When Jesus calls people to be his followers--way back then and now--he gives us a primary mission--to be fishers of people, to capture, captivate others with his good news.
Text: Luke 5:1-11
mp3 files of this sermon may be accessed for streaming or download at
http://www.mediafire.com/?2myz2ab1mut (part 1)
http://www.mediafire.com/?a4imfm4yntm (part 2)
The stranger who walked into the church following worship three weeks ago asking to meet with the minister. He was not here for a handout. Instead, he wondered why we were not going door-to-door telling people about Jesus. Although his mannerisms and methodology were a bit jarring, I couldn't get his question out of my head.
After all, did Jesus not invite would-be followers initially with the invitation to be fishers?
Did he not send them out two-by-two to go and share the gospel (good news) with others?
Did he not tell us to "go into all the world and make disciples" before he left the earth? (The Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20)
The Mission Statement of a church...Bring them in, build them up, send them out in Jesus' name.
Has "fishing" been our primary mission?
Check out this link on "Fishology" http://www.tagnet.org/masabatha/fishing.html
The story begins with Jesus telling Peter and his fellow fishers to "go deep." What does a professional carpenter know about fishing? Peter had every right to reject this advice...after all, he is the professional fishermen? He says: "We've been fishing all night and caught nothing..."
YET (But, Nevertheless) if you say so, I will do it."
Can we relate to Peter's fatigue and frustration?
We've knocked on doors and dropped off information packets, sent fancy postcards out at Christmastime...over 3000 homes received them, we've spent hundreds of dollars and "man-hours"...how many new people have showed up as a result of our advertising efforts? None, nada, cipher, zero.
At this frustrating time, Jesus tells us to GO DEEP
Going deep is scary...what if we fail? Are we not taking a greater risk in going deep? We'd much rather stay on the shore and wait for the fish to come to us :)
If we do a survey of those who became part of our church in recent years (those whose families did not have a connection to Palermo at all), we will discover that some came because they saw the church here or checked the phone book to see the closest United Church. However, we will find that most came because someone took the time and effort to invite them personally.
Is it possible that our call to GO DEEP today calls us to do the same? Even though we may not be comfortable? Even though we feel that we're out of our depth?
We need not go to another country...we need to learn how to infiltrate our neighbourhood with the good news of Jesus.
Our task as the minister and leaders of this church is to equip you to captivate others enough that they want to come and see who Jesus is. This is our PRIMARY MISSION.
All we need to learn to do is how to BEGIN CONVERSATIONS, find out the needs they may have, and lead them to a place where their need is filled by Jesus. This is what I need to do more of, because whenever I've initiated conversations, something usually happens (Like the shoe store clerk I told you about a few months ago).
When Peter obeyed Jesus, the catch was so large that they needed others to help them bring the fish on board. One person's obedience was all it took for that miracle to happen? Imagine what can happen if just one of you decided to obey the call to GO DEEP today and we started fulfilling OUR PRIMARY MISSION!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUPS
1. How did you respond to the reading "Fishology"? Did it ring true at all? Why? Why not?
2. Can you think of people (including yourself) who have become followers of Jesus, primarily because someone took the time and effort to talk to us and invite us?
3. To what extent does Palermo United fulfil OUR PRIMARY MISSION?
4. What would keep you from "going deep" --starting conversations and/or issuing invitations?
5. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the names of five people to whom you can start talking. Write them down on a piece of paper. As a group, pray for these people that God would prepare their hearts to listen to you and pray for yourself that He will give you the right words to say when you take a stab at beginning a conversation.
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