Happy Father’s Day! Welcome to church this week for Food Pantry and “Prayze” Hot Dogs on Tuesday 5:30-7 and Bible Study (studying Exodus) on Wednesday at 6. And then on Sunday, there’s Sunday School starting 9:45 (studying Matthew), and Worship Service at 11 am followed by lavish snacks in the Fellowship Hall catered by the Fellowship Committee, who have been going all out. The next book club date is July 1, discussing Forgiving What You Can’t Forget. Hope to see you soon!
20 June 2021 Sunday Message: “Fly Fishin’ Essentials”
Call to Worship: Mark 1:16-18
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Invitation, Praises, and Prayer Concerns: Father in Heaven and universe beyond, creator of everything, we praise glorify, and magnify your Holy, and precious name. Lord thank you for all of the blessings you endow us with moment by moment, and we ask for you forgiveness for forgetting to thank you for all you have given us. Please help us to be the kind of people you would have in your family, and grow us in your image.
Amen!
Message Reading: Matthew 10:1-16
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Message: “Fly Fishin’ Essentials”
I would like to welcome everyone this morning to our Worship service, which is dedicated to the pursuit of sharing light in darkness, joy in the midst of despair, and hope when apathy, malaise, and depression have been predominate to so many that we love and care for. Well, no longer, because today we are talking about the good news from our Lord. News you can use, and use throughout eternity. Plus, it is available to everyone.
Our message of hope today is intended to help those of you who have been wanting to share the good news of our Lord, the Gospel, with other people but were not sure how to go about it. Knowing that all of us have been tasked with this challenge and opportunity to help others by the Lord. How to get out there and fish for people. Not poaching from the unwilling, robbing from other ministries, or engaged in endless debates over rhetoric, of form, style and intent. But witnessing, sharing, and serving others.
No, true fishing involves the search for people, wild caught so to speak. It is immensely more important than sport or dinner, because we are talking of salvation. Freedom, and a release from darkness for all people who believe. And, in my bait and switch scheme to bring attention to today’s subject, I couldn’t help thinking about how similar to serving other people fishing is like. Both take some skill, time, and desire for success.
So, today the Pro-Shop is open for your fishing and witnessing requirements. Complete with a full complement of tips for landing the champion and unlike conventional angling, then nurturing that catch to good health. And before I go any further, I have to share with you that no, I did not watch “A River Runs Through It” this last week, or read Hemmingway’s: “Old Man by the Sea” recently. We have not gone fishing as of late (much to my wife’s disappointment), and I have not the least idea where the big ones are biting, except out there somewhere.
In fact, today has nothing to do with fishing, recreating, or the great outdoors in general, but everything to do with learning some of the techniques of sharing the happiness we have found with other people God places in our lives. Oh, and He always places the perfect people to complete us. People we would perhaps not select but God does, because He knows what and who we really need.
So why the tease with fishing and starting off our Worship Service by quoting the Lord in Mark? In fact, for form and style, let me repeat today’s Call to Worship from Mark 1:16-18;
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
One of the ways, if not the very best way to learn how to share the Good News with others is to follow the footsteps of the master of all Good News, our Lord Jesus Christ. God came to mankind incarnate (meaning God walking around like us, and with us), provides all kinds of lessons for humanity to learn from, and then for you and I to benchmark, emulate, copy, and use.
In Matthew 1, we have the Lord first going to where His followers are to recruit them. This is huge, because we are talking about the creator of everything, not sitting in a palace waiting for us, but first coming into this life to walk with us, then in the Disciples case, going to where the action is, where the fishing is taking place and making a connection that those disciples could relate to.
Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men or; 17 “Come, follow me,” … “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
This has nothing to do with fishing for tuna, salmon, or trout, and everything to do with connecting with the family of God who you and I will spend eternity with.
A lesson all churches in this country should have learned back in the 1960s and 70s when there were people who would come to church on their own accord only to be taken for granted of by the church back then. The Church of today must hold all people presious and remember that if you want to share the Word of God, you need to leave church like the Lord left Heaven and go out into the world. Or at least into the neighborhood in our case.
And if you think maybe you should pass on going out there to share, because you lack the right tools to get the job done, think again. Why do you think the Lord chose and used fishermen from the Galilee?
Guys, that came from the wrong side of the tracks, combined with what I’m sure were guys that talked like fishermen, smelled like fishermen, and probably had the same kind of manners as those who much of the time are isolated from the rest of society. But God I believe also choose these people, first; because they were receptive to the Spirit of the Lord (available for God), second; willing, and thirdly; to show the rest of us that God can do wonders in everyone! Even you and me, and our little group have the resources to witness, share, and serve our community.
After the disciples had been with the Lord, Jesus sends out the disciples to share the Good News and to serve the people out there, where the action was and the people were. Returning now to todays message reading from Mathew 10:1-16
10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Starting with the last first, the Lord is sending out helpers to share the Good News of God, and all are invited. Knowing that some of our family are in some areas of town more challenging than others and sometimes its best to go with a friend or two. Also, when we dedicate ourselves to sharing the Good News, when we do it in a prayerful manner, we are open to the Lord’s promptings and can indeed be as innocent as doves because our only agenda is the Lord and not focused on ourselves.
Next, I believe even when we are trying to be like the Lord and fish (search) for people that sometimes we need to be mindful our own tendencies out think God. In my own case here are three things that come to mind that it is easy for me to; over plan, over think, and over talk. What I mean is:
- Over Planning how we are going to share God’s love with others is a natural thing we must be aware of.
- Planning ahead and being prepared in life is crucial, but at some point, its easy to go beyond being prepared and smothering out the opportunities God is providing.
- George McCullen in the Civil war was all about preparing, but could never get to the next stage which was actually engaging and deploying his resources. At some point, God wants us to leave the church building and go out into the world.
- Over thinking the challenge is so easy to do when we are really wanting to serve God and do a good job, but at some point I need to just let go and let God drive the car, the situation and most of all, my heart.
- Once the preplanning is complete (you know where the fish are), real fishing, real caring, is living in the moment and not reading from a script.
- Planning is good and being prepared is essential, but there will come a time when you just need to be in the moment and be there for other people.
- Instead of dwelling on what is out of our control, perhaps the Lord is telling us to spend our thinking energy on the people we are serving instead of ourselves worrying about what they think about us.
- Over talking is dangerous any time, but when we are trying to share the Good News, sometimes sharing best comes from example instead of towering speech.
- To really help the people I want to share God’s love with, I need to get to know them, which means sometimes shutting my big mouth so that I can listen to what they are saying about themselves.
- Discernment and prayer help us to know when to talk and when it’s time to listen.
**It is important to remember that there is no one size fits all, and with each person you meet, you are writing a new “User’s Manuel” for an individual (not just for you, but for their edification), someone unique and marvelous in God’s eyes.
When we get right down to it, the Lord is sending us out to share His word, His plan, and His agenda. We are to be His workers not our own, relying on God’s providence and not on our own skills or possessions of whatever for success. That is why the Lord said not to bring cash and stuff along on the journey, because the minute we have stuff, we mere children want to hoard and protect our stuff, instead of holding relationships that last into eternity.
How can we serve the creator of everything when I am busy protecting my pittance? And a trifle is all that any of us have in life even the powerful and wealthy, including Bill Gates or even the President. It’s just stuff.
The disciples were sent to the children of Israel, to emphasize that God gives everyone free choice in this life. After offering the Good News of the Gospel to the children of Israel and being largely turned down, the offer was extended to all Gentiles. You and me! If you chose to pass on the calling the Lord is affording you, just like the children of Israel, it’s your choice, and God will find another willing person to be His tool of choice.
You see at the end of the day, God’s will be done, either with you or without your help in the matter. Every day we get to make the choice of going out there into the world and fishing for friendships that we get to take into the dimensions of eternal existence.
All stuff that is beyond my comprehension, but what I do know, is that our God takes our relationships very seriously. This is why the Lord instructs us to make peace with each other immediately. From Matthew 5:23-24 we have this teaching of Jesus.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Because when it is all said and done, everything else will wither away, but our relationships are the lasting consequences of this walk of ours.
So, each day we get to decide to go out fishing for the big one, that relationship that God will cherish in His family, and that new friendship we will take into eternity, we must remember how big the stakes are for someone else. Salvation or aimlessness and groping in darkness, and you get to be their lifeline into something you and I are only beginning to understand.
May all of you have the opportunity this week to reflect on what our Lord has provided each and every one of us, and how easy it really is to share some of that hope with someone else that God has placed in our lives.
Amen!
Benediction: Based on Romans 1:16-17 and Numbers 6:24-26
16 For we are not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.
And
24 The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.