Rev. Zach

Isaiah 9:1-4 ; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 ; Matthew 4:12-23 Last week we talked about the invitation of Jesus to abide with us. We looked at the call of discipleship from the lens of John’s gospel and we talked about the way that we, as the body of Christ, may become the lens through which someone else may see the Kingdom of Heaven as though it were right here in our midst. As beautiful as that sounds, that’s some heavy stuff. As we try to reconcile life and faith and all the institutional stuff that goes with being a congregation with a building and a staff – and members who each have their own deep spiritual longing – the call of discipleship can be a little overwhelming. Most of us just want to go to church, hear the good news, and be encouraged so that we can get through all the other stuff that we have to deal with from day to day. I wonder how many of us feel like that – like you have too much on your plate? Sometimes life can be like this pile of rocks (picking them up one at a time...

Isaiah 9:1-4 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Matthew 4:12-23 Well, friends, what we have before us in the gospel text is a clear and present example of a no-brainer. You know what I mean? A no-brainer is one of those things you don’t even have to think about. You just do it! The only problem is that this only looks like a no-brainer for those who know the rest of the story. How in the world was following Jesus a no-brainer for these guys? I think it’s doubly hard for us to understand because we look at this story from an entirely different lense of decision making. We tend to make decisions based on what we can understand logically, or what we consider to be practical, or (unfortunately, we do this last one the most) how we feel about something. If you don’t believe me, just think about the way toothpaste is sold. We’re told that 9 out of 10 Dentists agree, or that this one fights cavities and bad breath, or this one leaves your mouth feeling clean and kissable all day long. That’s r...