Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Bible Pickers: Walking on Water, 5/31/15

Sermon 5/31/15: Bible Pickers -Walking on Water - Mt 14:22-36
 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

The series:  today and bringing it back this summer

The old bible

The story today / similar to Jesus calms the storm

Main theme: Fear or trust

We like to laugh about things that bother us
A woman in bowie county tx saw a snake in the grass outside her house she grabbed a gas can and doused it with gasoline. After setting the snake on fire, however, things went from bad to worse.
The snake, burning brightly, slithered into a brush pile. The pile caught fire and by the time the fire department arrived her house has burned to the ground.

A man afraid of spiders spotted one in his Seattle laundry room. In order to get rid of it he grabbed a lighter and a can of spray paint. There is no report about the fate of the spider but the house caught fire causing about $60, 000 dollars worth of damage.

There are Lots of jokes about fear
5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn't want to go in alone. "It's dark in there and I'm scared." She asked again, and he persisted. Finally she said, "It's OK--Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: "Jesus, if you're in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?"

Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. "Keep calm" the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run." "Sure," replied his companion. "You've read the book, and I've read the book. But has the lion read the book?"

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"

Ahh the many types of fear-
Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.
Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple.
Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.
Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.
Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights.
Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings.
Thalassophobia: fear of being seated.
Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking.
Odontophobia: fear of teeth.
 Ophidiophobia- fear of snakes

I have always had a fear of water - auqaphobia

The mile swim- I dropped out in boy scouts
Santa Cruz – swimming at the beach.  Fear of jaws
Collective unconsciousness

We all know fear……..
During his years as premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev denounced many of the policies and atrocities of Joseph Stalin. Once, as he censured Stalin in a public meeting, Khrushchev was interrupted by a shout from a heckler in the audience. "You were one of Stalin's colleagues. Why didn't you stop him?" "Who said that?" roared Khrushchev. An agonizing silence followed as nobody in the room dared move a muscle. Then Khrushchev replied quietly, "Now you know why." 

years ago, the greatest fears of grade school children were: 1) Animals, 2) Being in a dark room, 3) High places, 4) Strangers, 5) Loud noises.
Today, kids are afraid of the following: 1) Divorce, 2) Nuclear war, 3) Cancer, 4) Pollution, 5) Being mugged.

Today, adults fear, economic uncertainty, instability in the world, and identity theft

We fear Health issues
Fear when Scott was sick
Fear when I was rushed to the hospital……..

Disciples
They were afraid of the wind and waves.
He left them out there all night…….!!!!
This is different than Jesus calming the storm.  Different story
Mk 4, Mt 8

They are not sure who Jesus is
We have the same problem
The denominational Jesus
The little Jesus

Jesus is calling, peter is not sure….
Peter wants to see him up close.
“bid me come to you”
Focusing on the fear, he sinks…..

Fear is not bad, it tells us to prepare
It is a natural experience for humans
If you don’t have a healthy fear of some things I this life, you will end up dead for sure.

He focuses on himself and sinks
The negative nature of keeping your eyes on yourself
Selfishness is very sneaky

The disciples were a mess…….
After Jesus death they hid in the upper room.
Even after the resurrection they are hiding in that upper room.
Fear caused the disciples to huddle together in that room for protection.. The room became a prison—fear kept them inside. Fear drove them to lock themselves up to protect their lives."

The challenge of seeing the good in this life
The man in the Nazi prison…..
It’s a dumb little story…… is it?

We have a choice in this life of looking at our frailties and always worrying about everything
Or trusting in God

Peter is sinking and Jesus saves him.
But not every time

Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms the child.

The joy and hope of trusting God
Hebrews 11

Most powerful words in scripture – fear not.  Fear not.

Is 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.


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