Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 138
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Family Conversation
Today I have three stories about people from the Bible. In the stories we learn a lot about what our God is like.
First is the story of Isaiah. One night he had a dream that he was in the king’s palace. Suddenly God and a bunch of angels came there. Isaiah was completely amazed. There is God sitting on a throne… which is hanging in the air high above the room. The Angels are singing a song “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord, the whole earth is full of God’s Glory.” Suddenly Isaiah thinks to himself, “This is weird that God should come into the same place as me.” All of a sudden he remembers some things about himself. He remembers that he is not all that holy… In fact he has quite a foul mouth and says many bad words…and he has friends who also use bad words.
Isaiah thinks to himself, “What if God knows and has come to punish me for saying all those bad words? If that is the case I am in for big trouble.”
The second story is about Saul. It begins when he is a young man. As a young man he thinks that he knows everything about God. And because he thinks he knows everything… when he hears about people who pray differently and who follow in Jesus’ ways…Saul assumes that these people are against God… So Saul tries to stop them… He threatens them…and puts them in jail. But one night when he is going to find people to punish… suddenly he is blinded by a bright light from heaven which flashes in front of him. Jesus appears and asks him, “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?”
When he hears the voice of Jesus… Saul is terrified. He thinks to himself, “Oh no, now I am in really big trouble.”
The third story is about a fisherman named Peter. He and his partners are ordinary fishermen. They quit going to school… In fact they quit even before they learned to read. They said that they could learn all they needed to know about fishing while working on the lake. Like Isaiah… probably Peter and his friends also use bad language when they don’t catch any fish.
One day when they are washing their nets beside the lake… Jesus followed by a large crowd…comes up to them asking Peter, if he can use a boat for teaching. After Jesus is done teaching the crowd… he asks Peter if they can do some fishing. Before Jesus has come though…Peter fished all night and had not caught any fish… But he agrees to take Jesus out anyway… knowing it is the wrong time of day to fish… Peter reluctantly puts the nets into the water. Immediately they catch so many fish…that Peter’s partners have to come… and they fill two boats with all the fish.
Seeing this Peter begins to think about what he is like. He remembers using bad words when he is fishing. He remembers getting angry with his friends. He remembers cheating when he is weighing the fish to sell. And he thinks to himself, “What if Jesus knows?” So Peter tells Jesus, “Go away from me because I am a sinful man.”
So what do you think about these three people? Are they good or are they bad?
What about us? Are we like these three? Have we ever used bad words? Have we hurt people? Have we ever done things we know are wrong?
What does God do to the three people in the stories I told you?
What do you think God does to Isaiah… who is afraid… for using bad words?
What does God do to Saul…who is afraid… for threatening and hurting the followers of Jesus?
What does God do to Peter…who is afraid… because he is a sinful fisherman?
Let me tell you what God does.
God does something really special for Isaiah… God touches the Isaiah’s lips and tells him that he is no longer guilty. God forgives him. Then God asks Isaiah to be a prophet.
God changes Saul’s life completely. God cures his blindness and changes his name to Paul…so he will have a fresh start. Then God invites him to be an apostle… for Jesus.
Jesus says to Peter, “Do not be afraid.” God does not want sinners to be afraid of being punished. Instead Jesus tells Peter the sinner that God has a job for him. He asks Peter to be a disciple and says; “From now on you will catch people.”
What do you think about us? Do you think God wants us to feel guilty for using bad words? Do you think that God want to hurt us for hurting other people? Do you think that God wants us to be afraid?
God does not want to do any of these things. Instead God wants to FORGIVE us!
What do the people in the Bible stories do when God forgives them?
Isaiah becomes a prophet for God.
Paul becomes an apostle for Jesus.
Peter becomes the first disciple of Jesus.
Today’s Bible verse:The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Psalm 138:8
This is what our God is like… God loves us forever. Amen
Out of the Wilderness 