Worst sermon EVER

This is my worst sermon ever. I can't believe I even did this. Lots of things I need to improve on here.....

September 17 sermon Matthew 4: 18-22 the great calling

John Madden was in Atlanta in October to announce a football gameone weekend when he noticed a special phone near the Falcons' bench.He asked the coach what it was for & was told it was a hotline to God.
John asked if he could use it.
Coach told him, "Sure, but it'll cost you $100." Madden scratched his head, then thought, what the heck I need abreak picking the games. He pulled out his wallet and paid the $100.Madden was perfect that week.
The next weekend Madden was in Minnesota when henoticed the same kind of phone on the Viking bench. He asked the coachwhat the phone was for and was told, "It's the hotline to God, and if youwant to use it, it'll cost $100."
\nRecalling last week, Madden pulled out his wallet, paid the money \n& made the call. Madden was perfect that week. \nThe next weekend Madden was in \nTexas Stadium when he noticed the same kind of phone by the Dallasbench. He asked Bill Parcells, "Is that phone the hotline to God?"\n \nBill said, "Yes, and if you want to use it, it\'ll cost 35 cents."\n \nMadden looked incredulously at the coach and said, "Wait a second,\nI just paid $100 in Atlanta & $100 at Minnesota to use the same phone to God. Why does Dallas only charge 35 cents?" \nBill looked at Madden & replied, "In \nDallas, it\'s a local call." \n\n",0]
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Recalling last week, Madden pulled out his wallet, paid the money & made the call. Madden was perfect that week.
The next weekend Madden was in Texas Stadium when he noticed the same kind of phone by the Dallasbench. He asked Bill Parcells, "Is that phone the hotline to God?"
Bill said, "Yes, and if you want to use it, it'll cost 35 cents."
Madden looked incredulously at the coach and said, "Wait a second; I just paid $100 in Atlanta & $100 at Minnesota to use the same phone to God. Why does Dallas only charge 35 cents?"
Bill looked at Madden & replied, "In Dallas, it's a local call."


We must read the bible in the context of the whole bible. Here’s why. If we don’t, we could keep women from speaking at all in church (I know that would be hard), we could justify slavery (it was done with the bible), and we could if we tried to say the bible contradicts itself and should not be trusted.

But in our text today, we could say that 4 grown men who have minds of their own, left their good paying jobs and family, and started to follow and be mentored by a total stranger after only hearing him say 10 words. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Those of us who have had amazing encounters in our lives with Jesus thru the Holy Spirit, don’t doubt it could happen that way (and yes it could).

However, there are far too many people who are willing to believe any information given to them if it’s said to be from the bible, without they themselves actually reading the bible and finding out what it says. Let’s say I listened to Benny Hinn. I would come to believe that when I sow abundantly (give him lots of money), abundantly it will be given back to me.

He bases that on Genesis 26 that says Isaac sowed in that land and in that same year reaped a hundredfold.
When we read scripture, we have to take the whole bible in together. Look at the Christmas story. If we only read Matthew, we will see the star and wise men. If we only read Luke, we will see the manger and shepherds who were invited to be witnesses by the angels.

It’s only when we attempt to put Matthew and Luke together that we learn the full beauty of the nativity story. The calling of the disciples is like that also.
Matthew says that Jesus called his disciples as they fished on the Sea of Galilee. According to Matthew, Peter and Andrew were in the process of casting a net in to the sea because….well that’s what fishermen do.

Jesus gives a 10 word invitation and they drop everything to follow this total stranger. Luke has a longer version where the disciples had been fishing all night with no results.
They were cleaning their nets the next day when Jesus approached and asked them to let him on board so he could teach the rapidly growing crowd from the boat. After teaching, he told Peter to put the nets out for a catch. Although they had caught nothing all night, these experienced fishermen put their nets out with extraordinary results.

There were so many fish the boats started try to sink. They had to call their partners James and John. Convinced that this itinerate preacher was something special when he asked them to follow him, they left their boats on the shore and became disciples. Without Luke’s version, we are left with the impression that a 10 word invitation from a total stranger changed their lives.

Now we can go even deeper into the bible. The Gospel of John is a great book. John maintains that before a few of the disciples started following Jesus, they were disciples of John the Baptist. This story gets to Jesus when John the Baptist is out in the Jordan River baptizing (that’s why he’s called the Baptist I suppose).

One day while John stood in the river he saw his cousin Jesus walking along the shore. “Behold the lamb of God.” Andrew, one of John’s disciples, went to check Jesus out. He was so impressed, that he returned with his brother Peter. THEN, John says, Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
You see, Andrew and Peter had already had an encounter with Jesus near the Jordan River. When Jesus came to Galilee and said “Come and follow me and I will teach you to fish for people”, Andrew and Peter did leave everything, but not to follow a complete stranger after a 10 word invitation. It was to follow Jesus whom they had already come to believe was sent from God.

Now here is a question. Does that make the call of the disciples in Galilee less spectacular? Does it take the mystery out of the encounter? Does it make Peter and Andrew less faithful or less uuummm spontaneous?
OR, is the net effect the same? PAUSE

They left everything to follow Jesus just the same. So the disciples were called to follow Jesus.
In relation to us, if you are a Christian, you are already a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a student. A disciple is a learner. The disciple studies at the feet of a rabbi or teacher.
Peter was a disciple first.
Andrew was a disciple first.
James and John were disciples first. All 12 of them were first disciples. And what does ALL mean? All means all and that’s all all means. Before you can be anything else, you have to be a student. Jesus is our teacher.


Now when we read the bible, we hear all the sermons or stories Jesus taught. But over those years of his ministry he gave the same sermons and stories over and over. The disciples were with him or in the crowds and heard them again and again. The sermon from Matthew 5 could be the Sermon and the Mount and in another book it could be the Sermon on the Plain and somewhere else it could be the Sermon from the Boat.

Jesus taught his disciples when he taught the multitudes, but he also taught them while walking along the roads, sitting around the dinner table, at weddings and other places. He took every opportunity to train them. Likewise, Jesus is our teacher and rabbi. He will teach us thru the Holy Spirit, but his primary teaching tool is the bible.

As we read, we hear his instructions. For those who are interested to learn, Jesus is still a teacher.
So Jesus called his disciples.
If you are a Christian you are a disciple of Jesus.
So if you are a disciple, you have been called.
Jesus called Andrew and Peter. It was Andrew who first brought Peter to Jesus. Jesus called James and John.

Peter, James and John were in the inner circle and were so close to Jesus that he asked them to follow him to the Garden after the Last Supper where he agonized over his decision of going to the cross.
If you are a Christian, you are just as called. The first step in your journey is to receive and respond to the call of Jesus Christ. Come and follow me and I will make you fish for people.

Before anything else, Jesus calls us. First it’s come and follow me. Then it’s I will teach you to fish for people. The first disciples fished for a living. They knew how to fish for fish. They were not always successful. Like all fishermen they had good days and bad days.

But Jesus said “There’s something more important than having a good day fishing for fish. If you think it’s exciting to catch a big one, just wait until you experience the thrill of helping a person catch the vision of a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

I told you a few weeks ago that I challenged the men’s group that we would go from 10 men sitting around the table to 100 men. Set your goals so you will certainly fail unless God steps in. When we step outside the box and radically change our approach of bringing men into the group, lives can transform.

Pioneer evangelist C.T. Studd is quoted saying “some people want to live within the sound of a church or chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop in the yard of hell.”
We sometimes assume that non-Christians understand the jargon we use all the time in church.
Like Narthex. What’s a Narthex? Or church polity. I’ve never used the word polity before. How about “If we look at the Discipline, we can discern how the polity will affect the board’s decision to dedicate a plaque for the Cokesbury saints from here that are gone, and put it in the narthex.” Makes complete sense right?

Evangelism or inviting or whatever you want to call it has changed. Just throwing up a church sign doesn’t do it. We have to meet people where they are. That’s why we had plans today for some guys to go to the races.

This was an opportunity to invite men who don’t go to church, don’t care for church, don’t like the hymns, or have never seen the Cokesbury hymnal and don’t care, or who think church is boring. It wasn’t to get them in a small group and beat them over the head with a bible.

It was to show them that yes Christians like to do things they like; yes Christians like to have fun. Jesus and his buddies had fun together. You could hear Andrew say “Peter knows how to catch fish. He caught one yesterday that had a coin in its mouth. That was a great fish.” Look at Matt. 17 if you wonder what I am talking about.

Jesus says to “follow me”, and we Christians did. Like Andrew, we must now go and introduce others to Christ. Now is the time. Go and be fishers of people. Go and be like Christ.