“By Chance or by Choice?”
June 8, 2014
Northside United Methodist Church
Scripture Reading:
Evelyn Nickerson, Director of Children and Youth Ministries
Scripture:
- Matthew 4:18-22 The First Disciples
o One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers-Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew-throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little father up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called to them, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
Have you ever played “Heads or Tails?” It’s a game we have played in Confirmation Class and guess what? We as a church family are going to play it right now! Connor Read will be joining me to flip the coin and when it lands we’ll call it out.
If you are able, you are all going to stand up; before we flip a coin you take a guess on what it will land on, Heads or Tails? If you think its Heads then put your hands on your head, if you think its Tails put your hands on your backside. If you’re unable to stand, do thumbs up for Heads and thumbs down for Tails. We keep flipping the coin until eventually, there will be one person standing, lets see who wins! And of course, there is a PRIZE!
· Play the game with the entire congregation, “Heads or Tails”. I will need a quarter, an excellent quarter flipper and an excellent pro at shouting Heads or Tails!
Wasn’t that fun? It can be fun to take chances! It’s daring and the result is unknown and unexpected. It’s like Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” But have you ever gotten a box of chocolates and it didn’t come with a map on the inner lid of labeling the chocolates. It’s such a pain, because for myself, I’m a bit picky and I only eat certain ones, so if I take a bite and its one filled with jelly, I’m not going to eat it, I usually put the other half in the box for my mom to find later and it becomes a waste, unless she decides to eat it, but either way it wasn’t very rewarding. It’s a chance that becomes a waste. Has that ever happened to you? Throughout our lives, there are times that taking a chance isn’t a big deal, its just chocolates. But sometimes it is necessary, like asking that special someone out, you don’t know if they’ll say yes or no. They could end up being your future better half in marriage. Sometimes it can be exciting and it can surprise you to take a chance, because the answer you get was the one you wanted, but sometimes it’s not what you wanted and you have to deal with the outcome, just like when you have to put a half eaten chocolate back in the box. When you take chances, it’s not always a guarantee. As Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Certainly not the most fun guarantees of life to be excited about, but they happen. In actuality, there is another guarantee in life. Our God, who made our world, made you and me in His image, guarantees us unconditional love and everlasting life. God guarantees us that He will always be there for us. However, it is up to us to make a choice and a decision to accept God’s love. God’s love is not something you should take a chance with. Though some people do take a chance, like saying “Maybe I will rely on God, like when I need Him, maybe when something bad happens, maybe then I’ll take a chance with God.” But what kind of hope or assurance is that?
God’s love is so valuable, it is so precious and it is a gift. It should be treated with great care, respect and yearning, where we make the decision to accept God’s love. You need to be intentional of what you are doing, especially with God’s love. His love is not something that we should just go with the “flow of it”. God’s love for us is so much more precious than that.
Today, our Confirmands are not flipping a coin to follow God. They are making a choice and an intentional decision to follow God. They are making a vow to God in front of their church family, that they love God and accept Him into their lives. They are going to do their best for God. Today, they shout with their hearts that God’s love for them is real. They are making a for real promise today and its serious business. It’s a serious decision we don’t take lightly but it also comes with great celebration, thanksgiving and joy.
In Matthew 4:18-22 Jesus is on the edge of the Sea of Galilee inviting his friends to follow him. He calls out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” and they stopped what they were doing, they made a choice, got up and followed Jesus. James and John even left their Dad on the beach and were like, “Peace!” They got up with great expectation and joy. Were they taking a chance? No, they made a decision to get up, leave what they were doing and follow him. Jesus was going to teach them how to be fishers of men! Taking a chance would have been, something like, maybe in a bit…like maybe Jesus will be around later, or maybe I’ll try it for awhile. But no-they immediately left everything to follow Jesus. It is so important in this one life that we are given to not pass up the opportunity to accept God, we should not eventually get to it, like “Eh, I don’t need to pray today, maybe next week, I mean there isn’t anything really bad going on at the moment in my life” and then when your next hardship comes, which it will, then you’ll pray to God. And remember, making a decision to accept God’s love also means loving God in return and serving God. It’s easy to think to yourself, “I’m sure someone else will help with that bible study, or the prayer chain, or hospital visits or coffee hour, I mean why do I have to do it? Is it even necessasry?” Or when someone has asked for prayers and you say “Sending prayers to you!” but then you never actually do it. You never really meant what you said, so you didn’t really make a choice to volunteer or help. Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, in the movie Pearl Harbor said, “There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.” It takes time, commitment, responsibility and to be intentional with our decisions to follow and love God, with all of our heart, all of our minds and souls. Being an active, intentional disciple of Christ is about being pro-active, seizing the day, and being reliable in making “fishers of men.”
An example of not making fishers of men is one that Pastor Rebecca shared with us a few weeks ago. You could say to yourself, “I don’t need to go to church; I can go to the beach and take a walk by myself and be with God.” Well, God does make pretty awesome sunsets, but when you need help, love, peace, you will not find it in the sand, the waves or the sun, there is no community at the beach, and there is no church family. The sand, the waves or the sun can not love you, care for you, watch out for you, answer your prayers or walk with you in your faith journey. So why on earth would anyone take a chance and treat God’s love for us like that? God’s calling to us is important and should be given the very best. An old Chinese proverb says, “Pearls don’t lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it.” God’s love is an amazing pearl and today our Confirmands are diving for Him with their choice, not by chance!
Today we welcome 13 new members into our church family, Michael, Beatrice, Shante, Cassie, Austin, Ari, Ryan, Jack, Jackie, Kellen, Addie, Kajsa and Derrick, are getting up and are ready to follow God. Today is an important day and it’s also 1 day in their journey with God. Today their journey does not end; it’s 1 day they have since they were born and it begins a new chapter in their lives, it’s a new transition, where they are young adults in our church family. Now they have the right to vote in our meetings, they get official nametags, they become members of the United Methodist Church, and besides the cake at the end of church today, which I know they are pumped for, they have Confirmed their faith in God. They are making a promise to God, where they acknowledged Him and His great love. They have promised to support their church family in their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
It is an honor to celebrate with them today, with their parents, grandparents, sisters and brothers and the people in their lives that have watched them grow up into who they are today; Thank you, thank you Confirmation Families, for supporting your sons and daughters, for guiding them on their path with God. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach them, to share with them, to talk about their faith and deepen their roots that you planted. It is an honor to watch each one of them, make a promise to God today. All of you, the church family of Northside, are a precious gift to God and to one another, thank you for supporting our Confirmation Class this year with your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
Today, they are not taking a chance, or hoping for the best chocolate in the box. They are not flipping a coin, hoping that it landed on tails. Today, they are diving for their pearl with a decision that they have made with their hearts and minds. A decision that guarantees them a foundation of love from God. A decision, where they will “fish for men.”
Amen.
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