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Fishing for Fish?

This week I had the opportunity to share lunch with a member of our church family. During our time together, he shared that he and his family spoke only Spanish in his childhood home. Once, in elementary school, a teacher asked him why he was delaying to answer a question. "Because I'm translating from Spanish in my head!" he replied. I can only imagine how challenging that must have been!

Today we conclude our series in the Gospel of John, That You May Believe. We engage another experience of the disciples with the Risen Lord, where Peter and six of the disciples had returned to fishing after Jesus' resurrection:

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

"No," they answered.

He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul 
 the net in because of the large number of fish.

Though Jesus had called the disciples to be fishers of men, they had returned to being fishers of... fish! But it wasn’t going so well. After fishing all night, they caught nothing! And yet, with Jesus they caught 153 fish! Yes, John makes sure we know exactly how many had been caught! (Here's the study guide, if you'd like to learn more)

Next Sunday, April 10th, we begin our next series, Going Viral. While we all love gathering together to celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday, we can be just like the disciples: Tempted to return to our old nets, to fish for fish. Instead, Going Viral will help us learn our primary language for fishing for others, sharing the good news of Jesus.

The sermon series and small group curriculum will help each of us learn our individual style for sharing the good news of Jesus. What is your particular style? Direct, intellectual, testimonial, interpersonal, invitational, or service? Each of these six are Scripturally grounded and can be used by God to make the good news of Jesus’ resurrection known!

To be clear: This series and curriculum will not be like the elementary school experience detailed above. You will not be asked to speak a language you’re uncomfortable with, needing to "translate in your head." Instead, may we all be equipped to learn and live into our evangelistic style, that we might let our nets down on the right side of the boat, to share the good news in a way that is honest and authentic.

Pastor Curtis

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