What a Surprise! A Free Cruise in Europe! Part 5 (final)

Sooo — We’ve been given a free river cruise on a 90-passenger ship in Europe! Jeff and Gina, who started Teeming River Cruises two years ago, organize their cruises at about 1/3 of the cost of Viking cruises. Their website is here. Two years ago we had a great time with them on their inaugural voyage.

I have the privilege of conducting a Sunday service for the passengers and crew on August 25th. Would you pray for me as I prepare for that service? I’ll be going over the wonderful fish story in Luke 5. Let’s look at that text one more time:

I’m open to any sermon titles that come to your mind. But we’ve noticed so far that Simon Peter is —

I. Doing a Religious Teacher a Favor (vv. 1-3)

Allowing Jesus to use his boat as a floating pulpit, no doubt, made Peter just a tad proud. But then Jesus steps out of His role as spiritual teacher and challenges Peter and the others in —

II. Recognizing Who Jesus REALLY Is! (vv. 4-10)

Invading Peter’s area of expertise by telling him when and where to fish, Jesus promises “a catch” if Peter and the others will simply obey.

What happens when Peter acts on his statement, “but because you say so, I will let down the nets”? We read that the catch is so large that the nets they had been washing were in danger of breaking! They have to call in reinforcements and both boats are so loaded with fish that they began to sink!

That’s a nice problem to have if you are a fisherman, don’t you think? While his co-workers — with $ signs in their eyes — are taking care of the fish, Peter draws a profound conclusion. He doesn’t say, “Jesus, thank you for somehow providing these fish for us!” Or “Wow! I’ve never seen such a catch. How did you know, Jesus, that there would be fish there?” No! Peter launches into an incredible, yet succinct, theological declaration: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (v. 8).

It seems reasonable to say that Peter was overwhelmed at his underestimating Jesus. He had Him pegged as simply another religious teacher. But the miraculous prediction and catch of fish overcame Peter with the truth of Jesus’ power (and, perhaps, divinity).

We know from other Scriptures that Jesus is the Creator of all things. We read in Colossians 1: ¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Aren’t you glad that Jesus didn’t take Peter’s advice and walk away? Instead the Lord does the opposite. Instead of abandoning Peter, Jesus appoints him to become a fisher of men!

I’m reminded of C.S. Lewis’ famous statement — and with it we will conclude the posts on this topic:

 

 

What a Surprise! A Free Cruise in Europe! Part 4

Linda and I have been given a free river cruise on a 90-passenger ship in Europe! Our friends, Jeff and Gina, founded Teeming River Cruises two years ago and their cruises are about 1/3 of the cost of Viking cruises; their website is here. We had a great time with them two years ago on their inaugural voyage.

I will conduct a Sunday service for the passengers and crew on August 25th. Please pray for God to guide me as I prepare for that service. I’ll be going over the wonderful story in Luke 5. Let’s look at that text one more time:

I don’t really have a title for my message yet and am open to your ideas! But we have so far looked at verses 1-3 and suggested that Simon Peter was —

I. Doing a Religious Teacher a Favor (vv. 1-3)

Peter had to be a bit proud of his helping Jesus out of an acoustical dilemma. Peter’s boat provided Jesus some distance from those who wanted to hear Him, and maybe added to the ambiance of the meeting.

But Jesus, although He had concluded His lecture, isn’t done speaking. He gives Peter a command: “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v. 4). Peter and his companions are now challenged with …

II. Recognizing Who Jesus REALLY  Is! (vv. 4-10)

Jesus is invading Peter’s area of expertise by telling him when and where to fish! Simon Peter’s response is: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything” (v. 5). Is there anything sadder than a fisherman who puts up his hands to describe his catch of fish and he has to make a big ZERO with his fingers? Zilch. Nada. Nothing. And now Jesus wants them to get their nets dirty again even though the fish aren’t biting.

Jesus has stepped out of His role as spiritual teacher and has entered Peter’s world of catching fish. And Jesus doesn’t say to him, “Let’s see if you can catch a few …” He says, “for a catch.” As if Jesus could guarantee success to these exhausted and frustrated fishermen!

Perhaps Peter doesn’t want to embarrass Jesus by refusing His request, and he agrees to do what Jesus told him to do. Don’t you just love Peter’s totally honest response: “But because you say so, I will let down the nets”? Against all reason, contrary to all sure evidence of a repeated failure, Peter obeys.

The Challenge: Where in your life is your “but because You say so”? What is Jesus asking you to do that can be done only by stepping out in faith and obedience? (to be continued)

 

What a Surprise! A Free Cruise in Europe! Part 3

Wow! A free river cruise on a 90-passenger ship in Europe! The travel company, founded by a Christian couple Jeff and Gina, charges about 1/3 of the cost of Viking Cruises and their website is here. We had a great time with them two years ago.

For this cruise I will be conducting a Sunday church service on August 25th. I have chosen Luke 5 as my text and want to begin thinking through it in these posts. Here’s that great passage:

I need a good title for my message! I’m open to ideas from you my readers. I’ve thought about titles like “Only Pigeons Belong in Pigeon Holes” or “A Whooping Fishin’ Story” or “The Challenge of Categorizing Jesus.” Any suggestions?

I. Doing a Religious Teacher a Favor (vv. 1-3)

Interesting that Jesus doesn’t even ask Peter to borrow his boat as a floating pulpit. He sees the crowds and hops on board without even a customary “Permission to board?” request. And then He asks Peter to put out a little from shore. Presumably folks would not want to tread water to listen to Jesus, but would stay on the beach and give Him a bit of speaking room.

Imagine the added acoustics such a situation probably provided. A scientist wrote the following: “If you are sitting in a boat, a sound coming from the shore will seem louder than the same sound heard by a person on land. Sound seems to be amplified when it travels over water. The reason is that the water cools the air above its surface, which then slows down the sound waves near the surface. This causes refraction or bending of the sound wave, such that more sound reaches the boat passenger. Sound waves skimming the surface of the water can add to the amplification effect, if the water is calm.” (https://www.school-for-champions.com/science/sound_amplified_over_water.htm#.XUnTiFB7kWo).

Using Peter’s boat as a floating lectern might have amplified Jesus’ voice, as well as provided a little auditory distance between Him and the crowds.

I would imagine that Simon Peter was proud that he could help out Jesus. And perhaps he and his co-workers were able to take a needed break and listen to Jesus. They had been washing their nets after a fruitless night of fishing. Maybe these fishermen said to each other things like, “That Jesus sure is a good spiritual teacher, isn’t He?” Or “At least Simon’s boat is being used for something worthwhile.” Or “When’s supper?”

But then Jesus says something completely unexpected. And it changes everything! (to be continued)

 

What a Surprise! A Free Cruise in Europe! Part 2

So, we’ve been given a free river cruise on a 90-passenger ship in Europe with a travel company founded by a Christian couple, Jeff and Gina! We had a great time with Teerming River Cruises two years ago. Their cruises are about 1/3 of the cost of Viking Cruises and their website is here.

The cruise two years ago gave us some great opportunities to share the gospel with the other passengers. I will be conducting a Sunday church service on August 25th. I have chosen Luke 5 as my text and want to begin thinking through it in these posts. Here’s that great passage:

A Few Preliminary Thoughts:

1. The text has to do with water and a boat and fish!  So it fits with the cruise experience.
2. We see that Jesus was teaching the people the word of God, but He had a very practical problem. The people were crowding around Him (v. 1), so He used Simon’s book to achieve a bit of auditory distance (v. 3).
3.”When he had finished speaking” (v. 4) — There should be a conclusion to a person’s sermon!
4. Simon Peter must have been proud that he could help out the wandering rabbi Jesus with His speech. But then Jesus leaves the role of spiritual teacher and takes on the role of master fisherman (v. 4).
5.This is an incursion into Peter’s area of expertise! His excuse: v. 5 – “We’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything!”
6. Where is your “but because you say so” (v. 5)? Simple obedience to Jesus which seems contrary to reason!
7. The supernaturalness of Jesus becomes evident by the catch of fish (vv. 6-7). As Creator, He knew where the fish were!
8. Fortunately, Jesus didn’t take Peter’s advice (“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”). Instead of abandoning him, Jesus enlists him into the business of catching people!

The Challenge for Today: Please pray for me as I work on this message. I want to make the best of this one shot I have of presenting the gospel to folks on board. Thank you!