Boat Stories
Dear Church Family,
This past Sunday we launched our new series, Boat Stories, by looking at one of the most familiar miracles in the Gospels, the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5. But as we walked through Peter's story, we discovered that the greatest catch that day wasn't the fish. It was a fisherman.
One of the most encouraging discoveries in this passage is that Luke 5 wasn't Peter's first encounter with Jesus. Before Jesus called Peter to leave his nets, He had already met him, spoken a new identity over him, and even healed someone in his family. Long before Peter fully surrendered, Jesus was patiently pursuing him.
That's often how Jesus works in our lives too.
Many of us think our relationship with God begins the moment we decide to follow Him. But often, when we look back, we realize He had been at work long before we recognized it. He was placing people in our lives, opening doors, stirring our hearts, and patiently drawing us closer to Himself.
One of the key truths we took away was this:
Jesus didn't love Peter because of his calling. Jesus called Peter because He loved him.
That same truth is still true today. Jesus doesn't wait until we have everything together before He loves us. He meets us exactly where we are and lovingly invites us into something greater than we could ever imagine.
As we continue this series, we'll see this pattern again and again:
Jesus meets us exactly where we are, with exactly what we need.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Baptism Sunday as we celebrated lives being changed by Jesus. There is no greater reminder that He is still pursuing people today.
If you missed Sunday's message, we'd encourage you to catch up online and join us this week as we continue our journey through Boat Stories.
-Pastor Aaron Perry