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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