Finding Nemo, Proverbs 3:1-8, 01/26/14

Sermon 1-26-14  Finding nemo  Prov 3:1-8

 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, ² for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.^{[a] 7} Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. ⁸ This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Mt 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Finding nemo.

Its an entertaining little story about a fish.

Nemo. Cute.  Here he is.                                                      picture

 It is more.  It is a story of a lost son, whose father goes to no end to find him

Sound familiar?

We can all relate to the lost stories of the bible

We have all lost our way

·        Nemo is lost in his pride – he has to prove he is a man [little fin]

·        Marlin is lost in his fear – he has lost his wife and this is his only child

·        They both end up lost is an ocean that is far bigger than they had ever imagined

·        Sound familiar?

We are lost is so many ways

·        We are lost in our love of money

·        Lost in our need to be entertained

·        Lost in thinking that we are all that

·        Lost in thinking that we have the doctrine market cornered

And god is seeking us

Wishing to break into our lives,

Wishing to break into our ways of thinking

Wishing to change what we love

 Nemo is touched when he hears how much his father loves him   video

He went to the ends of the earth for me

Surely Jesus did this on the cross.  He left the splendor of heaven

But it is more.  God seeks to reach in. 

to speak into our hearts and minds. 

To teach us to live in ways that show his love.

What will it matter if we say we believe, but are not loving others?

A changed heart isn’t just a heart that loves Jesus

A changed heart is a heart that loves Jesus’ children

Mt 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

We continue the struggle that Paul spoke of spirit vs flesh

This challenge that we have is illustrated in the movie by the dilemma of the sharks

They want to eat the fish, but they know it isn’t right.

They are in 12 step programs to stop eating the fish                 Show clip

We too know that using people is wrong

But we are so driven by our hunger for things

We step on each other to get ahead

Jesus invites us to a different way

The gospel of the kingdom demands that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us

 Fish are friends not food

People are more important than ideas

Bj thomas -

Loving things and using people only leads to misery

Using things and loving people the way it ought to be

You have just so much energy in this life

For what are you using it?

Do we use the gifts and talents of god mostly for our own enjoyment?

Or are we doing everything we can, every day to love others.

·        The ability to smile is not just for you to mile in the mirror

·        The ability to hug is not just for your kin

·        The ability to buy a hamburger is not just for your hunger

·        The ability to buy a house is not just for you.  What of others who have no home?

 

But I earned it.  Its mine

No - God gave it, it is just on loan to us

Once upon a time a rich man died.  How much of his money did he leave behind?    All of it

 

The kingdom of Jesus has a very different message than what is sent by our culture

In a world where we are told to buy, consume, and want more,

Jesus says, love others

It is a different voice

 

It’s a voice that says, trust me, not things.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge  him, and he will make your direct your paths

 

Marlin and Dori are stuck in the whale

The whale says, swim to the back…….

 

Marlin asks Dori- how do you know something bad isn’t going to happen to us?  And she says “I don’t”. 

Trust is doing the right thing, regardless of the outcome.

 
Later they are invited to listen to a pelican………

Seagulls are hungry……

Listen to the invitation of the pelican                                   -video

Listen to the voice of god

 

The voice of God.  It is counter intuitive

But it takes us home

Away from the world we have created and back to the world that he intended

A world where he is first and we are second

Are you depressed?  There may be a reason

Find a way to give yourself away

 

Trust in God and Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

 

I just got back from Nicaragua

Jennifer dancy was on the trip and she has asked to say a few words to you today