Worship Service – February 6, 2022

Psalm 138

(1) I will praise you, O Lord , with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.

(2) I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

(3) When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.

(4) May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord , when they hear the words of your mouth.

(5) May they sing of the ways of the Lord , for the glory of the Lord is great.

(6) Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.

(7) Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.

(8) The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord , endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

(1) Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. (2) By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

(3) For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (5) and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. (6) After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. (7) Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, (8) and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

(9) For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (10) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (11) Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Luke 5:1-11

The Calling of the First Disciples

(1) One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, (2) he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. (3) He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

(4) When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

(5) Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

(6) When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. (7) So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

(8) When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (9) For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, (10) and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. (11) Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

This is the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

Our Gospel lesson is a fish story to write home about. It starts out with Jesus being pursued by the curious crowd, folks who have heard about this amazing man: his healing miracles, casting out demons. All were anxious to hear what he had to say. So they press close, as the text says, “listening to the word of God” (Luke 5:1). It’s my prayer today that is why many of you have come here today.

Luke tells us that Simon Peter, James and John are washing their nets from a bad night of fishing when Jesus comes along with this curious crowd. Closer and closer to the water’s edge they come, finally prompting Jesus to climb into a beached fishing boat belonging to an acquaintance named Simon,who we come to know as Peter, whose mother-in-law, Jesus had recently healed.

Earlier in chapter 4, Luke tells us that Jesus,”went down to Capernaum to a town in Galilee, and began to teach the people”(4:31). He then tells us while in the synagogue Jesus healed a man of demon possession. Then in verses 36 and 37 we read: ”All the people were amazed and said to each other, what is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out! And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area”. I’m quite certain that when Jesus left the synagogue, a crowd began to follow him.

We’re not told why Jesus went to the home of Simon Peter, maybe Simon had made a request of Jesus to dine and spend the night with him or to help his mother-in-law, while at the synagogue. But we do know that when he arrived ,Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and Jesus not only healed her but many others also.

We also learned that Jesus in an attempt to avoid the crowds, left Simon’s house at daybreak and went out to a solitary place. But the crowds kept pursuing him. We don’t know how many times this sort of thing happened because at the end of chapter 4 Luke tells us;” he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea”.

In our text today in Luke 5, we can assume some days latter, Jesus ends up at the shore of Lake Gennesaret with a crowd in tow, where he knows his uncle Zebedee and his crew would be fishing. Maybe he was trying to avoid the crowd again. Probably not. But that’s what Simon might have been thinking.

So when Jesus asked Simon “to put out a little from shore.” Simon was quick to agree. He had been quietly washing his nets, probably with his head angled to catch the words of Jesus. Thinking those words may be all he catches today. After all, he and his partners had been out fishing all night and had caught nothing but an occasional nap. So Jesus climbs in, Simon pushes off, and the teaching continues.

When the teaching is finished, Jesus says to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (5:4). Can you imagine the look on Simon’s face? Here’s a carpenter telling the Zebedee Fish Market Crew how to catch fish. Besides they’ve been fishing all night, which is the time to fish, and the best fishing is in shallow water. I’m sure he’s expecting to hear that painful question if he resists that people always pose to fishermen. “Have you caught anything?”

It’s no wonder Simon Peter is less than enthusiastic in his obedience as we read in verse 5: “Master we have worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Of course, you know the rest of the story. They catch so many fish that their nets begin to break and they have to call for help. I’m not going to try to explain the miracle. I only invite you to embrace its message.

Is there anyone here who hasn’t listen to a story from a fisherman or asked for there secret on how to catch fish? Let me share with you a couple I recently read.

Two guys go on a fishing trip. They rent all the equipment: the reels, the rods, the wading boots, the rowboat, the car, and even a cabin in the woods. They spend a fortune.

The first day they go fishing they don’t catch a thing. The same thing happens on the second day and on the third day. It goes on like this until finally, on the last day of their vacation, one of the men finally catches a fish.

As they drive home, they are both really depressed. One turns to the other and says, “Do you realize that this one lousy fish we caught cost us $1,500?”

“Wow!” says the other, “It’s a good thing we didn’t catch any more!”

Here’s the other one. A cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line, and waited patiently for a bite. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice next to him. The lad dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a largemouth bass. The old man couldn’t believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck.

Shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. He kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man couldn’t take it any longer. “Son,” he said, “I have been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You have been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?”

The boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rarrm.”

“What was that?” the old man asked.

Again the boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rarrm.”

“Look,” said the old man, “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

The boy leaned over, brought his hand to his mouth and spat out a mess of bait. He said again, “You have to keep the worms warm!”

We laugh at these stories but they may help us in understanding our gospel lesson today.

We have no clue how long the preaching and teaching continues, but for a while we expect. Finally, it is over. Simon and his mates are ready to get home for some shut-eye in preparation for another night’s work. After all, night time, especially the early morning hours before dawn, is best for fishing, even if last night was not so good. Instead, Jesus says, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4).

“Do what?” Simon thinks to himself. “This is not the time to be fishing, and the fish are not biting today anyway. Besides, this Jesus might be special in some things, but he is a carpenter, not a fisherman. Let’s go home!”

Yet something about this Jesus overcomes the reluctance. “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). He gestures to his partners, James and John, and together they sail the two boats out from shore.

The catch is humongous. It’s too big for one boat, and even for the two boats together: so many flopping, slippery fish that the boats are in danger of going under. Simon has never seen anything like it. Unable to contain his emotions, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ ” (Luke 5:8). Simon Peter recognizes this Jesus as the Messiah. The Son of God!

I’m sure with a smile on his face, Jesus says; “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” In conclusion we’re told : “So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

Which is more the miracle here? The incredible catch of fish or the incredible catch of these men? They drop it all, give it all up. Their business, their home, their way of life, and, if tradition is correct, their very lives themselves. All to follow Jesus. To “catch men.” To be “Fishers of Men”. And down through two millennia of Christian history, that is how every generation of followers of Jesus have understood our calling. To be “Fishers of Men”. The word for that is “evangelism,” a word that makes many Christians turn pale and start doubting themselves.

If we think with the mindset of fishing, there are several ways to interpret that phrase, “Fishers of men”. We could think of ourselves as the ones casting the nets. We spread the word far and wide in hopes that we will bring in another huge catch like the one that day at Lake Gennesaret. Or we could think of ourselves as the net. We are the instrument the Lord uses to gather them in.

Many times were like the men in the fish story I told of the vacationing fishermen, we could spent a fortune on having all the right stuff, The most beautiful church, the best video and sound equipment and it might attract a few and bring them to a life in Christ. But I am convinced that we best think of ourselves as bait.

For God uses us as the bait and keeps us warm by His word. He breathes on his own so that all may come to know his saving grace. After all, the best way the lost , the dead in Christ are brought into the life of the church is by God using us as His bait.

Many studies have been done and tell us that, four out of five new church members say they decided to join because someone, a friend or a relative, first invited them. Like it or not, we are bait. The good news is that all the studies tell us that they are biting out there. They are biting and if we expect to,”catch men” to be “Fishers of Men”, we need to be warm. Make sure your warm!

So how do we stay warm? The Psalmist tells us we do that by praising God. Hear the Psalmist words again; “I will praise you, O Lord , with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted”. (Psalm 138:1-3)

In other words, we keep ourselves warm by committing ourselves to the praise of God. Bowing down to Him, and doing what he asks of us. If we obey His word and pray for guidance, He will give us the courage to be bold and stouthearted.

Paul was bold and stouthearted when he wrote to the believers in Corinth.

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. (1 Corinthians 15:1-10)

When you leave here today will you be bold and stouthearted enough to say, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect? Will others see the change in you? Will you be warm in your praising God and clear in speaking out of what they need to have life and have it to the full? When you come into the present of God what will your fish story be?

Are you catching anything?

In His Service,

Pastor Joe

Listen To Audio: Sermon 20220206

Listen To Audio: Service 02062022

Prayer of Confession:  When we have failed to recognize your love in the actions of friend or stranger forgive us.  When we have failed to recognize your presence in the world in which we live forgive us.  When we have failed to remember your gospel in our actions, thoughts and words forgive us.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4.  If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com

Loose change goes to Local Missions

Sunday School starts at 8:30am

Choir practice will be on Thursday at 1:00! 

Please come a join us in singing praises to Jesus! 

Souper Bowl of Caring, now through Super Bowl Sunday February 13th.  Monetary gifts only.

Social Hour after church TODAY

PW will meet on Thursday, February 10th at 11:00 A.M.

On Saturday, February 12, we will have a soup and game afternoon from 12-4.  Homemade soup, bread and desserts will be provided.   Some games will be on hand or bring your favorite game to play.  Invite your friends and neighbors.  It’s time to slow down and enjoy an afternoon together.

Men’s Breakfast Wednesday, February 16th at 8:00 A.M.

Session Meeting Saturday, February 19th at 9:00 A.M.

Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday, March 1st, 2022.

Listen to WPEL 96.5 for church cancellation if your internet is down during a storm this winter.