Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction:
One of my favorite songs growing up, was “The Change by Garth Brooks.”
One hand reaches out
And pulls a lost soul from harm
While a thousand more go unspoken for
And they say what good have you done
By saving just this one?
It's like whispering a prayer in the fury of a storm
And I hear them saying
You'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me (Garth Brooks - The Change)
Too many people have wrongly believed that they can’t make a difference in the world so why try?
But the Bible teaches us that by partnering together with others who are looking to Jesus for answers.
God is changing the world and Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world because people have said yes to the call.
But it starts with you you and me answering the call to bigger story.
Transition to the text: As we think about how God’s plan to change the world always starts with individual people, let’s look to the calling of Jesus’ first disciples and specifically Simon Peter.
Now sometimes the Bible can be a little confusing because when God changes your life, He often changes your name.
Abram/Abraham
Sarai/Sarah
Jacob/Israel
Simon/Peter
Saul/Paul
So when you read Simon, remember this is the guy whose name Jesus changed to Peter.
This is the same guy that constantly got his foot in his mouth.
Jesus referred to him as Satan.
He cut some dudes ear off.
He denied Jesus 3 times.
And even after Jesus went to heaven and the Holy Spirit came, Paul had to call Peter because was acting like a hypocrite.
But God had a plan for Simon that was about to begin.
Didn’t mean that Simon was going to all of a sudden be perfect.
One of the most comforting quotes, I’ve read recently is this:
When God puts a calling on your life, He has already factored in your stupidity.
It’s funny because it’s true.
So let’s look at how Simon’s story with Jesus began.
For you comic book fans, think of this as Peter the Rock’s origin story.
Read:
Transition to the Big Idea: There is so much to unpack here and we’ll get to that.
But a few things that we can see immediately:
Jesus meets Simon in Simon’s story.
In his world.
At his work.
He doesn’t wait for Simon to come to him.
While acknowledging Simon’s story, Jesus calls Simon into a bigger story.
Simon immediately answers the call.
But the question is, “why would Simon want what Jesus was offering?”
Because deeply rooted in Simon is the same longing that all of us have.
We want to make a difference in the world around us.
We want significance.
What Jesus was offering seemed to Simon a better avenue for doing that.
Peter has a basic understanding that Jesus might be the Messiah.
But still he had no idea that his small mind could not comprehend what lay ahead.
And the beauty is that it’s not just Simon.
Big Idea: We are all called to God’s world-changing story.
Transition to the Main Points: And for us it starts where we are.
Now you don’t change the world on day 1.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The Patriots didn’t learn to be effective cheaters in a day.
These things take time and practice.
On the other hand, our lives don’t fall apart in a day either.
There was a powerful commercial when I was a kid that said,
No one dreams of growing up to be a drug addict.
The point is that it is the little things, small choices over time that lead to a changed person and a changed world.
But every once in a while, we are given a glimpse of the bigger story of God and we are called to take a step of faith.
Will we answer that call?
Let’s look at Simon
Main Point 1: Simon Peter’s story began where he was.
Explanation: Imagine you begin your day by going to work.
You wake up early.
You get dressed and drink your coffee and you go off to work.
Since it’s not the sabbath you probably aren’t expecting a big spiritual awakening in your life.
You’re planning for normal.
God’s extraordinary plans for us typically start on ordinary days.
Simon was a fisherman.
And based on what we know about Simon, he wasn’t a very good one.
Business wasn’t booming.
And even on this day, they hadn’t caught anything, (As a recreational fisherman, I know the feeling), but Simon was depending on these fish to survive.
This was his job.
Now Jesus had big plans for this man, but He was going to meet him where he was.
At work.
Your changed story might be on the other side of your current responsibility.
Be faithful with what is in front of you.
Simon may not have been a great fisherman, but he was out there doing it as best he could.
But the truth is that boys in Galilee didn’t grow up wanting to be fisherman anyway.
The hope was to do really well in synagogue school and to become the disciple of a rabbi.
So the fact that Peter was fishing means he didn’t make it.
Back then, it was the teachers who were wealthy.
Imagine that!
This is not the story that Simon would have written for himself.
Just because your story is not what you hoped for, doesn’t mean that this is all there is.
Illustration: I love the story of Kurt Warner who has now been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. he graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994.
He went undrafted and even though he was invited to Packers training camp, he was cut.
With no prospects, he found himself bagging groceries at a convenience store.
And with a strong faith in God and a resolve to never give up, he kept at it.
He took a job with an Arena football team.
He did so well in Arena football that he’s actually also in the Arena football hall of fame.
But it was during this time, he got a call.
Would he like to try out for the Saint Louis rams.
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