On
one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,
he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake,
but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting
into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from
the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had
finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your
nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took
nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done
this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They
signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they
came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon
Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the
catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of
Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be
afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their
boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
I
love when the Lord lets me run with my expectations and then humbles me and
puts me in my place. We were drawn back to College Hill and I wasn’t sure why.
This
church is Christ-centered and passionate about worship. It was special to spend
time with Jesus there. We were welcomed by a woman at the door and got to talk
to a family after the service. My only disappointment beyond the lack of
greeting was that I could not find a cross.
With
the pastor’s quote ending with, “Sing to the Lord,” I thought an oddity as the
Reformed Presbyterian Churches I’ve been to are pretty quiet. But although some
songs, in my opinion, were not easy ones to sing, the church was alive in song.
There was a robust chorus of male voices, and later females with great harmony
and passion. It made for very enjoyable worship in song.
The
sermon, “The Biggest Catch,” was based on Christ preaching from Simon Peter’s
fishing boat and afterwards their unbelievable catch of fish. These men fished
for their livelihood, they knew the area and the time of night to catch fish.
But Christ asked him to put down the nets.
What
is He asking of us? What we are called to do is at His command and with the
power and authority of Christ, we will not fail. He has given us the most
powerful tool, the Word of God.
A
highlight for me was two children near us that were so pleased to see each
other that their parents couldn’t contain them. I was greatly blessed by the
obvious love between these two children.
We
came close to worshiping here accidentally a few weeks ago, but were inspired
to intentionally attend the early service this week.
The
building is old and stone and about two doors down from where our daughters
lived as students at Geneva College.
Upon
entering we were warmly welcomed and given directions, so I forgot to look for
directional signage.
The
sanctuary was different in a few ways beginning with the lack of any musical
instruments, including the almost universal organ. There were seats that looked
like they were for a choir, but only one man sat there. As it turned out, he was
plenty. He led all singing with a voice that was clear and strong, and I could
understand every word even from the very back row where we sat. There was also
no cross, but Bob probably mentioned that.
The
bulletin is a work of art: several pages folded, stapled in the center, containing
the order of worship, sermon text, sermon outline, calendar information, announcements,
and prayer requests.
The
singing was led by the gentleman I mentioned, and the congregation participated
with gusto, even providing harmony. It was inspiring and exquisite.
The
sermon, “The Biggest Catch,” was presented by Pastor Titus Martin. He began by
mentioning Alan Watts, a speaker and writer from the 1960s and 1970s who
preached “embracing purposelessness,” that there was no meaning to life.
The
pastor used the Scripture text to equate Simon’s fishing at God’s command to Jesus’
commission of us to be “fishers of men.” He acknowledged that, humanly speaking
we are doomed to failure, but we go at His command and in His power and
authority. The tool He gave us is His Word, and we will not fail.
The
next question had to do with how we respond, and the pastor stated the only
appropriate response to Jesus’ over-the-top blessings is humble pursuit of Him.
When Jesus blesses us, instead of humbly falling at His feet, we have a tendency
to list the other things we want from Him and remind Him of the things He hasn’t
done yet. Do we weep with sorrow over our sin and with gratitude for His grace?
Do we humbly pursue and follow or grumble and ask for more?
I
appreciated the reminder that cultivating a grateful heart is a good start it
falls short of what Jesus Christ is due. He deserves my mind and heart humbly placed
at His feet, and every ounce of obedience and gratitude I have.
Holy Lord, we thank You for blessing this church. We ask that you continue to equip and empower them to step out in Your Name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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