Growing With Peter Series: A New King of Fisherman - Luke 5

Theme of the Service

As our consideration of the story of our life continues, we discover that when Peter met Jesus he received a new vocation. Therefore, this event in Peter's life directs us to consider God's calling (vocation) in our life. To know Christ and to live for him involves a calling. Our study of Peter's story will direct us to consider our calling. Our responses in song, prayer, and readings will lead us to verbalize it before God.

Our aim is to leave this time of worship with a clearer concept of God's call in our life.

WE GATHER IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Prelude: "Psalm 42 - As a Deer in Want of Water", Pachelbel [organ]
or: "As a Deer", Carter [piano/4 hands]

Introit: "Seek the Lord", Carter

The Call to Worship

*Our Declaration of Trust and God's Greeting
Congregation of Jesus Christ, in whom are you trusting?
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen!

*Song of Approach: "Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service", vv. 1-3 (Pleading Savior: PsH 603, RN 286) (Blaenhafren: PH 427) (Beach Spring: TWC 426)

WE ARE RENEWED IN GOD'S GRACE

The Call to Confession

Our Prayer of Confession
Most holy and merciful Father,
We confess to you and to one another,
that we have sinned against you
in thought, word and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you
with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be,
so that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your holy name.
For the sake of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Assurance of God's Pardon:

Pastor: The Gospel of Christ speaks to us of the assurance we may have of God's pardon. Please rise for the reading of the Holy Gospel.
(worshipers rise; readings are by lay persons)

*The Reading of John 4:7-14

The Gospel of Christ.
Thanks be to God!

*Song of Testimony: "There Is a Redeemer" RN 232, SNC 145

*Passing the Peace:
Pastor: The peace of the Lord be with you.
People: And also with you!

(The worshipers pass the peace to each other saying, "the peace of the Lord to you", and then are seated.)

Our Commitment to Holy Living:

Since we have been saved by grace, how shall we live in relationship to Him who saved us?
We will have no other gods before Him; we will not make for ourselves any substitute gods; we will not abuse the name of the Lord, but speak it only in reverence and love; we will honor the Lord's day through worship, witness and fellowship with His people.
How shall we live in relationship with others?
We will honor our parents and hold the family in high esteem; we will not abuse, hate or injure our friends or neighbors by words, gestures or deeds; we will not commit adultery, but live holy disciplined lives; we will not steal; we will not lie; we will not grasp for what we do not have, nor reject others for having it.
How does Jesus summarize these commandments?
He says that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and by God's grace, we will do it!

GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS WORD

The Children's Moment

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

Song of Response to Scripture: "Jesus Called to Peter" SFL 114: 1, 8
or: "Tú has venido a la orilla/You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore/Lord,
You Have Come to the Lakeshore" PH 377, SNC 269, WOV 784

Sermon: A NEW KIND OF FISHERMAN
(Growing with Peter - #2)

Sung Applicatory Prayer: "Here I Am, Lord" PH 525, RN 149, SFL 243, SNC 268, WOV 752

WE RESPOND TO GOD'S WORD

*Our United Profession:
Reader 1 - The rule of Jesus Christ covers the whole world.
Reader 2 - To follow this Lord is to serve him everywhere without fitting in,
All - as light in darkness,
as salt in a spoiling world.
Reader 1 - Following the apostles, the church is sent -
sent with the gospel of the kingdom
to make disciples of all nations,
Reader 2 - to feed the hungry,
and to proclaim the assurance that
in the name of Christ there is forgiveness of sin
and new life for all who repent and believe -
All - to tell the news that our world belongs to God.
Reader 1 - In a world estranged from God,
where millions face confusing choices,
this mission is central to our being,
for we announce the one name that saves.
Reader 2 - We repent of leaving this work to a few,
we pray for brothers and sisters who suffer for the faith,
and we rejoice that the Spirit is waking us
to see our mission in God's world.
All - Come, Lord Jesus! Our world belongs to you.
From Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony, Articles 45, 44, 6,
©1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI, 1-800-333-8300. Used by permission.

*Song of Commitment: "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" SFL 226, TWC 576

The Pastoral Prayer

The Offertory: "Here I Am, Lord", Farlee [organ]
or: "Here I Am, Lord", Carter [piano or piano/four hands]
or: "Tú has venido a la orilla/You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore", Farlee [organ]

WE LEAVE TO SERVE

*The Benediction with Congregational Amen

*Song of Sending: "Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service", v. 4 (PH 427, PsH 603, RN 286, TWC 426)

Postlude: "Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service", Callahan [organ]

* - you are invited to stand

Sermon Notes:

Last week the story of Peter began. Now it continues with Jesus and Peter meeting each other again. The first time they met, Jesus changed Peter's name! Now when they meet again Jesus changes his vocation.

As you develop this sermon there are several elements to which you must pay attention - the time sequence, the location, the presence of crowds, the miraculous catch of fishes, and Peter's reaction to that event.

When the drama of the story has been recaptured, then the message should enter into the soul of the conversation between Jesus and Peter. What is the meaning of "vocation" and how did Jesus change Peter's vocation? What does this mean for us? Does it imply that all followers of Jesus should be catching people? But what does it say about the intent and mission of the church?

The bottom line should be an examination by all worshipers of the integration of their sense of mission/ministry and their commitment to follow Jesus Christ.

Music Notes:

Glossary of Hymnal Abbreviations:

PH The Presbyterian Hymnal (Presbyterian Church USA; Westminster/John Knox Press)
PsH The Psalter Hymnal (Christian Reformed Church; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
RL Rejoice in the Lord (Reformed Church in America; W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)
RN Renew! (Hope Publishing Company]
SFL Songs for LiFE (children's songbook; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
SNC Sing! A New Creation (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Christian Reformed Church, Reformed Church in America; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
TH Trinity Hymnal (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America; Great Commission Publications)
TWC The Worshiping Church (Hope Publishing Company)
WOV With One Voice (Augsburg Fortress)

Music Level Key: E = Easy, M = Medium, D = Difficult

1. You are given two suggestions here for the prelude music, both of which are based on Psalm 42. The first is a partita on Genevan 42/Freu dich sehr by Johann Pachelbel. It is published by Barenreiter in Selected Organ Works vol. 4 1016 (E-M). This is a partita where many of the variations on the tune are for manuals only. The other suggestion is a one piano/four hand transcription of the contemporary praise chorus "As the Deer", by John Carter found in Contemporary Hymns & Songs for Piano/4 Hands and published by Hope 8087 [2000] (E-M).
2. "Seek the Lord" also by John Carter is an SATB anthem published by Hope JC287 [1984] (E-M).
3. We are giving two suggestions for the hymn of response to the Scripture. "Jesus Called to Peter" is a children's hymn taken from Songs for LiFE in which the stanzas provide a narrative on Peter's life story. Each week we will suggest stanzas that portray the Scripture of the sermon or that will remind the worshipers of Scripture from previous weeks in this sermon series. "You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore" [PH 377, SNC269, WOV 784] is the alternative suggestion. This Hispanic hymn is also based on the Scripture of this service.
4. The Offertory suggestions include options for piano, piano duet or organ based on hymns already used in the service. "Here I Am, Lord" arranged for organ by Robert Buckley Farlee in Many and Great is published by Augsburg 11-11033 [2000] (E-M). "You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore" can be found in the same collection and is also of the same difficulty level. John Carter has arranged "Here I Am, Lord" for piano in Today's Hymns and Songs for Piano Hope 244 [1995] (E-M) and as a 4 hand duet in Contemporary Hymns & Songs for Piano/4 Hands also published by Hope 8087 [2000] (E-M).
5. Notice that the Song of Sending not only serves as a great closing response to the sermon and worship but also that, as the concluding verse of the Song of Approach, it serves as a unifying feature for the service.
6. The postlude by Charles Callahan can be found in Six Meditations on American Folk Hymns, published by Concordia 97-6140 [1992] (E-M).

Liturgy Notes

1. From the beginning the opening words of this service should create the readiness in the minds and hearts of worshipers that we must come to God today, ready to think deeply and honestly about our commitment to follow him. The songs selected create the openness for that. The words of the Call to Worship could do the same.

2. Notice that the service of confession (We Are Renewed in God's Grace) is the same as last week. It will remain the same throughout Lent to reinforce its impact. You may want to remind the worshipers of that fact.

3. We suggest that the Children's Moment be placed just before the sermon. It would be an ideal time to stir them to ask the question "what is God calling me to do?" Early in their lives they need to develop a sense of calling and an eagerness to listen to God. By speaking to them about this, we can reinforce the instruction parents are giving.

4. "Our World Belongs to God", the contemporary testimony of the Christian Reformed Church, forms the profession of faith that worshipers make as a response to the message from God's Word. Readers 1 and 2 may be two persons, or they may be two halves of the congregation. Either way, it must be clear that this is a group expression of our commitment to God to follow in obedience.

It is found on pp. 1033 and 1021 of the Psalter Hymnal. For copyright permission, please contact CRC Publications at (616) 224-0819 or info@crcpublications.org.

5. Because of the theme of this service, we suggest that the pastoral prayer should be an intercessory prayer that focuses on (1) our need to make clear commitments of obedience and service, (2) the need of God's blessing on all our efforts, (3) direction and discernment as we attempt to discover our ministries, (4) new insight and hope for those who have lost their way, and (5) the needs of our world that has often lost its way.