Gone Fishin'

Mk 1:14-20 (NRSV) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Introduction

· Work for a builder was plentiful in the crossroads village of Nazareth, and Joseph had his share. Joseph the carpenter(builder) -the "father" of Jesus.

· One day Joseph gets up, readies himself for another day of work and finds on note on Jesus' sleeping pallet: "Gone Fishin." And it's signed, "Jesus."

· Jesus offers a simple invitation to us. To get in the boat with him and go fishing

· Mark didn't use a lot of words. However, he packed a lot of meaning into not so many words.

You've gotta know what you're fishin' for. (Folks)

· Bass, catfish, bream. Not around here, but in some places, trout.

· Fly fishermen. A River Runs Through It. The story of two boys (sons of a Presbyterian minister in Montana) growing into men. At the heart of the movie is the amazing art of fly fishing. Few things more beautiful than watching a fly fisherman that really knows what he's doing. Patience and skill. Trip to Glacier National Park in Northwestern Montana (2005). Got to our cabin late one afternoon after driving up from Yellowstone. It's was cold and raining. The cabin was on Lake McDonald at the mouth of McDonald Creek. The next morning the rain was gone, and I walked out to the creek. There in the stillness of that morning, a fly fisherman was trying his luck in the creek. I just stood and watched-what a sight. Smoothness of motion. Wonderful.

· Imagine this. You're fishin' for trout on the White River in AR. You standing in the river in your waders fishing with your favorite flyrod. And beside you, your best buddy, who's also fishing for trout, of course. And he's got this massive saltwater rig and he's trying to catch trout with it. You think what? He's nuts. You don't use such fishing gear to fish for trout!

· Back in the day, fishermen used all different methods on the Sea of Galilee. Some fishermen caught with their bare hands, some used wicker baskets or other kinds of fish traps made of nets or rope, some used spears, arrows or harpoons. But by far the most popular kind of fishing is by net. Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John And the particular net mentioned in our passage was the circular net. and retrieve [

· The cast net is circular, about 20 feet in diameter, with weights of lead attached to the border. One man usually flings the net in a round circle from the shore but it is also done from boats. It required great skill since it had to open completely when it landed on the water trapping the fish underneath it. The weights come together as the nets sink and encircle the fish. Sometimes, the fishermen on a boat had to jump into the water to retrieve the net and so they often fished naked.

· What're we fishing for? Folks. People. That's what Jesus said: fishers of folks.

You've gotta know which bait to use. (The Good News)

· Blood bait on the trotline. Packing house in West Monroe-congealed blood. Dice it up, and that's what we used to bait the trotline.

· Bass fishermen. Never seen anything like them. Bring bass baits. Except maybe for a fly fisherman. All those varieties of flies and colors, etc.

· Since we're not fishing for catfish, bass, or trout, we need something different. What're we fishing for? People, folks! So what kind of bait do we use?

· Plenty of bait out there. The young man from Wesley who visited us last week (Zul) and I had an interesting conversation after worship about all the incredible forms of spirituality in America. His sister and her boyfriend (Wiccan). What's a Wiccan? A nature worshipper-God is in everything (nature).

· Only one will do-the Good News-the Gospel. It's all about Jesus. Him alone!

· Ro 1:16 (NRSV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

You've gotta know how to fish. (Jesus will show us how.)

· Funny. Watching somebody fish that doesn't know how. Rod and reel.

· I will make you fishers of men(NIV)

· I will show you how to fish for people(NLT)

· Jesus has already done a bit of that in this very passage. Jesus presents the Gospel and invites the folks to respond. Knowing how to fish has to do with sharing the Good News.

· So here's what we do:

· Tell the folks about the kingdom

· Not something to wait on because the time is fulfilled. God's plan has kicked into high gear.

· NBD-When John the Baptist and, after him, Jesus himself proclaimed that the kingdom was at hand, this proclamation involved an awakening cry of sensational and universal significance. The long-expected divine turning-point in history, the great restoration, however it was conceived at the time, is proclaimed as being at hand.

· Tell the folks how to get into the kingdom.

· So here's what you need to do: repent and believe. Repent and believe are two sides of the same coin. Critical that we understand what we as a church are calling on people to do. Repent is turning. Believe is trusting. As one repents and believes, they embrace the kingdom of God.

You've gotta go fishin.' (Now!)

· Not enough to know what you're fishin' for, which bait to use, and how to fish. If you're gonna catch any fish, you've gotta go fishin! It's either fish or cut bait.

· Now!! We've gotta go fishin' now.

· UM Men-Magazine for UM Men. Study done by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Mirroring most other mainline denominations, United Methodists are generally older, whiter, and wealthier in a nation that is increasingly populated with young adults, people of color and families with modest incomes. The UMC in America is also losing more members than it's gaining.

· When we get discouraged . . . OK. Remember a man named Jonah? God sent him on a fishin' expedition; only when Jonah headed out, he went in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go. And he became fish bait! God gives him a second chance. Here's what happened: Jon 3:1-5 (NIV) Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

· The Ninevites were tough hombres. Brutal doesn't begin to describe them.