Cast Your Nets Into The Deep Waters
Read Luke 5:1-11
Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
Luke 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
Luke 5:5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”
11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. (New Living Translation)
- This passage is often referred to as one of the “call Stories” of Jesus, but the call to Simon does not come until the very end of the story. As you read the passage, what do you think needed to happen before Simon was ready to respond to the call to follow Jesus?
- As I read this story it seems to me that God had to get Simon’s attention and Simon had to be attentive to the call of Jesus. Simon realized Jesus’ call to ministry because he was attentive to Christ and he was attentive to the environment around him. How are you being attentive to Christ? How is God trying to speak into your life? Are you listening to God?
- God speaks to all of us, the question is, are we attentive to hear His whispers. How do you think we put ourselves in a place (or posture) to hear the whispers of God?
- When Jesus finally had the full attention of Simon, he told him that, “From now on you’ll fish for people.” What do you think fishing for people means?
- Read Matthew 28:16-20. How does this passage relate to the idea of fishing for people?
- How are you being attentive to God and attentive to the people that God puts into your life to be “fishing” for people?
As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: When did I last speak to someone about my faith? (Pages 123-127 in The Wesley Challenge)
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