[Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for February 7

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons and illustrations for Epiphany 5:

       Luke 5:1-11 - "Eager for the Journey"

Many years ago the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was attempting to
recruit a number of young men for an upcoming exploration. He gathered them
around and told the group that if they came with him they would see some of
the most marvelous things their eyes could ever behold. Sandy white beaches,
juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures, and gorgeous landscapes.
And he told them that this wild adventure could be theirs if they came with
him. Not one of them enlisted for the journey.
The next day a different group came out. Drake told them that if they came
with him they would encounter storms that would terrify them into tears.
Tiger winds would hammer them and blow them off course for months. Water
would frequently be scarce. At times they will be so thirsty that their very
souls would cry out for simply one drop of water. In short, danger would
always be their constant companion. Drake concluded by declaring that if
they could handle these things, the joys of exploration would exceed their
wildest dreams. Every single one of them in the group joined Sir Francis
Drake that day, some did not even go home to say goodbye to their families,
they just boarded the boat eager for the journey.

What made the difference in these two groups? Why did the first group turn
down the mission and the second jump at the chance? Was the second group
different and more adventurous than the first? The answer is: No. It is not
the men who had changed; it was the message. The first spoke of rewards; the
second spoke of challenges. The first offered comfort; the second promised
suffering. The first tempted them with things; the second seduced them with
an experience unlike any other.

I like to think that Sir Francis Drake discovered what Jesus knew all to
well. And that is this: The paths that are offered to us must promise to
shape us, build our character, change our world view, if they are to have
any appeal to us at all. If we are presented with a challenge that will
change, we will be eager for the journey.

What is it about Jesus' message that made the disciples eager for the
journey that was presented to them?

1. Jesus offered them a change.
2. The mission promised to be a challenge.
3. And their lives would never be the same.

The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by
joining www.eSermons.com.
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Luke 5:1-11 - "Blessed Are Those Who Hand Over Their Controllers" by Leonard
Sweet

The hundred miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida
from the most northern coast of Cuba. It's a stretch of water that has
claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of "boat
people" seeking freedom and family in the US have created desperate "boats"
out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil.

The goal of these "boat people" is simple: hit dry land. As long as these
refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has agreed
either to return rescued or captured boat people back to Cuba or transport
them to a neutral third country.  But once these soggy sailors' feet hit dry
land they are instantly transformed. They have the right to stay in the US
for at least a year. That qualifies them to get expedited "legal permanent
resident" status and eventually even perhaps US citizenship. The moment a
Cuban refugee has "dry feet," a whole new future welcomes them.

The first disciples Jesus calls in Luke's gospel are "dry feet" disciples.
But they didn't become dry-feet disciples until they were willing to be boat
people.

They launched into deep water at Jesus' command. Once out there they see and
experience things over which they have no control. Things they know with
their hearts and souls are sure evidence of God's providence and
sovereignty.

But their wet water witness brings them to a dry-foot transformation. The
moment their boats hit the sand, Simon Peter, James, and John walk off the
bow of their boats and leave them behind. The moment their feet become "dry
feet," they are transformed into disciples.

Instead of "hunters" or "fishers" they are transformed into
caught-and-taught "gatherers" - "catching" living men and women with hope
and love, offering them a new life with a new vision of God's kingdom.

But here's the catch: getting to the point of "dry feet" first requires a
no-holds-barred launching into the deep.

The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining
www.Sermons.com
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A Choice to Go

I may be a fairly good sailor at this point in my life but there were times
when, like Peter, I had to be humbled. One time I was sailing a Sunfish in
Michigan. I had trouble controlling the wind which was building and the
sailboat and I ended up in shallow water. I had to walk the boat back into
deep water. About that time an officer spotted me and towed me back to deep
water. I was humiliated as my friends watched me be blown off course. It was
a most embarrassing moment.

Peter was not called because he had any special qualifications except for
the fact he made a choice to go where Jesus led him. He was also called in
the midst of his daily living. It didn't take place in some holy place like
the temple. For sure, his willingness to "follow" would change his life,
reversing some of his normal priorities and changing the lives of others
too.

Keith Wagner, First, You Have to Row a Little Boat
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The Impala Problem

One of the few creatures on earth that can out-jump Michael Jordon is the
Impala. This is an African deer with a supercharged spring. It has a
vertical leap of over 10 feet and can broadjump over 30 feet. You would
think that the zoos of the world would find it impossible to keep such an
animal enclosed. Not so! It's rather easy. Because the experts discovered
something about the Impala. It will not jump unless it can see where it is
going to land. Therefore, a solid wall even 6 feet tall is a sufficient
enclosure. Lots of Christians have the Impala problem. They won't take a
leap in faith unless they have all the answers in advance about where the
leap will take them. But God is looking for some bold believers who, even in
the face of the unknown, will leap when the Spirit says leap, will fly when
the Spirit says fly, will launch when the Spirit says launch, all to the
glory of the Lord.

Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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How Brave Are We?

Let me tell you a true, but humorous and slightly scandalous story that
comes out of the early days of the church. When the father of Origen, a
third century theologian, was arrested for being a Christian, Origen, then
only 17, was aflame with the desire to follow his Dad and share in glorious
martyrdom. His mother pleaded with him not to go, but the headstrong boy did
not want to listen to reason. His quick thinking mother did what she could.
She hid his clothes. Though Origen stormed and protested, she wouldn't
reveal where they were hidden. He couldn't leave the house, and so he was
unable to volunteer for martyrdom.

Isn't it interesting? Origen was brave enough to be martyred, but not brave
enough to go outside naked. Stepping outside without clothing would have
sped up his arrest and imprisonment, but it was a step he was unwilling to
take.

In a sense, I suspect that talking with a friend about our faith is, for
many of us, the equivalent of going outside naked. It makes us
uncomfortable. We feel exposed. We declare that we will give our lives for
Christ if he should ask it, but to risk a bit of embarrassment for him seems
to be beyond our level of discipleship. How sad. The disciples were willing
to forsake everything including the esteem of their friends.

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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Catching or Getting Caught?

As a boy I was never good at catching things, except a cold now and then.
I tried to catch a pony to ride and failed. The butterfly trip was a
disaster. I tried catching frogs but didn't try too hard because I didn't
know what I would do with them once I caught them. Fish weren't my favorite
for eating, so catching them was no treat, because I knew it implied that I
would eat them with delight rather than gagging on them, which I always did.
I never was good at catching things. A major church denomination has as its
theme, "Catch the Spirit." As usual, the church got it backward. We are not
to set our sights at catching or getting, but allowing ourselves to be
caught. We are invited to be caught by a spirit that helps us make a giving
instead of a living. The greatest spiritual arrogance is seen in the
language of "catching." People are in search of God and will write endless
numbers of books telling one how to find God.
The truth of the gospel is that we cannot find God, but there are places we
can go and things we can do where God can find us! The joy in Christian
living is not in the catching but in the vulnerability of being caught by
the one who made us in the first place. Catch the spirit? No! You can't.
Be caught by the spirit? Of course! Life begins there.

Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy for a Shallow World, CSS Publishing Company

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High Goals

A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?

Robert Browning, Andrea del Sarto.

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Follow Me

There was a field covered with freshly fallen snow. A father and a son enter
the field. As they walk across the field, you notice that the father pays no
particular attention to where he is going, but his son, on the other hand,
follows directly behind, making a special effort to step in his father's
footprints. After the two have crossed the field, you notice that there is
only one set of tracks visible in the field, although two had walked across
it. The Christian life is that way. In our daily walk we ought to be
following Christ's example. Whether in times of suffering, sorrow or need,
whether in times of health, joy, or abundance--if someone were to observe
the snow-covered fields of your life, would there be one set of tracks,
those of Christ? Or would there be two sets, one belonging to Christ and the
other distinctly yours?

Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker,
1993, p.53. Adapted

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Little Transmitters

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe "Pioneer 10." Its main
mission was to reach Jupiter and send back information about that planet.
It was a bold plan because at that time no satellite had gone beyond Mars.
Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and so much more. It swung past Jupiter
in November, 1973, then passed Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
By 1997, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. Despite
that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to
earth. The most remarkable thing was that those signals were powered by an
8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night
light. Not even the most optimistic scientist could have ever imagined what
that little 8-watt transmitter could do.

So it is when you and I offer ourselves to God in faithful obedience. It's
just incredible what God can do through little 8-watt transmitters like me
and you, when we're turned on for him.

Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com

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It Is Darkest before the Dawn

George Frederick Handel was dogged with misfortune. He had debt upon debt,
despair upon despair. He had a cerebral hemorrhage and was paralyzed on his
right side. For four years he could neither walk nor write. The doctors gave
up on him. He wrote several operas, but again he fell in debt. At age 60 he
thought his life was finished. Then he was challenged by a friend to write a
sacred oratorio. He read the Scriptures and decided to work on the Messiah.
For 24 days, without eating a crumb, he worked fanatically to produce the
Messiah, which many today consider the greatest oratorio ever written.

The prospects of something great happening can look grim. Peter had fished
all night and caught nothing. Jesus asked him to let down his nets for a
catch. It seemed foolish to do so, because Peter knew there were no fish to
catch. "But at your word," he said, "I will let down the nets" (v. 5).

John R. Brokhoff, Preaching the Miracles, CSS Publishing Company. Adapted.

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Hooked for Life

If fishing is one of your passions, you will love our scripture lesson for
today. Though I prefer hunting to fishing, I have a soft spot in my heart
for fishing because of a childhood experience. I was about 10 or 11 years
old. One Wednesday afternoon Papa took me with him to a nearby pond to do a
little fishing. I was just learning to use a rod and reel. Papa caught a
little bass weighing about half a pound. Then he had to leave for prayer
meeting. He asked me if I wanted to stay a bit longer and make a few casts.
Of course I did. I remember to this day the top-water plug I was using. I
tossed it over near some reeds and let it lie still for a few seconds. Then
I just twitched it a couple of times. Then something exploded all over that
plug, like an NFL linebacker demolishing a quarterback. I jerked hard and
then hung on for dear life. I don't know how long I fought that fish. Once
or twice I thought it was going to pull me into the water. When I finally
got him to the edge of the pond, I grabbed him by the gills and ran home. I
couldn't wait for Papa to return from prayer meeting and see my three and a
half pound bass. Mama took a picture of us, Papa holding that puny little
fish he caught beside my monster of the deep. I can show you the picture at
home as living proof.
Of course, I was hooked for life.

Luke's fish story involved a lot more fish than mine.

Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.esermons.com

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The Empty Church

Thomas Reeves in his book The Empty Church describes this scenario.
"Christianity in modern America is, in large part, innocuous. It tends to be
easy, upbeat, convenient, and compatible. It does not require
self-sacrifice, discipline, humility, a zeal for souls. There is little
guilt and no punishment. The faith has been overwhelmed by the culture.
Christianity becomes a cultural Christianity when the faith is dominated by
a culture to the point that it loses much of its authenticity. What we now
have might be labeled as a Consumer Christianity. Millions of Americans
today feel free to buy as much of the Christian faith as seems desirable.
The cost is low and customer satisfaction is guaranteed."

Thomas Reeves, The Empty Church

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A Dangerous Encounter

A young pastor from Zimbabwe once wrote: "I'm apart of the fellowship of the
unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have
stepped over the line. I'm a disciple of his. I won't look back, let up,
slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes
sense, my future secure. I'm finished and done with.

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations
and sermons for the Epiphany 5 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.