scripture………are you catching anything? Luke 5:1-11 7-23-06
Vacation…..fishing…..---are you catching anything?
I got to thinking about fishing……..are you ever on vacation from your faith?
If you are broken, shelve this, relax. If you are not broken, then all soldiers in Jesus army are called to act on these marching orders
We are called not simply to attend, not simply to sit or even to just give. Everyone is called to become one who fishes for men and women
1Peter 3:15……….Be ready to give answer of the hope that lives within you.
The blindness of our culture
In Mt and Mark, the story is bare bones….follow me, they do
Interesting part of this story….not a simple follow me…not magic
But jesus makes a huge impact on peter
Peter walked away from a boat load of fish
would you forfeit a fortune in fish to follow jesus—many wouldn’t, many dont
what is the condition of Christianity in our culture?
· Mark Twain 1835-1910 said, "If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian."
· Gandhi was once asked by a close friend, “If you admire Christ so much, why don’t you become a Christian?” Gandhi reportedly replied, “When I meet a Christian who is a follower of Christ, I may consider it.”
· results and examples such as this are probably not what Christ had in mind when he said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Is our Christianity authentic or just a weakend down version that fits well with our American lives….talk with Brian….2 missionaries from Belarus
Mine Mules: A visitor to a town, out for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon, was passing a mine in Pennsylvania years ago, and asked a child why the fields were so full of mules.The child explained that these were mine mules. They worked in the mines during the week and were brought up on Sundays to keep from going blind.
We live here, we work here, but every now and then we have got to step back from our culture and look to see what is really important
How do we share our faith effectively
The challenge of this is illustrated in the video
This is a challenge for everyone………we are nervous about this
Sharing my faith with shop keepers Sharing my faith on the airplane
Be yourself-authentic, genuine
Let them see your warts…………
When the disciples left their boats and followed Jesus, they did not go into detox
Go as you are….you don’t have to be the perfect Christian to share People wont respond to that anyway
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.You are beautiful God loves you because you are you Not because you are perfect
Jesus didn’t pretend
People don’t respond to pretend
Pretending has the opposite results than what we seek
I did it for a long time I kept lists I delivered guilt I could not live up to my own pressure But I could sure put it on others
What draws people to Jesus is an authentic life and an authentic invitation
Do you like kris bartman Cause he is perfect Cause of the odd little things that are endearing about him
Good heart, good man,
People will be won by you, not the pretend you
The church has taught us to pretend
Jesus did not pretend
Section conclusion
Which is a better invitation……
· look at me, I am good. Come be like me…they will see thru you
· Or, yes I am not perfect, you know, you live next door, but let me tell you about Jesus
Witness out of your brokenness,
Paul: when I am weak, then I am strong
People want to know who you are People are starving for something that is real
Religion has not served them well Jesus can
You don’t have to close the sale
Be positive, be gracious, be kind—share the love
Such behavior will open the door for a discussion at some point
Nervous? Inviting them to church may be enough for now
Conclusion
Is this worth doing?
Peter saw the boat load of fish and realized that there is so much more.
There is no better, more joyful use of your time than to be used by God to make a positive impact on the life of another human being
A Pastor of a large church was asked if a church can get too big.
He answered this way: if there is one more person in your community who has not yet found Christ, then your church is still too small. If there's one more person in your city who needs to experience the love of God in Jesus Christ, then this church is not yet big enough.
Prayer timetwo Weeks ago I mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I received an email reminding me that Bonhoeffer prayed for his enemies
They killed him.
The email asked if Jesus asked us to love our enemies and pray for those whopersecute us, why don’t we do this in church
If we believe that Christ meant what hesaid, it seems we have an obligation, both individually and as a body, tolift up those who need him most, even (especially?) when they oppose us.
Osama ben laden
Terrorists
Those who hate
Vacation…..fishing…..---are you catching anything?
I got to thinking about fishing……..are you ever on vacation from your faith?
If you are broken, shelve this, relax. If you are not broken, then all soldiers in Jesus army are called to act on these marching orders
We are called not simply to attend, not simply to sit or even to just give. Everyone is called to become one who fishes for men and women
1Peter 3:15……….Be ready to give answer of the hope that lives within you.
The blindness of our culture
In Mt and Mark, the story is bare bones….follow me, they do
Interesting part of this story….not a simple follow me…not magic
But jesus makes a huge impact on peter
Peter walked away from a boat load of fish
would you forfeit a fortune in fish to follow jesus—many wouldn’t, many dont
what is the condition of Christianity in our culture?
· Mark Twain 1835-1910 said, "If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian."
· Gandhi was once asked by a close friend, “If you admire Christ so much, why don’t you become a Christian?” Gandhi reportedly replied, “When I meet a Christian who is a follower of Christ, I may consider it.”
· results and examples such as this are probably not what Christ had in mind when he said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Is our Christianity authentic or just a weakend down version that fits well with our American lives….talk with Brian….2 missionaries from Belarus
Mine Mules: A visitor to a town, out for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon, was passing a mine in Pennsylvania years ago, and asked a child why the fields were so full of mules.The child explained that these were mine mules. They worked in the mines during the week and were brought up on Sundays to keep from going blind.
We live here, we work here, but every now and then we have got to step back from our culture and look to see what is really important
How do we share our faith effectively
The challenge of this is illustrated in the video
This is a challenge for everyone………we are nervous about this
Sharing my faith with shop keepers Sharing my faith on the airplane
Be yourself-authentic, genuine
Let them see your warts…………
When the disciples left their boats and followed Jesus, they did not go into detox
Go as you are….you don’t have to be the perfect Christian to share People wont respond to that anyway
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.You are beautiful God loves you because you are you Not because you are perfect
Jesus didn’t pretend
People don’t respond to pretend
Pretending has the opposite results than what we seek
I did it for a long time I kept lists I delivered guilt I could not live up to my own pressure But I could sure put it on others
What draws people to Jesus is an authentic life and an authentic invitation
Do you like kris bartman Cause he is perfect Cause of the odd little things that are endearing about him
Good heart, good man,
People will be won by you, not the pretend you
The church has taught us to pretend
Jesus did not pretend
Section conclusion
Which is a better invitation……
· look at me, I am good. Come be like me…they will see thru you
· Or, yes I am not perfect, you know, you live next door, but let me tell you about Jesus
Witness out of your brokenness,
Paul: when I am weak, then I am strong
People want to know who you are People are starving for something that is real
Religion has not served them well Jesus can
You don’t have to close the sale
Be positive, be gracious, be kind—share the love
Such behavior will open the door for a discussion at some point
Nervous? Inviting them to church may be enough for now
Conclusion
Is this worth doing?
Peter saw the boat load of fish and realized that there is so much more.
There is no better, more joyful use of your time than to be used by God to make a positive impact on the life of another human being
A Pastor of a large church was asked if a church can get too big.
He answered this way: if there is one more person in your community who has not yet found Christ, then your church is still too small. If there's one more person in your city who needs to experience the love of God in Jesus Christ, then this church is not yet big enough.
Prayer timetwo Weeks ago I mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I received an email reminding me that Bonhoeffer prayed for his enemies
They killed him.
The email asked if Jesus asked us to love our enemies and pray for those whopersecute us, why don’t we do this in church
If we believe that Christ meant what hesaid, it seems we have an obligation, both individually and as a body, tolift up those who need him most, even (especially?) when they oppose us.
Osama ben laden
Terrorists
Those who hate
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