Our passage this morning describes a very tense and stressful moment for Peter. Portraits of the scene help us to appreciate the anxiety of the moment. But none of us can sense fully what that moment must have felt like as this seasoned Galilean fisherman saw his faith dwindle and his life now in jeopardy in a sea of relentless fury....
In our passage for this morning, we look at the calling of Peter and the others to serve, as Jesus called them to Himself, gave them His authority and power to go forth, and directed them how they might serve others as His appointed ambassadors. All these points of calling are clearly relevant to our own with Christ, as we look at each one carefully....
The Biography Channel; the biography section of a bookstore; People Magazine; Entertainment Tonight; even obituaries in the daily newspaper. These are all about people and it seems that we are always interested in people people of various types and backgrounds, thought and expression. The Bible is also rich in giving us biographies, biographies of the faithful and the faithless, the courageous and the timid, the strong and the weak, the wise and the foolish; and the biblical testimony regarding Peter the disciple has fascinated many of us....
There is something in all of us that questions authority and desires independence rather than submission. This is true in our interactions with other people and it is especially true in our interactions with God. Psalm 2 steps into the midst of our rebellion, proclaiming Jesus reign over all creation and inviting us to take refuge in him....
The pastor of the church where I grew up loved to tell stories. He had a story for every situation, and everything that Jesus did reminded him of a story he d heard somewhere or other. Jesus got left behind in the temple as a boy; Dr. Anderson got left behind one time too. Jesus disciples caught lots of fish; Dr. Anderson caught a lot of fish too. Jesus feet were anointed by a harlot . . . come to think of it Dr. Anderson never had a story for that, but he did love to tell stories....
The changing of the guard: for those who ve visited London and who ve seen this wonderful sight, it is truly awe-inspiring. But the changing of the guard isn t always this way, as in Paul s situation, for example. As we continue to look at Paul s trials before going to Rome, we find a "changing of the guard" in Roman procurators....
Conscience: there it is again for the apostle Paul. It seems to be a common theme for him as we look at his New Testament letters, but especially when brought before authorities to defend himself. When Paul was first arrested by the Romans in Jerusalem and accused by the leaders of the Jewish Council, he began his defense by looking straight at them and saying, "My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day."...
It happens every year on the first Sunday in January you can expect it! I m not talking about Holy Communion although I could, as we have Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month. But what I m talking about here is the ordination and installation of new church officers. It s such a special time in the life of our church, as ordained ministry is critically important ...
