Sunday Sermon Notes from January 17, 2021
Read Luke 5: 1-11
- Have you ever had to slow someone down because they were talking too fast as they were trying to communicate with you?
- How was this event with Jesus and the others in the boat a time for Peter to slow down?
- Peter had to stop and listen, he couldn’t continue to fish or he would have missed what Jesus was saying
- He had no distractions on the boat in the deep water with Jesus, so he could focus on what Jesus had to say
- Jesus gave him specific instructions, he obeyed and was successful
- Peter was fishing all night but had no results. When he slowed down enough to listen to Jesus, although he wasn’t all in, he obeyed Jesus and he was successful
- How did Peter’s view of Jesus change from the beginning of the story to the end?
- Peter went from taking Jesus for granted, to seeing himself as undeserving
- We can easily forget who God is, do we really trust who He is?
- When Peter saw the miracle of fish, he really understood who he was dealing with
- Read Romans 10: 17- hearing God’s word increases our faith, Peter’s faith grew in hearing from Jesus.
- How easy is it to follow Jesus when things in your life are going well or not going well?
- Read John 6:66-68
- Peter began to understand that Jesus’s words had eternal life and he did not want to be anywhere else although things would become difficult in his life
- Read John 6:26
- Jesus was trying to remind them to work for spiritual food not just physical food, but they walked away when things became difficult
- Read Matthew 16: 13-18, How is Peter unique in this situation?
- Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah
- How did Peter get this understanding? From God and spending time with Jesus and his words
- When we hear God’s words, and believe in God who sent Jesus, we will be saved, crossing over from death to Life: John 5:24
- Jesus’s words are unique in their ability to give us a relationship with God.
- You become attached to Christ because the Father calls you to Christ and shows you who He is.
- The church is built by God in this way.
- How did God say He would build His church? Read Acts 2:39
- Peter has authority in building God’s church
- Who did they hear about? Jesus
- Who were they responding to? The Father
- Who did they want to see more of? Jesus (Acts 2:42)
- We have been called by the Father into fellowship with the Son (1:Cor 1:9)
- We have been called by Jesus to obedience and to be saved
- Jesus sacrificed himself to allow us to have a relationship with Him
Sunday Sermon Notes from January 3
"So what are your reading that is helping you draw near to Christ?" (Jn 5:39)
Great question...but it gets annoying if you don't have a place to start...so here are some ideas:
1) Try turning off the music when you drive - instead memorize some of Jesus's words since they are not just commands, but pieces of Him.
2) Try "Sounding Out" the things that Jesus says until you think you know what tone He used. Now see what He feels like.
3) Pick one Old Testament passage that Jesus quotes and try to read it the way He is saying it. Try to see the picture He paints with it.
4) Try "Sounding Out" entire conversations that Jesus has by acting it out...like in a play. See where He is coming from.
5) Do number 4, but substitute your own words so that you understand Him better.
6) Look at all the times Jesus proclaimed his torture/death/resurrection and notice the reaction. Put yourself in both sides of the argument. Sound it out to see how it feels.
7) Study out what Jesus means when He says "life". How is it different than the way you define it? Wrestle until you see it His way.
8) Find places where Jesus changes the subject by asking a question. Try to memorize it and know the reason.
9) When reading the letters in the New Testament, look for references to the Old Testament that aren't in the footnotes. Go back to the OT passages and see if you can see evidence of Jesus teaching them this.
10) Whenever Jesus says "Therefore", back up a step and see what it is "there for". In other words, make a passage count by actually knowing the reason "why" instead of just the "what". Do the same with the Epistles.
11) Pick an Epistle and see if you can find evidence of Jesus teaching the person who wrote it. Like, were they born speaking that way? Did they always "know" this stuff or how were they taught?
12) Pay attention to the use of the OT in the Epistles. Are you able to use a passage from the OT in the same way it is used in the NT , for example, imitating the way Jesus used OT scriptures in the NT and reversing the process?