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[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] good morning everyone welcome to church online at coburg ontario um from home which is kind of weird but it has been 321 days since we worshiped together in person but don't worry this won't last forever and i smell a comeback if you don't know me my name is esther i'm going to be your host for this morning's service um and i'm really glad that you guys are here to just join together and worship with us on our digital campus so let's make the most of this lockdown while it lasts why didn't take a minute and just jump on the chat bar leave a comment and let us know where you're joining us from then text someone send the link so they can join us this week pastor dad is finishing off our series with a message called first called first calling so why don't you stay tuned for that and after the service you can hop onto our youtube channel and check out the messages from weeks past okay let's join paul and the team and worship together thirsty come to the well that never runs dry drink of the water come and thirst no more all you sinners come find his mercy come to the table he will satisfy taste of his goodness find what you're looking for is bring all your failures bring your addictions come lay them down at the foot of the cross so jesus the world that he gave us [Applause] is the power of hell forever defeated now it is well i'm walking in freedom for god's [Applause] praise god praise god from whom all blessings flow praise him praise him for the wonders of his love praise god praise god from whom all blessings praise him praise him for the wonders of his love for god so love the world that he gave us his one and only son to save us the world that he gave us the power of hell forever defeated now it is well i'm walking in freedom [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right listen if you're new with us today we want to make sure you know we love you here and we'd love to get to know you if you haven't already head over to our website at coburg alliance.ca and fill out a connection card and just say hello feeling connected during a lockdown is really hard especially if you're new which is why we've created an all new digital campus for a great online experience we want to create a digital home to worship together and say hello and chat in real time so beneath the chat bar you will have access to a bible sermon notes and a button to request live prayer if you're watching us today on your tv you can grab a phone or tablet and head over to the chat bar and just say hello to us if you're having some trouble figuring out how things are working with our new online thing we have some helpful tips and some videos on our website or if you want to just send me a message send me a snapchat i'll be there to help you okay we are going to pause and say thank you to everyone who's been supporting cac through the past year it is through your kind and generous giving that we have been able to reach people all around the world so you guys are legends keep it up and if you're new and you want to know how to make a gift or become one of our partners there's a link at the top of your screen or you can open up a new tab on your browser and head over to our website where you can find out more information about how to give and while you're doing that listen to the sound of my voice okay good two more things real quick first we want to remind you that our next gen ministries are meeting online during this lockdown so our young adults age 18 to 30 meet wednesdays at 7 pm riot and merge which is grades 6 to 12 meet together on thursdays at 7 p.m and our weekly kids experience for kids grade 5 and under happens every sunday at 9 a.m okay finally members this fall we had some damage to a roof so our property team has been working together with our staff and board and we are now ready to call a special members meeting to seek approval to finally get the roof replaced so if you're a part of our voting membership you can mark monday february 8th at 7pm on your calendar and plan to join us for a short meeting family business all right so the rest of you who tuned out there we are back let's worship again all who are to the thirsty dip your heart in the stream of life be washed away in the ways of his mercy as deep cries [Applause] come for jesus comes come lord jesus comes lord jesus come to the fountain dip your heart in the stream of life [Music] of his mercy as a deep cries out too deep we sing lord jesus [Music] christ [Music] jesus holy spirit holy spirit as deep cries out too deep as deep cries out too deep as deep cries [Music] come on jesus jesus [Music] good morning i'm gloria mathes and in a moment i'm going to invite you to pray with me but first i would like to share just a really brief testimony about what god's been doing in my life so um for the past few weeks i've been reading this book and recently i read this a paragraph from the book that really resonated with me it really just kind of stuck with me and it was it wasn't it didn't resonate me with me because of circumstance current circumstances but it resonated with me in a really really deep down place i don't know if you've experienced that before but um so this deep down place it felt familiar and rather than just saying that's kind of strange and carrying on i just sat with that for a little while and and i took it to god and i just i said you know god why is this so familiar to me in this deep down place and i process that with god in the way that i normally do which is journaling so i was i was journaling just sort of my thoughts journaling to god you know just telling him what i was thinking about it and what was going on and just listening um and and as i was journaling i started journaling a kind of word picture that i had a picture that i had in my mind that kind of described what what it felt and uh and as i was journaling this word picture i i suddenly realized that what that this picture represented the the root the the the reason why this felt so familiar deep down in a deep place and so i was able to invite god into that to bring his truth and his love into that and to bring some healing and freedom out of that that that wounding that had happened many many years ago so just wanted to share that with you and just to to remind us that god is at work and cares for even those deep places of wounding so would you pray with me father god we just want to give you thanks and praise for how you care for us how you love us how you love every part of us even those deep dark places that we like to keep closed up and and and locked father you desire to come into those places and bring your light and your truth and your healing and your freedom and your love and so father i pray that even now those those who are struggling with with certain things lord would you give courage to um to invite you for the courage for us to invite you into those places courage for us to invite you to open the door of those dark rooms in us and bring your light and your healing father your word says that jesus says that um your sheep know your voice lord i pray that you would help us to hear your voice and when you are calling us into those places and you're saying i want to come to this place and i want to bring healing into this place lord i pray that you would give us ears to hear and courage to to engage and say yes lord so father i pray even now for those who are struggling that you would would bring your light and your healing thank you god that you are at work in our lives even when we don't see it you're still working so we give you all the honor and glory and praise we thank you jesus amen [Music] hey everybody good morning welcome back to church online from coburg ontario my name is daryl buckle i'm one of the pastors here at coburg alliance church hey uh all of you couples out there i've got a question do you guys remember when you first met your spouse i'm embarrassed to say that i don't actually remember the day that i supposedly met my wife she tells me that it was uh during frosh week my frosh week the first week at school and we were apparently both at a small party or reception at a profs house uh she tells me that not only was she there but that she was also the r-ray uh leading the trip to get to that party and i was apparently distracted by everything else going on that day so i don't remember meeting her then uh unless of course she wasn't actually there that day and she's just messing with me but you're right there's really no way to win that one so i'll move along uh why don't you grab your bible or your phone and flip to the bible app um we are going to start today going back to a couple of the guys uh who follow jesus to their very first encounter with jesus to see if they remember what he said uh to see if we remember what he said at their first meeting first in matthew chapter 4 go ahead and flip there matthew chapter 4 18 says as jesus was walking beside the sea of galilee he saw two brothers simon who was called peters and his brother andrew they were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen come and follow me jesus said and i will send you out to fish for people and at once they left their nets and followed him luke also describes that day uh filling out for us some of the other details uh so luke chapter five says one day as jesus was standing by the lake of genoceret which is of course the same lake called by one of its other names luke says that the people there were crowding around him and listening to the word of god so it wasn't a solitary stroll or a morning run or walk on the beach it was a public appearance of someone who was already growing in popularity growing in celebrity and so from within this crowd jesus sees peter and andrew clearing up after a night of fishing verse 2 says he saw at the water's edge two boats uh left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets and so he got into one of the boats the one belonging to simon and he asked him to put out a little from shore and then he sat down and taught the people from the boat when he had finished speaking he said to simon put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch simon answered master we've worked hard all night we haven't caught a a thing and but because you have said so he says i will let down the nets once more when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break so they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them and they came and filled both boats so full it says that they began to sink and when simon peter saw this he fell at jesus knees and said go away from me lord i am a sinful man for he and all his companions were astonished as they should be at the catch of fish that they had taken and so were james and john the sons of zebedee simon's partners then jesus said to simon don't be afraid from now on you will fish for people there's those familiar words again so they pulled their boats up on shore they left everything and followed him so for the last four weeks we have been working our way through a series of messages on people who had an encounter with jesus um some were his friends and some were total strangers but each of these episodes was about a single defining moment wasn't it in week one we hung out with mary and martha two sisters who in a moment learned the difference between true devotion i think and distraction maybe the the difference between being and doing then we met a woman in week two who went from a shady or even notorious uh character to a person of some fame because of a single moment followed by a step of vulnerability if you remember a step of faith in week three we looked at the story of when jesus had hunted and recruited of all things the most disgraceful turn coat traitor to his people matthew the tax collector this story is unbelievable if you know what's going on remember jesus had two redneck insurrectionists in his group who were more well-liked than this tax collector just to show you how much everybody hated this guy but jesus in a single transformational moment calls matthew to a new life and to a new purpose so every week in a single encounter a single moment followed by one small step that marked and that made all of the difference in the lives of these people as you see so uh i don't know if you know this you know the first step that you take after an experience like that is critical isn't it yeah the step that follows the moment is often the thing that seals or scuttles the impact or the legacy or or the limits of that moment that's true in that so just look at last week um last week in a single encounter a single moment an incredibly successful man of faith had an encounter with jesus and he discovered that everything he had worked so hard to achieve was now keeping him from the one thing he thought he wanted more than anything and this man never took that next step okay so this morning we're we're looking at a moment in simon peter's life i think in andrew's life certainly but it wasn't their first moment i don't know if you know that um sometimes we think that peter's encounter the one we read with jesus was random but it wasn't we think that this was their first encounter but it wasn't actually john chapter 1 verse 35 says the next day john the baptist was there again with his two disciples we can assume he's meaning was there at the river jordan uh in the days in the day after jesus had been baptized himself first 36 says john sees jesus passing by and says behold or look the lamb of god and when these two disciples who were with john the baptist heard him saying this they followed jesus at this point we're talking about of course the instagram or the twitter type of following not the devotee type of following at least not yet they were literally following him as he walked down the street that's what i'm trying to say uh turning around jesus saw them following and asked what do you want who are you what do you want and and so they replied rabbi which means teacher where are you staying jesus says come and you will see honestly to our ears actually that conversation between them does sound kind of strange it is it is a little bit awkward as it as it might be a guy turning around seeing people following him and confronting them somehow who are you what are you what are you doing this in fact kids if you're watching this if someone asks you where you live you don't tell them where you live that's that's not safe but but in this meeting they identify themselves they say rabbi they they identify themselves as people wanting to follow jesus when they call him rabbi and they ask if they can walk with him for a bit and sit as students and and john says so they went and they saw where he was staying and they spent that day with him and it was about four in the afternoon so verse 40 says andrew simon peter's brother was one of the two who had been with john and who had heard what john said um and and who had followed jesus as a result clearly god is already at work in andrew's life because instead of sleeping away the heat of the day so that he can be back out on the water with his brother and his partners that night fishing as is his occupation uh he's spending his afternoon at church learning from this mysterious preacher guru type john the baptist and so andrew's in the early days of something of a spiritual awakening i don't know if you can relate to that at all and when john his mentor points to jesus and says behold the lamb of god andrew probably jumps to his feet and maybe even hugs john the baptist and then runs off after jesus because they both know it's not john who andrew wants to be with even though it is but but when john points to jesus and identifies him as the lamb of god he knows that's who andrew is looking for so andrew spends his afternoon walking uh through town with jesus hanging out with jesus maybe they're meeting people they probably stop at a food truck and they pick up some fish fritters or something and i bet they're probably peppering jesus with questions or or listening as he interacts with people and then when they get to where jesus is staying they want to know for sure that they know how to find jesus again and then they tell jesus uh listen i gotta go and just like that they go yeah they take off down the street leaving jesus kind of alone by himself and verse 41 actually tells us why it says the first thing andrew did was to find his brother simon and tell him we have found the messiah that is the christ and they drag him back across town again to meet jesus as well folks i don't want you to miss this the first impulse of everyone who truly meets jesus other than to do whatever it takes to follow and to be where jesus is themselves is to bring someone with them some people really do find jesus as the god who they've always been looking for but for most of us most of us get found by him when someone else introduces you to him that's true right so the first thing andrew did turn to someone and say first thing okay turn to someone and say first is first come on introverts turn to someone participate here the first thing andrew did you guys know in acts chapter 2 simon peter is the guy who stood up in front of that massive crowd of jews during the feast of weeks which is i guess like our thanksgiving but with a pilgrimage to jerusalem too it was this huge crowd of party people and he tells them that the very guy that they had crucified last month was the same messiah that they were supposed to be looking for it says that sermon cut them to the heart and launched the early church into orbit yeah thousands of people started following jesus as a result of that message within days peter is doing miracles healing people born lame and then testifying about it before an angry congress peter gets arrested multiple times in the book of acts for his boldness in telling people about jesus he gets beaten and tortured as a means to get him to stop his enthusiastic ministry uh his charismatic ministry he gets miraculously freed from prison actually jailbreak miracles are some of my favorites um peter gets known for doing miracles in fact everywhere peter goes god does miracles acts chapter 5 15 says people would bring the sick into the streets and lay them on beds and mats so that at least peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by we are talking miracles like no one had ever experienced before peter was a rock star that's what i'm trying to say he's a rock star even after they crucified him much the same way as they had his friend jesus his fame popularity his legend only grew i know some of you are going to email me about this later i think peter owes it all to his probably introverted brother andrew yeah i think all of the things we know and love about peter as a man of faith are probably birth started he probably owes it all he would say that he owes it all to his brother andrew who first introduces him you know the byzantine church the orthodox church actually honors andrew with the name protocledos which means the first called yeah if you're a follower of jesus this morning this is actually your origin story yeah this is your origin story this is the moment that came first jesus is baptized by john the baptist this mysterious mystic uh guru type uh prophet or priest jesus is baptized by john jesus is then tempted in the wilderness begins his public ministry jesus first follower after that happens is andrew yeah it's andrew andrew who we don't know that much about is the first one to follow the first called and the first to call he is the proto-disciples the protocletus and he is our prototype don't look at me like that don't you i know you love it when i speak latin or greek or whatever this is and clearly i don't know how to speak latin or greek or whatever this is but either way this is also clear somewhere along the way something got lost in translation and that's not my fault yes sometime after that first encounter that first afternoon with andrew and with jesus where andrew meets jesus and then takes off as the first thing he does and he introduces his brother simon to jesus and we find these brothers uh then a day or two or three sometime later back at the lake in luke chapter five it says they're cleaning up their gear after a night of fishing and jesus who as far as we know they had only recently met comes by to the lake and sees his new friends and jumps in the boat and and takes a seat and continues to teach this other crowd that was following him uh who was still on shore and then at some point after the message or or during maybe he smiles at andrew and simon uh these new friends knew uh whatever new people he had just met and he he it just recently met and he he says let's take her out into deep water let's let down the nets for a catch and well i guess if you know anything about fishing which i really don't it's kind of a fun story or if you've ever been fishing this is kind of a fun this is the kind of day on the lake you want to imagine uh and there is a sense of wonder here that that feeling you get after a discouraging night imagine that getting skunked on the lake you're a professional fisherman and then you go out again with jesus and and you get this catch so big it almost breaks almost tears the nets it's a catch so big you've got to call in reinforcements a cat's so big that even when the reinforcements come almost both boats get sunk in the pros like they're taken on water like this is this is a miraculous catch in extra innings after a night of disappointment and weary discouragement did you catch all of that from this text when i read it before so in in case you missed it this is actually a bit of a turning point in the story um i know it's a minor plot but just imagine if it had gone differently peter doesn't even know what's supposed to happen at this point in the story like maybe he's thinking uh i don't know maybe maybe we need to bring jesus into the family business like maybe maybe we need to buy another boat teach jesus how to work the nets because that guy knows how to fish right yeah don't laugh you'd be surprised how many christians try and bring jesus into the family business but of course this is the day that jesus would instead challenge them instead invite them peter and his brother with the words follow me and i'll make you fishers of men and sometime between then and now i wonder if all that didn't get lost somehow in translation these brothers aren't just the protocledos the first call they are in many ways the proto types you guys know what a prototype is right um of course you do it's the the model on which uh something else is is pattern it's the original model that you pattern every other uh version after on you guys are with me right you get that their calling is our calling darrell what are you trying to say i'm saying their calling is our calling and you're with me right sure you are like it jogs some memory when i say that you're maybe maybe that's not the first maybe that's not the the way the prototype's kind of behaving right now but it jogs the memory though a bit doesn't it clears the fog a bit when i say that doesn't it um so what do you think jesus meant when he said follow me and i'll make you fishers of men well in his uh book the day the revolution began preeminent new testament historian and scholar nt wright says the death of jesus freeing us from our sins and purchasing a people for god was not simply aimed at rescuing humans from hell so that they could go to heaven stay with me now he says the ghoul is not heaven but a renewed human vocation within god's renewed creation yeah follow me and i'll make you fishers of men if you're a christian this morning or as so many people like to call it these days a follower of jesus the purpose of your lives and the point of your faith is to give you a purpose for your life and a point to your faith yeah a new vocation or a new calling what jesus calls to make you a fisher of men that's that's what this is about but it's possible that the truth has been lost in translation in 2019 uh barna christian research organization released a report that found that most christians really do still believe that the best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to come to know jesus like we still believe that apparently as chris and dumb these days but he also found that only half of christians had a single conversation with a friend or family member about their faith in the entire year before the survey you guys still with me yeah craig springer the director of the alpha program in the us says we post instagram novellas of what we had for dinner but an interesting twist of our time is that u.s christians are losing a desire to share their faith i i i know what you're thinking you know it's a good thing we aren't americans right i know that's so true but i i don't think we're doing any better sorry tyler i don't think we're doing any better at sharing with others the difference that god has made in our lives um jesus first invitation to follow him was an invitation to a life spent inviting others to come with us somehow inviting others to come with us the first impulse of jesus first follower was to bring someone with him and somewhere along the way the church we as his followers it seems we've gotten lost somehow from that first form of following and so for a few minutes i just want to talk a little bit about how we might reconnect with how we might find renewed within us our first call and and and what are some simple steps that we can take okay we with are you with me here's what i would say first uh if if you're going to renew that first calling to invite people to come with you well i'd say that you know there's a bit pretty silly debate going on about how we should go about do that there is a silly debate that goes on in some circles as to whether the church should try and be attractional or incarnational that is to invite people to come and see or should we all rather go and tell uh in john chapter 1 it says that the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us god put on flesh and bones in the person of jesus so that we can see what god is like as eugene peterson says in the message translation it says the word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood and we saw his glory therefore with our own eyes the one of a kind glory like father like son generous inside and out true from start to finish folks of course we should move into our neighborhoods and be an active incarnational presence in our communities because that's what jesus did and so of course we should do that we do it for the benefit of the people we live with jesus did it to make our lives better we should be trying to make our community our neighborhoods lives better we are for our communities like jesus is for us in one of the letters we have from uh peter the the apostle the saint peter we talked about first peter chapter 2 says live such good lives amongst the well canadians or kobarians or coburgers that's the one amongst the cobra live such good lives in and amongst and with your neighbors so that they see and they wreck it like i hate to burst your bubble but everyone's favorite fisher of men here is trying to get us out of our bubble and back into our neighborhoods so that we can be a light so that by by by loving and caring for and living with our neighbors we can be a light and you guys know by light i mean an illuminating warm light not like an eye of sauron kind of light actually heard it called like a bonfire not a blowtorch man i love that picture both give light both give heat but one draws people to its warmth and the other you should never be pointing in someone's direction okay peter's clear on this yeah peter is clear on this first peter chapter 3 he says but in your heart set apart christ as lord and always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have but he says do this with gentleness and with respect if if you call christ lord then you're always going to be ready to share your faith you're going to live ready and rare and waiting for an opportunity looking always for opportunities to share with others what god has done in your life but you will only ever do so with gentleness and respect right because that's what our forefather taught us that's what peter the the the first fisher of men taught us like a bonfire not a blowtorch i know you guys are with me christians live in and are part of their communities of course they live good lives there peter says actually teacher michael frost says they live questionable lives bucca what does that mean it's the kind of lives that make people ask how is it possible that you can still live with joy and hope after all you've been through and then you're ready in those moments to give an answer um sure we should be incarnational as we share our faith fully in and a part of the community that we're planted and trying to impact the community that we're trying to share the love of god with but we should also be attractional like a bonfire drawing people to our warmth there's no debate to be had here when andrew and his his friends caught up to jesus um asked him where he was staying jesus himself said come and see there's no debate here and in one of the last conversations with andrew that jesus ever had and with a group of his disciples he said now go into all the world and share your faith make disciples of every nation so from start to finish the purpose of your life is to share your faith incarnationally attractionally to invite people to come with you okay to invite people to come with you but i'm always careful to say if you are going to share the love of god you really should do it in the language of real people i just want to spend a minute on this because jesus was intentional about the language he used in this story wasn't he well we should be too this isn't grade nine french class um jesus said follow me and i'll make you fishers of men he was a meaningful metaphor right that's it he spoke in a way that these guys could recognize and relate to so i think we should kind of work hard to do that too and this is more important than you know you know in acts chapter 2 you can read about how the first miracle and and god's gift to the early church was the ability to share the love of god in the language of people from every corner of the world but today when someone finds their way into a church for the first time too often they find it completely unintelligible folks the language and the metaphors that are often used in well many churches are totally foreign to people outside of that circle outside of that bubble but this is important it's important as a skill that we learn it's important as a practice that we guard and protect the the value that we are going to teach in the language people can understand acts chapter 15 the early church was wrestling with how to reach and what to do with all of these new christians that were becoming part of their communities but who came from a culture and language and lifestyle that was totally different than the jews who started the church the jews who were his first disciples the first followers of jesus and so after this great deal of debate and honest wrestling amongst the insiders and those who are newer to the church jesus brother james actually got up and i find this a very cool story because if you remember jesus brother james is the guy who thought his brother jesus had sort of you know like delusions of grandeur or something that that he thought who does jesus think he is and it was only after the resurrection that james became really a true follower of his brother jesus and so when james stands up as a as a principal uh author or or as a speaker within the early church people listened okay so james gets up in front of this gathering of leaders and delegates from churches far and wide and he says it is my judgment therefore that we should not make it difficult for the gentiles who are turning to god if you're taking notes man i want you to write that down from acts 15 it is my judgment therefore that we should not make it difficult for the gentiles who are turning to god do you think you know that that maybe we do that sometimes do you think maybe there's you know some things that we do as old-timers or insiders that might make it unnecessarily difficult for our non-church friends to to come and find god in a safe environment or an environment safe to explore god to ask questions about do you think we do this listen i'm new here in coburg so i would love your thoughts on that my email is always oh i would love to hear your thoughts on that from your experience at coburg alliance church are there things that we could do better at to make it more possible more easy for people who who don't have a lot of experience in the faith to gain some experience and to grow in their faith so email me i'd love your ideas on what we could do better what we could do differently but listen the bottom line is this share your faith share your faith invite people to come with you be a bonfire not a blowtorch but do let your light shine like come on coburgers learn the language of the people goddess place near you like i need to because maybe it's cobra gait like for all i know it could be it should be co burgers though because that's that's just better i'm just saying do the work do the work make the effort and you will hear more and more people tell you about that first time that they checked out coburg alliance church they'll say this they'll say it was like the whole message the whole service was made for me i'm telling you those are the best kind of stories those are the stories that show that god is work but it's also the stories that show us that god is at work through us through us that we're partnering with him that we're serving well the mission of jesus in our community so first impressions are important first impressions are important and i hope that andrew and his brother simon have left a deep impression on you the first thing andrew the disciple first called did was bring someone with them so who do you know who do you know who needs to know that god loves them that god is for them god would do anything to be part of their lives who do you know and who are you willing to reach out to just invest to share some love hoping for an opportunity to share maybe more of that message who do you know has who has faith who has faith but who has lost their sense of purpose who do you know that you can reach out to you could be the light that brings them back listen if you'll take this one step of faith and bring someone with you i know god will do incredible things in our midst for his own glory because he's good [Music] christ is my reward and all of my devotion [Music] through every tribe my soul will sing no turning back i've been set free christ is enough for me christ is enough for me everything i need is i need [Music] joy of my salvation and this hope will never fail [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the jesus christ is enough for me christ is enough for me [Music] [Applause] [Music] is is enough for me everything i need everything i need i have decided to follow jesus no turning back no turning back i have decided to [Music] no turning back [Music] i have decided to follow jesus [Music] so [Applause] [Music] do [Music] do do you