Blog

February 14, 2012

8:30 Service

This week’s 8:30 will follow up on Don’s sermon a few weeks back on fishing.  You’ll remember that he described what a difference there was in the experience of fishing between using nets or hooks.  Most of us are more familiar with fishing from a safe distance, keeping dry and clean, while the hook does all the work.  Fishing with nets however requires you to take a risk and commit to get in the middle of things with all the muck and mire, get up off of your chair or pier and get wet.  We’ll ponder how the disciples were not asked to attend a series of lectures or even “hands-on” workshops to help them make a decision if this “faith” thing was right for them.  They were asked simply to follow.  Come and see.

I’ll use some thoughts from Michael Lindvall, the author of some of the stories I’ve used in the past to help us get an idea of how faith is truly a risky business.  We can certainly learn about God with the knowledge that we can gain from reading about and listening to how others experience God.  Or we can decide to jump in and get wet.  We’ll talk about both.  See you Sunday.

Dave

11:00 Service

Most of us take a somewhat skeptical stance toward people who say they’ve heard the voice of God telling them this or that.  Rather than inspiring us to worship, such confessions usually inspire us to the gentle suggestion that the confessor seek therapy of some kind to work out their unresolved personal and religious issues.  Yet, most every believer lays claim to some experience of the divine – what makes ours different?  Does the experience matter as much as the response it inspires?  In Mark 9:2-9 we get a glimpse of the response of Peter, James, and John to a spectacular experience of the divine.  What response will it inspire in us?

Don