. If you take a middle aged church member who has attended church regularly most of his/her life, by the age of fifty they would have listened to 1760 sermons, sung 5280 hymns, placed money in the offering plate about 1500 times and never introduced another person to Jesus Christ. True - most of us, if asked, can't remember ever talking to a non-believer about our faith. We just don't do that sort of thing. We haven't done much fishing. James L. Collier, Go Fish! The Evidence of Life Is Growth A disciple is one who studies with a great teacher. It is implied that those who follow Jesus need to grow. We do not blossom overnight into mature spiritual giants. As Dr. Dwayne Dyer said in his book, Your Erroneous Zones, "How do you distinguish between a flower that is alive and one that is dead? The one that is growing is alive. The only evidence of life is growth." So it is with the life of the spirit. One prominent evangelist has complained that despite the burgeoning statistics, the church today is not growing. It is merely getting fat. That is, persons are coming into the church but they are remaining spiritual babes. They are not growing. "We are simply multiplying spiritual babies," he charges. To be alive is to grow. Peter encourages us "to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3: 18). King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

Are You Prepared to Follow Jesus?

January 22, 2023 Matthew 4:12-23 Third Sunday after Epiphany Year A Are you prepared to follow Jesus? Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship One: As we come together to worship God, we remember Many: “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, One: and for those who sat in the shadow of death, light has dawned.” Many: In the light, our joy is increased! One: The weight of our burdens is relieved, Many: and we offer thanks to the Lord, our God! (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer Mighty God, we rejoice today like those who celebrate an abundant harvest! Your actions lift us up. As the days grow longer and we’re drawn closer to you, we eagerly anticipate seeing signs of your Realm, the kin-dom of heaven, coming near. Cue in us the joy of our salvation. Renew our desire to repent – to turn once more toward your love, made visible in the light of Jesus. AMEN (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Song Jesus Calls Us UMH 398 Children’s Sermon Greet the children, bringing up some fishing equipment. Hello, children of God! You know what? I think I would like to do some fishing. Have any of you ever been fishing before? What do you need to do when you fish? I have with me some equipment that people sometimes use when they go fishing. (Hold up items as you discuss) So here is a fishing “rod”: you put some kind of “bait” on the end, and then you hold it until a fish comes along and bites at it. Then you turn this crank and try to reel it in! Here’s another kind of item you might use…it’s a net. This kind of tool might make it easy to scoop up fish if you had a lot of them in one spot. Sometimes people use really big nets to pull in fish. This was probably how people used to fish in the times of Jesus, in fact. They had huge nets that they would toss into the water to see what they could pull up. Here are some pictures of boats that might help people catch fish. So why are we talking about fishing? Well, here’s another question: have you ever been fishing for people? Wait, how does that work?? Can you catch people in a net?? (pretend to “catch” one of the students) That seems strange… But you know what, in today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus invited His disciples to be fishers of men. He met a man named Peter, who had a fishing boat. Jesus began to preach from the middle of the lake, right on this boat! Then He told Peter to put his nets down to catch fish…Peter tried to explain that he hadn’t caught any fish all night, but he followed the directions of Jesus and put his net down again. When he did, he caught more fish than he could even carry! This made him realize that Jesus was something very special, was SomeONE very special. Peter bowed before Jesus. He was willing to do whatever it might take to follow this teacher. Peter left his fishing boat and his old job in order to become a disciple. Jesus told Peter and his brother Andrew that they would become “fishers of men.” This meant that He was going to use the former fishers in a special way. They would be gathering more followers for Jesus, and would serve people and help people just like Jesus did. Would you like to be a fisher for disciples? You can! Instead of sitting by a lake or scooping up fish in a pond, you can be a fisher by telling others about Jesus. You can share His love by loving others. Jesus wants us to tell everyone about Him and “make disciples” for Him. We can be fishers of friends! This is an amazing blessing and privilege that we have from God. We can still work at regular jobs, of course. But we can also spread the love of Jesus and “catch” other people to be part of God’s family! We need to be willing to follow Him, and encourage others to do the same. Why don’t we say a prayer about that now? ________________________________________ Children’s Prayer Moment (Have kids repeat each line) Dear God, Thank you for the love of Jesus Help us to follow Him and know what that means. Help us share His love with one another. Thank you that we can be disciples, too. Thank you for your love. We love you, God! Kristin Schmidt, Ministry to Children Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 9, Psalm 27,1 Corinthians 1, Matthew 4) God of our light and our salvation, sometimes we prefer to live in dakness, embracing the safety and anonymity of the shadows; sometimes we delight in our divisions, believing we are better than others; sometimes the yoke of our calling feels too heavy, and we seek to slip out from under the bar across our shoulders. Forgive our fear. Forgive our aversion to the light. Forgive our unresponsiveness to your call. Forgive our willful blindness and deafness to the Way. Help us know deep in our souls that you are our light and our salvation, our joy and our wonder, our very life. Hear us as we cry aloud in our need. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Joanne Carlson Brown) Words of Assurance (Psalm 27) Our God of light and love hears us when we cry aloud. We have nothing to fear. Know that this God of light wraps us in comforting arms, lifts us from the darkness of our guilt and sin, and forgives us once and for all. Know that we will dwell in safety in God’s house, now and forevermore. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Joanne Carlson Brown) Passing the Peace of Christ (Psalm 27) Greet one another with these words: “The God of light and love and salvation surrounds you with joy and peace.” (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Joanne Carlson Brown) Prayer of Preparation (Isaiah 9) Open the eyes of our hearts, O God, to the dawning light of your words of love and salvation. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Joanne Carlson Brown) Scripture Matthew 4:12-28 Sermon Are you prepared to follow Jesus? The key words to our sermon today are fishing, followers and fascination – fishers of men, followers of Jesus and then there is fascination. There was a woman who was the director of a drug rehabilitation center. One day a tall, strong man with a baseball bat entered the reception area. He was shouting obscenities and began banging the bat on the secretaries desk and the admitting personnel. They jumped back and tried to get as far away from him as possible. One ran into the back room and called the police. The woman who directed the center came our and walked right up to the screaming man waving the bat. She ducked under his reach wrapped his arm around his chest. In a heartfelt voice she repeated, oh you poor man. They stood together in that strange embrace for a while, and then the man began to sob. The woman led him to a chair. He slumped into it and waited for the police. He never let go of the baseball bat. That woman’s courage must be a fascinating story. I suspect she may be a follower of Christ. We can be also. In new testament times, people must have had that type of fascination with John the Baptist. – They wanted to know what was in him that made him so bold, so determined to meet a goal, what made him so able to cut through the chase. They were so fascinated with him that they flocked to the desert to see him. Even Jesus was drawn to his charisma, his ministry, his command to repent. No one knows why – but all of the gospels writers agree that Jesus never started his ministry until John the Baptist was arrested. Perhaps it was out of respect, perhaps out of fascination that Jesus waited. Of course when Jesus did go out and begin to tell others about the Kingdom of God, that fascination for John the Baptist – transfers to the ministry of Jesus. People were naturally drawn. Last week John the gospel writer talked about 2 disciples, today Matthew mentions 4 – Andrew, Simon, James and John. They all literally walk away from family, job, destiny and follow Jesus. Jesus tells them to put down your nets, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. In Israel, on the Lake of Galilee, there is this popular tourist sight called Peter’s boat. It was dark by the time that we got there, so there was not much to see. I just remember this old boat in the middle of the lake that was covered in mud. This was supposedly the place where Jesus first met Andrew and Simon Peter. Right next to the lake is a restaurant – I think it’s called Peter’s Place. There specialty is Peter’s catch of the day. I don’t remember what kind of fish it was, but I do remember that it was fried, really tasty, but way too big to eat all of it. But seriously, Jesus encourages us all to become fishers of Men. Fishing Takes Practice Ernest Hemingway loved fishing as much as he loved writing. He would never have been a great writer had he not fished, and he would never have been a great fisherman had he not written. Maybe his great work "The Old Man and the Sea" is so powerful because it is at one time so dramatically simple and also so dramatically deep. But "The Old Man and The Sea" is only one of Hemingway's great stories about fishing. His favorite saying apparently was this-something he learned while fishing and writing: Il faut (d'abord) durer. "It is necessary, above all else, to endure. It is necessary to endure," he said. Yes, fishing remains one of the great models of Jesus for the kingdom of God. Maybe our age and culture are in danger of losing the image because we no longer go fishing - just like we no longer herd sheep and know what a shepherd is. We no longer plant seed in the ground and know what growth is. We no longer draw water from wells and know what living water is. Fishing also teaches us about discipline. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers," said Jesus. Fishing takes practice, preparation, discipline. One must learn how to best throw the net, how to make the mouth of the net come open too. I can throw the actual cast net a long way, but I can't always make the net come open so that it will actually form a circle around the fish. One must learn how to cast the line on a rod. Again, some folks can cast a long way, but their accuracy is awful. There may be fish on the right, but they know only how to cast the line to the left. There may be fish on the left, but they keep casting to the right. Casting, like discipleship, is an acquired habit. It rewards practice. Samuel G. Candler, Follow Me, and I Will Make You Go Fishing Not all of us know how to fish, but we can all follow Jesus. I think it is Max Lucado who tells the story of loving to fish with his father. Follow Me There was a field covered with freshly fallen snow. A father and a son enter the field. As they walk across the field, you notice that the father pays no particular attention to where he is going, but his son, on the other hand, follows directly behind, making a special effort to step in his father’s footprints. After the two have crossed the field, you notice that there is only one set of tracks visible in the field, although two had walked across it. The Christian life is that way. In our daily walk we ought to be following Christ's example. Whether in times of suffering, sorrow or need, whether in times of health, joy, or abundance--if someone were to observe the snow-covered fields of your life, would there be one set of tracks, those of Christ? Or would there be two sets, one belonging to Christ and the other distinctly yours? Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p.53. Adapted What does it mean to follow Jesus now, when we cant physically follow in his footsteps, even though his spirit is with us? We can be inspired to do his will, to make the world a better place and to draw others into the fold. Not all of us have been fishing but we can all fish for men. Fishers of Men (Witnessing) Most of our witnessing is likely to happen in passing moments of conversation--those occasions when we show, in relatively minor ways, who we are and to whom we belong. I think of a suburban woman who was playing tennis with her good but quite secular friends. In a conversation break between sets she began referring to something she had read that morning. It would have been easy to say, "I read something this morning." Instead, with no attempt at piosity, she simply introduced one word: "In my devotional reading this morning." It was not a major soul-winning engagement. It was, however, a true sowing of seed. By a word, she had opened the door for some further conversation. Perhaps our greatest problem in becoming Christ’s fishermen is that we are not enough in earnest to grasp the opportunities that come to us; or we are so possessed of the idea that we must say something dramatic and far-reaching that we fail to say the small, immediate and potentially significant thing. To put it in the language of our lesson for the day, most of us really don’t act as if we even have a call to "fish." We’re out in the waters of human need every day, but we don’t seem to know it. The issue is not that we should become more aggressive about sharing our faith. It is that we should be more sensitive to the needs of the world around us, and more sensitive to the subtle prodding of the Holy Spirit. The two sensitivities are wonderfully intertwined. To be sensitive to the Holy Spirit must mean that we will be more sensitive to people and their pain; to be more sensitive to people ought to make us more open to God and his purposes. J. Ellsworth Kalas, Reading the Signs, From Empty Nets to Full Lives, CSS Publishing Company In the age of COVID we all know what essential persoel are – but do we realize that in the church, we are all essential. It takes all of us to become fishers of men. Jesus invites all of us to come and follow him every day. Karl Barth who says that we should preach the gospel every day, and if necessary use words. Remember Christ in our actions. Our key words for today – fishers, followers and fascination. Someone defined a disciple as someone who is so fascinated with another person that they want to know everything about what makes that person tick. Are you fascinated with Jesus? Jesus was bold in life and in ministry. How can we live on the edge like he does. A Job vs. A Ministry Someone has said there is a huge difference between having a job at church and having a ministry at church. ... If you are doing it because no one else will, it's a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it's a ministry. ... If you're doing it just well enough to get by, it's a job. If you're doing it to the best of your ability, it's a ministry. ... If you'll do it only so long as it doesn't interfere with other activities, it's a job. If you're committed to staying with it even when it means letting go of other things, it's a ministry. ... It's hard to get excited about a job. It's almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry. An average church is filled with people doing jobs. A great church is filled with people involved in ministry. Mickey Anders, The Beginning of Ministry Someone else said that being a disciple is making a decision – a decision to be in ministry to Christ in every things and in every place. I often wonder what would have happen had Jesus invited Andrew and Simon to put down their nets and come and follow me and become fishers of men and they said no thank you – I have work to do. None of us would be here today. We are all confronted, called and consecrated by Christ. Let’s all follow Christ – if nothing else – it will be an adventure. Peace Song Lord You have come to the Lakeshore UMH 344 PRAYER OF THE PEOPLE God of unity, We come before you dismayed at our own divisions. We have struggled as your church to live in unity; but we are divided – along the fault lines of our societies. The ruptures in our families, among friends, among denominations, among nations are wide and deep. When we attempt to get on the same page, we build taller walls and dig deeper trenches. God, help us! We know that Christ is not divided. We know that it is your baptism to which we have been called. It is your service to which we are compelled. You have called us to proclaim the gospel, but we even fight about what that is. Help us, God! Help us give up our power and our privileges. Help us to yield for the sake and cause of the cross of Jesus. Help us to want the unity you share, for you are one; in you, there is no division. Help us to embrace and to live the foolishness of a life emptied of power and given to service, in the likeness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to walk in salvation – in the name of the servant Christ, amen. Carolyn W. Dandridge, The Africana Worship Book, Year A, Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2006), 85. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Sometimes I wish the Gospel writers would have described the call of Jesus’ disciples in more detail. It’s difficult to comprehend how these followers were able to hear Jesus’ invitation and respond in such a radical way. Did they “count the cost” of leaving their homes, families and businesses? What made it worth giving themselves so completely to following this wandering teacher? Jesus did not offer them an expense account, a time-share, or any indication how he would help meet their basic needs. Yet these people “left the boat and their father, and followed (Jesus).” In comparison, for most of us, the call to follow Jesus demands much less. And yet…when we take seriously the call to become a disciple, we cannot know all the ways that will affect our life. Today, I invite you to take a deep breath and imagine what it could mean for you in 2023 to be a full-time disciple of Jesus. Might it mean sharing more of your time? Your talents? Your treasure? Might it mean inviting your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, to join you in following the Way? As we offer our tithes, offerings and financial gifts today, may we channel our inner Simon and Andrew, James and John! Imagine the joy in heaven as we, too, accept the call to “FOLLOW”. Prayer of Thanksgiving O God, through offering these gifts, may we become a more open people— open-minded in hearing your word and wisdom, open-hearted in healing a broken world, open-handed in heeding your call to charity and enacted love. With thanks for all good gifts, we present these tithes and offerings as symbols of our whole selves. Amen. (adapted from William Flewelling, Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook (Based on Matthew 4) Jesus, the light of the world, calls us to follow. Go and tell the news of God’s love. Cast the nets of grace wide, that all may see the glory of God. Go forth and shine with God’s light! May God—Source, Word, and Spirit— bless you with the radiance of love. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Mary Petrina Boyd) Community Time Benediction Recognize the greatness within and around you. Follow Jesus out into the world to spread the radiance of Christ, to proclaim the good news, and to be instruments of healing and wholeness. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay) Additional Illustrations The Art of Following - Matthew 4:12-23 If you’re my age or older you may remember Homer and Jethro. They were a comedy team who specialized in country music parodies and satire. They were sometimes referred to as “the thinking man’s hillbillies.” One of their routines went like this: HOMER: Jethro, if you was to win the Irish sweepstakes for two million dollars, would you give me half? JETHRO: Why, Homer, you’re my best and closest friend. You know I would. HOMER: I do know you would. That’s what friendship is all about. HOMER: Jethro, if you had two big luxurious houses like those ones in the Beverly Hills and I was livin’ yonder under the bridge without no home, would you give me one of your big luxurious houses? JETHRO: Homer, you’re my best and closest friend. You know I would. HOMER: Yessir, we’re best friends. Didn’t I know you’d say that. HOMER: Jethro, if you had two prize winnin’ Holstein cows and I had nary one, would you give me one of your cows? JETHRO: Homer, you wouldn’t even have to ask. You’re my closest friend and you know I would. HOMER: Jethro, if you had two really great huntin’ dogs... JETHRO: Hold on a minute, Homer. I got two huntin’ dogs. Homer and Jethro knew that charity is easy to idealize but hard to practice. I saw a routine like that played out in the area of theology and religion when I was in seminary. The professor was lecturing on the gospel of Luke and he had come to the third chapter where we find John the Baptist’s sermon to the people of Jerusalem. _________________ A Problem of Presentation Jesus came preaching that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." What was there about that kingdom that got these fishermen so excited? And why are we not just as excited? Maybe we don't understand what the kingdom is. Or maybe it just hasn't been presented very well. It reminds me of a woman who read somewhere that dogs were healthier if fed a tablespoon of cod liver oil each day. So each day she followed the same routine. She chased her dog until she caught it, wrestled it down, and managed to force the fishy remedy down the dog's throat. Until one day when, in the middle of this grueling medical effort, the bottle was kicked over. With a sigh, she loosed her grip on the dog so she could wipe up the mess. To her surprise the dog trotted over to the puddle and begin lapping up what had been spilled. THE DOG LOVED COD LIVER OIL. It was just the owner's method of application the dog objected to. Sometimes I think something like that has happened to the good news of the Kingdom of God. It has been so poorly presented to us that we have never been captured by its attractiveness and its power. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Essential Personnel Even if we live where it rarely snows, the phrase is a familiar one. When budget talks collapse and the government shuts down, this is the phrase that is trotted out. When the earth suddenly moves under the people of California, often a certain group of people are called out while the rest are told to stay at home. When tornadoes blow through the Southwest and disrupt everything in their course, only certain people should risk the dangers involved. These are maintenance people, road crews, ambulance drivers, fire fighters, electric and gas company workers, truck drivers, and a whole host of service people who are taken for granted when things are running smoothly. We call them "essential personnel." Think about that phrase. Think about what it means to be essential personnel. Then, if you want to be humbled, think about what it is like to be non-essential personnel. Consider the fact that the world can go on without some of us. The good news is that in the church we are all, or at least all can be, essential personnel. We are called to be a special group of people and to do some important things. William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came The Angel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Turning Toward the Light A little boy named Bobby entered his first science fair in second grade. Because his Mom has a green thumb, they decided to experiment with the growth of plants. He took two small green plants and placed one on a sunny windowsill and the other in a cardboard box. After a couple of weeks, Bobby checked on the two plants. The one on the windowsill had grown a couple of inches and had vibrant green leaves. The one in the box had actually grown a bit, but it had lost all of its green color, becoming almost white and its leaves drooping. Thinking that the plant might die, Bobby cut a hole in one side of the box, like this, and set the box, with the plant inside, by the windowsill … with the hole facing toward the incoming light. Well you know what happened … but Bobby was so excited by this discovery! Yes, over the course of a few weeks, the plant began to grow out through the hole! And, a couple of weeks later, it turned to grow up toward the light and even blossomed! The plant that had been in gloomy darkness … and was all but dead … had seen a great light, it turned toward that light and blossomed! Well, Matthew wrote … after the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ … and therefore with the full realization of who this man of God was … he wrote that the Light had certainly dawned on the people by the sea, the kingdom of heaven had definitely come near; it had dawned and come near in the person of Jesus Christ … in the personified love and power of God that makes people … different … alive! Robert K. Schneider, Follow the Maker. Adapted by Brett Blair,www.Sermons.com Commentary Jesus lived three years with his disciples. They went everywhere together and did everything together. They ate, slept, and breathed the life of Jesus and yet it was difficult for them to make the transition in their minds from a Messiah who would be a mighty King of Jews to a Messiah that would die for the sins of mankind. But Jesus never wavered in his mission. Throughout his entire ministry among the people and his training of the disciples he held in his heart this hope: That Peter along with the rest of his disciples would lose their earthly ambitions and become feeders of sheep--fishers of men. The very first words of Jesus when he and Peter met at the waters was, "Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men." His very last words to Peter, again down at the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and after his resurrection, were, "Feed my sheep, Follow me." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com ______________________ God Reigns Archbishop William Temple wrote in 1930: While we deliberate, God reigns; when we decide wisely, God reigns; when we decide foolishly, God reigns; when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns; when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns; when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns -- the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Archbishop William Temple. Quoted in "Context," February 1, 1992. Go Fish "Do you have any sevens?" "No. Go fish!" I remember playing that card game as a child - it consumed long hours on dull, rainy days. It didn't take much intellect but it chased away the boredom. "Go fish!" That's what Jesus said to his first disciples - only he wasn't playing games. He was serious. There at the very beginning of his ministry when he started recruiting his helpers, he called out to Peter and Andrew and said, "Come, follow me." Then he said, "I will make you fish for people." They already knew how to catch fish - that was their profession - but he called them to learn to bring in people. "Go fish!" he said and they did. James L. Collier, Go Fish! A Moment of Decision In his commentary William Barclay notes the significance of Jesus' move from Nazareth to Capernaum. He says, “There was a kind of symbolic finality in that move. In that moment Jesus left his home never again to return to live in it. It is as if he shut the door that lay behind him before he opened the door that stood in front of him. It was the clean cut between the old and the new. One chapter was ended and another had begun. Into life there come these moments of decision. It is always better to meet them with an even surgical cut than to vacillate undecided between two courses of action.” William Barclay The Evidence of Life Is Growth A disciple is one who studies with a great teacher. It is implied that those who follow Jesus need to grow. We do not blossom overnight into mature spiritual giants. As Dr. Dwayne Dyer said in his book, Your Erroneous Zones, "How do you distinguish between a flower that is alive and one that is dead? The one that is growing is alive. The only evidence of life is growth." So it is with the life of the spirit. One prominent evangelist has complained that despite the burgeoning statistics, the church today is not growing. It is merely getting fat. That is, persons are coming into the church but they are remaining spiritual babes. They are not growing. "We are simply multiplying spiritual babies," he charges. To be alive is to grow. Peter encourages us "to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3: 18). King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com ____________________________________ The World’s Only Hope G. Ray Jordon, Methodist preacher from North Carolina and teacher of preachers at Emory University, wrote years ago, "The hope of civilization is that we shall be able to produce enough Christlike men to save it." That is the world's only hope. It was when Jesus first walked along the Sea of Galilee. It still is today. Thomas A. Pilgrim, The Man From Galilee, CSS Publishing Company, Inc

Follow Jesus

January 26, 2014 Psalm 27:1, 4-9 Matthew 4:12-23 “Follow Jesus” Third Sunday of Epiphany Year A Tools of the Trade I think that we all have them – for me it is pens. I have collections of pens all over the place at home and at church. As a writer, I never want to be caught anywhere without a pen. For me they are the tools of the trade. For a carpenter it might be tools, for a crafter it might be yarn, for a teacher it might be books. Tools of the trade are more than just tools, the represent our identity, our sense of being. You never lend your tools to other people – they have to get their own, you keep them in a place where you can get to them when you need them, and you never get rid of them, no matter what you hold onto them. For Peter, Andrew, James and John their tools of the trade would have been their nets. As a fisherman, a net was something that you held onto for dear life – because it was your life. But one day a strange man walks by and makes an even stranger request – follow me – and just like that, they give up their nets, their identity, their family and everything else. The bible never says if Jesus knew them ahead of time, it never tells us what it going on in their lives at the time, it doesn’t even tell us if Jesus had to say anything else to convince them. But it does tell us that they did walk away from their lives and follow Jesus to become fishers of men. Jesus tools of the trade were his relationships- his connections to the hearts of people. The message of Matthew is to help us to understand that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus is trying to help us to see the kingdom and to see clearly that God is in our midst. What is so important that these men would just walk away from their lives? The promises of God – light, salvation, a stronghold. They had a chance to become disciples to the most distinguished teacher of all of the world – the Son of God. But at that moment none of that was obvious to them – they were just following the voice of God. Rob Bell is a pastor from Michigan. In one of his sermons, he talks about what it takes to become a disciple of a dinstinguished disciple. You were expected to start studying the bible at age six, and work at remembering it my heart. Only the best and brightest students were invited by a rabbi to study. There were very few who made the cut. These men were adults who had gotten into their family trade. So they weren’t the best of the best – and yet Jesus saw something in them that would make then disciples- they were willing to follow when asked, just because they were asked. In John 15:16 jesus explains 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last— We can be grateful that Jesus is still choosing disciples – he chose you and me so that we can bear fruit. He wants us to be fishers of men – to develop relationships, to show love, to spread the world – that the kingdom of God is at hand – and God is still looking for people to come and follow him. Modern Disciples as fishers of men I think that sometime we have lost sight of what it means to follow Jesus. We follow ourselves, but we don’t invite others to follow. We are not fishers of men. I think that what we don’t realize is that Christ is not asking us as disciples to do anything that he did not do himself. We focus on the story of how the disciples dropped everything. But we don’t realize that Jesus did the same before. He was born in Nazareth, his family trade was carpentry. And he left all of that behind and moved to Capernaum in order to be by the sea – what did he know about fishing? Only what God taught him. Giving up today for tomorrow I often wonder, how many of us as modern disciples are willing to give up who we are today in order to become who we need to be tomorrow. We are too busy holding onto who we are today for dear life, to even listen to what God is telling us about the future. Over the weekend, I have been thinking about how I keep holding onto a lot of activities, and tools, and my understanding of life. When I have been doing one thing for awhile, and this year I am not asked to repeat that activitiy. I feel like a failure. But if I keep holding on the old activities, there is no space to get new activities. If I am holding on to the past for dear life, then how is the future ever going to seep through? Repent! A Whole New World Is Headed Straight at You! "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!" That is what Jesus says (plagiarizing his cousin John) in Matthew 4:17. In his wonderful commentary on Matthew, Frederick Dale Bruner paraphrases this, "Move, because here comes the whole new world of God!" The verb translated as "is near" is the same word Jesus uses later in Matthew when he sees Judas in Gethsemane and says, "Here comes my betrayer." So when Jesus says in verse 17 that the kingdom of heaven "is near," he means it's coming straight at you! If you're crossing a street and see a garbage truck barreling down on you, you may well say, "Hey, look out!" (or words to that effect). Jesus' words have that same urgency. "Look out! Move! A whole new world is headed straight at you!" As Bruner says, every word that comes from Jesus is nuclear. These words are urgent and the implications of this kingdom's approach are immediate. If someone yells "Watch out!" when you're crossing a street but then you just stand there, something is going to happen to you and it's probably not going to be good. Jesus' point is the same: you can't hear him tell you that the kingdom is approaching and then just stand there like a statue with your hands in your pockets. You need to repent, literally to turn around, so that you're ready to embrace this kingdom, so that you can hop onto the kingdom instead of getting crushed by it as it rolls right over you. Scott E. Hoezee, Comments and Observations The kingdom of God is near. They say that Psalm 27 is David’s prayer while he was trying to escape the wrath of Saul. His prayer was that God would be with him all of the time. Verse 1 says the Lord is my light and my salvation. If I have God them whom shall I fear. Verse 4 says that I will ask to live in the house of the Lord forever. – the house of the lord is not in heaven – but here in earth. They say that this is a psalm for a funeral – but it is a psalm for life. Life in the house of the lord is living in Christ, with Christ, for Christ, under the protection of Christ. As long as we have Christ, what do we have to fear? LUTHER ON FEAR Martin Luther made this interesting observation in his Table Talk: "God and the devil take opposite tactics in regard to fear. The Lord first allows us to become afraid, that he might relieve our fears and comfort us. The devil, on the other hand, first makes us feel secure in our pride and sins, that we might later be overwhelmed with fear and despair." Source: From a sermon by Anthony Zibolski, "Overcoming fear and anxiety" 2/20/2009 As disciples we have to tell others that the kingdom of God is at hand. Turning Toward the Light A little boy named Bobby entered his first science fair in second grade. Because his Mom has a green thumb, they decided to experiment with the growth of plants. He took two small green plants and placed one on a sunny windowsill and the other in a cardboard box. After a couple of weeks, Bobby checked on the two plants. The one on the windowsill had grown a couple of inches and had vibrant green leaves. The one in the box had actually grown a bit, but it had lost all of its green color, becoming almost white and its leaves drooping. Thinking that the plant might die, Bobby cut a hole in one side of the box, like this, and set the box, with the plant inside, by the windowsill … with the hole facing toward the incoming light. Well you know what happened … but Bobby was so excited by this discovery! Yes, over the course of a few weeks, the plant began to grow out through the hole! And, a couple of weeks later, it turned to grow up toward the light and even blossomed! The plant that had been in gloomy darkness … and was all but dead … had seen a great light, it turned toward that light and blossomed! Well, Matthew wrote … after the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ … and therefore with the full realization of who this man of God was … he wrote that the Light had certainly dawned on the people by the sea, the kingdom of heaven had definitely come near; it had dawned and come near in the person of Jesus Christ … in the personified love and power of God that makes people … different … alive! Robert K. Schneider, Follow the Maker. Adapted by Brett Blair,www.Sermons.com If you have truly seen the light – how hard is it to help others to see the light for themselves. We have to provide a space for others to see that life is so much better in the light of Christ. Commentary Jesus lived three years with his disciples. They went everywhere together and did everything together. They ate, slept, and breathed the life of Jesus and yet it was difficult for them to make the transition in their minds from a Messiah who would be a mighty King of Jews to a Messiah that would die for the sins of mankind. But Jesus never wavered in his mission. Throughout his entire ministry among the people and his training of the disciples he held in his heart this hope: That Peter along with the rest of his disciples would lose their earthly ambitions and become feeders of sheep--fishers of men. The very first words of Jesus when he and Peter met at the waters was, "Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men." His very last words to Peter, again down at the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and after his resurrection, were, "Feed my sheep, Follow me." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com Peter understood the invitation to salvation in his life and in others – what about you? Let us pray….Amen. Fishers Of Men by Mark A. Hultquist Passage: Matthew 4:18-22 • Lectionary: Epiphany 3 Item 1 of 21 | Back to Results Text: Matthew 4:18-20 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Materials: A stick with a string and fishing hook attached and a regular fishing pole and tackle box filled with supplies. Message: Do any of you want to go fishing? When I was growing up my dad would take me fishing in two different places. The first was a lake where my uncle had a cabin. We would fish on Saturday mornings and catch little sunfish and other kinds of fish, all very small. But in the summers we would go deep sea fishing in the ocean and then we would catch the bigger fish - haddock and cod and sometimes even sharks! One of the things you learn very quickly when you go fishing is that you have to use different kinds of equipment, depending on the type of fish you want to catch. If I wanted to go fishing today and all I had was this stick with a string and hook on the end, do you think I would be very successful? I might do okay in a small pond trying to catch those sunfish, but that is about the best I could do. So if I wanted to go after the big ones, what would I have to do? Right! I would need a better fishing pole, and the right kind of lures to attract the fish. With all the right equipment I would have a much better chance! One day when Jesus was walking along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers who were fishermen, Peter and Andrew. He said to them, "I will make you fishers of men!" Jesus meant he would teach them to tell people about how great God is and how His love can change their lives! They followed Jesus for three years to learn how to do that. The Bible also says that you and I are called to be fishers of people. That means we also need to learn how to tell others about God. In order to do that we need to be growing in our faith. If the most we can say about God is that He exists, we will not catch many fish. However, if we spend time learning about God, and growing in our faith so that people see Jesus in our lives, then we are like this kind of fisherman who is ready for whatever might come along. We will be prepared to answer people's questions about God and to reach them where they are, so they can come to know Christ. God wants to make us into that kind of fishers of men! FROM A MUSTARD SEED, Mark A. Hultquist, CSS Publishing Company, 1996, 0-7880-0847-1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Follow Me There was a field covered with freshly fallen snow. A father and a son enter the field. As they walk across the field, you notice that the father pays no particular attention to where he is going, but his son, on the other hand, follows directly behind, making a special effort to step in his father’s footprints. After the two have crossed the field, you notice that there is only one set of tracks visible in the field, although two had walked across it. The Christian life is that way. In our daily walk we ought to be following Christ's example. Whether in times of suffering, sorrow or need, whether in times of health, joy, or abundance--if someone were to observe the snow-covered fields of your life, would there be one set of tracks, those of Christ? Or would there be two sets, one belonging to Christ and the other distinctly yours? Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p.53. Adapted _______________________ A Moment of Decision In his commentary William Barclay notes the significance of Jesus' move from Nazareth to Capernaum. He says, “There was a kind of symbolic finality in that move. In that moment Jesus left his home never again to return to live in it. It is as if he shut the door that lay behind him before he opened the door that stood in front of him. It was the clean cut between the old and the new. One chapter was ended and another had begun. Into life there come these moments of decision. It is always better to meet them with an even surgical cut than to vacillate undecided between two courses of action.” William Barclay Recently, I was listening to a teacher by the name of Rob Bell and he spoke on the selecting process that Rabbis would use to choose their disciples. At the Age of 6, children would begin to learn the Torah, this training was called Bat cipher, from 8 to 10 they would have the torah by heart, memorized, (Gen – Deu) by the end of bat-cipher, most kids would go and learn their family trade, but the best of the best would advance to the next level, the ones with the most natural ability would then memorize (Gen to Mal), after this the best of the best of the best would then apply to a rabbi to become his disciple. A disciple does not just want to know what his Rabbi knows, but he wants to be like his rabbi, and do what his rabbi does. Different rabbis had different sets of interpretations, which were called a Rabbis’ yoke. So you would then apply to the rabbi, the rabbi would grill you, the rabbi wanted to know if this kid can do what I can do, can he spread my yoke, but after the rabbi grills you, he might say you love god and knows the torah, but he is not good, then he would say go learn your family business, but if the rabbi thought this kid has what it takes, he is the best of the best of the best, the rabbi would then say come follow me, you would then leave your family, friends and your synagogue and village and you would devote your entire life to being like your rabbi, learning to do what your rabbi does, this is what it means to be a disciple. All this has huge implications to Jesus. In the gospels, we see Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to come and follow him. If they are fishermen then they are not following another rabbi. That means that they are not the best of the best. The Bible says, they dropped their nets and followed after Jesus. Of course they would have done that because in those days rabbis were the most honored and respected people. Picture this, Jesus, a Rabbi, is walking along the beach and says come and follow me. What He is really saying, you can do what I can do, you can be like me, then the story continues, with the men fishing with their fathers That means they are learning there families business and that means they did not make the cut, they were not considered the best of the best to any other rabbis. But Jesus tells them that He chooses them and they did not choose Him (john 15). A rabbi chooses his disciples on the basis that they have the potential to be like him. God believes in us, you know. The question is what about Jesus’ faith in us, He must have faith in us because he tells us to go and make more disciples, what if He actually believes that we can be like Him and live like Him. Jesus has faith that you can follow him and be like him, he believes it and that is what the foundation of our calling should be based on. May you believe in God and may you come to see that God believes in you. That is, why He chose you! A. Dr. Karl Menninger, a world-famous psychiatrist, was answering questions after giving a lecture on mental health when one person asked, “What would you advice someone to do if he felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people expected the doctor to say, “Consult a psychiatrist.” Instead he said, “Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need, and do something to help that person.” B. this psychiatrist knows that those who serve others have less mental and psychological problems. The best way to bring on a heart attach or a mental, emotional breakdown is to think about yourself all the time.

What Holds us Together?

Third Sunday of Epiphany January 23, 2011 1 Corinthians 1: 10-18 Matthew 4:12-23 Year A Mission statement of each church………. Mission and Purpose Mission and purpose, that is our focus for the next two months. What is our mission and purpose for being here, what has God bothered to call all of us here for, and are we going to follow God, or stay stuck in our excuses for why that it not possible? There is nothing wrong with the mission, that mission always stays the same. But there are always reason why we are not living up to it. Paul goes over those reason for Corinth, but it doesn’t help for us to listen in, to see if in some small way- those things still are present today. What you do the the least of these you do to Christ Mr Smith tried an experiment with his social studies class – he invited each person to draw a picture of their enemy, when they were finished, she invited them to they could tack it up and throw darts at it. Sally had the perfect picture, she took her time and drew a picture of Mr. Smith. She got every detail just right, down to his pimples. She hated him and she wanted him to know it. This was her chance. Each child got their chance to stand in line and to throw their darts at the person they hated the most. Some of the children were so angry that they destroyed their pictures. And there were times when it was really hard to pull the darts out, but for some reason halfway through the line of children, Mr. Smith stopped the game. Two persons aways from her time, Sally was stopped, she would not get her turn to through the darts, this made her even madder. But Mr Smith pulled the darts away, and all of the pictures of enemies away. And behind it all was a picture of Jesus (this must have been a catholic school). Jesus on the cross, his chest nearly torn away from all of the puncture holes. Each time one of the students threw a dart at their enemy, they were also throwing a dart into the heart of Jesus. Jesus last words to his disciples were to feed my sheep. Take care of the things that Jesus cared for. At some point he also told that that what they do the least of these you do to me. We tend to think of that advice in a positive way. When we feed and take care of others, we take care of Jesus. But when we hurt one another, when we speak even of one another, what we do to our enemies, we also do to Jesus. Jesus takes a lot of punishment from our evil ways…. Paul’s first lesson to the church Paul is talking to the Corinthian church, reminding them of their mission and purpose and revealing to them what stands in the way of them living out their mission and purpose. The first thing that he addresses if their disunity. We don’t have that problem here, but he tells them that there are different factions in the church. Each evangelist that came to the church bought new people into the church. Instead of joining the church, those people were following a pastor. So some people were loyal to appollos, some loyal to peter, some to paul. It never occurred to them to be think about all of the other people in the church. That they were members of the church, not of a time in its history. It doesn’t matter when or how we joined the church, we are all the body of Christ. There is only one church, the church of jesus Christ. He asks if we are on such different pages, can Christ be divided? Trick question – because apparently he can – if we are separated and living in disagreement. Christ shouldn’t be separated, but when we disagree with one another – he is. We don’t have to like one another, but we do have to love Jesus. And if we really love Jesus, then there is no reason for us to hate one another. What we do to the least of these – we also do the Christ. The beginning of the Christian community in Matthew 4 Church should be a united community of people are who holy and set apart, sacred and important, called out for a purpose. The purpose is to love Jesus above all else. To leave everything else behind and to follow jesus . Matthew 4 shows us that being called out is the beginning of community. We know that John was in the desert baptizing people and telling them to repent for the kingdom of God was near. Many people think that Jesus started out as a disciple of John. And when he found out that John had been thrown in jail, he knew that he had to take over the job. He went throughout the countryside with the same message, repent, for the kingdom of God is near. But he had another message in addition to calling people, he asked them to follow me. He wanted them to be clear that the only path to the kingdom was to follow. He moved to Capernaum, a fishing town on the sea of gallilee and gave that invitation to perfect strangers. Simon, Peter, James, John. No one knows what they saw in jesus. Why they gave up job, family, tradition, pride and everything else. And they accepted that invitation to become a part of community, the body of Christ. Why do any of us accept that invitation to discipleship? What is it that any of us see in Jesus – salvation, healing, reconciliation, repentance, love, peace, joy. Whatever it is what we do see if that becoming a disciple requires a intentional decision. When we accept that invitation to follow me, we enter into a community, we will never walk alone. We may not like the people we walk with, but once we give up our lives, and we accept that invititation, we are a part of a special community called to reach out and make disciples of others – our mission and purpose. Either we make it to heaven together as the body of Christ, or we goto hell together as we pull each other down with our disagreements and misunderstandings. What we say about one another is a reflection of ourselves. Paul says that we should be united with one another in the same mind and the same purpose in the name of the lord Jesus Christ. Alaha means unity Lately I have been reading several books on the meaning of the Jesus words in his original language. Jesus didn’t write anything down, and the words of what happened were not written until hundreds of years after he died. Jesus would have spoke Aramaic as he went throughout the countryside preaching the good news. Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, are very similar languages, but not quite the same. The Hebrew word for god is elohim which means the one that is also many, Arabic – allah, aramiaic is alaha. But heres what is interesting – guess what alaha means. It means unity. Alaha is the one who cannot be separated, or divided, who is all things all people at the same time. Alaha is the sacred unity which is beyond names, forms, ideas, symbols, and concepts. In Aramiaic, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God means – ripe are the consistent in heart; they shall see sacred unity in all things. Have faith in God means remain within yourselves, - live in a place of rooted confidence in sacred unity. Can the church be divided? Not if it understands the sacred unity of god and the presence of god in all things. Keep the Bull out of the pasture Louie Newton was a Baptist preacher a generation ago. He used to answer all of his mail with a handwritten letter. Right before he was about to retire, he wrote two letters. One to a church that was so deeply divided that it was about to split, he gave intention instructions about what they needed to do to heal their differences. And the other was to the caretaker of his farm who was having trouble with a bull. By the grace of god when he was ready to mail the letters, he put them in the wrong envelopes. The caretaker, for the reconciliation instructions. The church council met to open this short note – close the gate and keep the bull out of the pasture. At first they were puzzled at what that had to do with all of their problems. Then the light went on in one church leaders head – I get it – the bull is the devil. We have been letting him run free in our lives. He has been running free in our church and destroying the flock. We need to keep the devil out and let Christ rule his pasture. Made sense to everybody – and they prayed for strength to live a more holy life. Do we live out the characteristics of God? Are disrespect, disregard, and an unwillingness to understand the needs of others the characteristics of a God who is the one which encompasses all things, who is sacred unity, above division? Can Christ really be divided? I don’t know. All things encompasses both the good and the bad in life and in people. What I do know is Paul’s words, is that when we are divided as the church, we empty the cross of its power. When we have our own agendas, our own clicks, our own opinions, God is thinking of us, but are we thinking of God? For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Let us pray……