The beginning of a new series of messages attempting to answer the questions: Why did Jesus tell Peter to be a fisher of men? What does that mean? How does it work? And what does this have to do with us?

The world is looking for someone who will stand against tyranny and abuse of power. Jesus picked a fight against a religious machine that wound up killing him. He did it because the fight was worth it…he was fighting for your freedom. Oh…and he won by the way. That means you did too!

It’s easy to look at people. But do we really see them? Jesus set the standard for us as Christians to truly SEE people. This will draw them to Jesus. We just have to show them…

Show me a Christian who is NOT sharing Christ and I’ll show you a Christian who is caught up in bigger causes than Christianity.

Witnessing for Christ shouldn’t be something we do. It should be who we are.

The sword that Jesus said he brought in Matthew 10 is not a blade to fight with. It’s a blade that separates something from something else. Jesus warns us that people will hate us as Christians; that we will be separated from the world, persecuted, even killed. Even so, this sermon will encourage you to be strong in a culture of persecution, living a life wholly devoted to Christ. God bless his church.

Jesus demands 100% loyalty. It is not Jesus plus anything. It’s all him all the time. The result of this lifestyle can produce a hostility from others. We must be aware that is it happening, and it will happen more. But we should not wait for this persecution to produce an urgency to reach our world for Christ.

Jesus is angry about any force in the universe that separates people from Himself. The Pharisees took this posture, and he condemns them aggressively. This is a “castworthy” message in that it hooked the hearts of humanity as they realized how deeply Jesus loves them, and wants to protect them from bullies like the Pharisees.

The argument is often made for the Divinity of Jesus. And it should be. But does this argument become so big that it crowds out his Humanity? This is absolutely just as important. His humanity, his weakness, his anxiety, his anger…this is the Jesus the world is looking for.

Jesus stands in the gap for all of humanity; one hand stretched to you, the other to Heaven. His advocacy and mediation is the supreme hope for all of us. And his gift of salvation, that he will never take away, is intended to lead you in a life of freedom. God loves you just as you are. But he loves you too much to leave you there.

Ten lepers were healed by Jesus. Only one thanked him. This is a commentary on society itself. We can do better.

Jesus was a very good Jewish Rabbi. And that meant he followed their traditions; including Remez. This process of giving small clues and hints, instead of just blurting out the whole message all the time, creates durable disciples. We should be counted among them!

To close this series, let’s look back to the moment when Jesus told Peter that he would be a fisher of men. What did this mean? For Peter? For us?

The conclusion of the Casting Christ series; focusing on the man who Jesus commanded to go and fish for people. Peter’s life and core message is how we keep casting Christ into the world.