"Who is that?" you wonder when the phone rings. Young Samuel wondered the same thing when he heard his name called. When Nathanael was called by Jesus, he was stunned, but Jesus told him there was a whole lot more coming. Are you listening?
That ringing phone brings a mixture of excitement and dread; excitement at what may be coming, and dread ... at what might be coming. The faithful might experience the same two emotions when God interrupts their lives with a call to act.
For boy Samuel in old Eli's temple, the call comes at night. Three times he mistakes the call as Eli's summons, and is thrice wrong. On that third time, Eli comes "awake" enough to know that the Lord is calling.
Samuel responds as instructed when the call comes again. Samuel is promised by God that news of what's coming would make anyone's ears tingle - a tantalizing prospect! What could that be?
In the gospel of John, Jesus is planning a trip back to Galilee and calls on Philip to accompany him. Philip tells Nathanael who is at first highly skeptical. When Nathanael meets Jesus is quickly (and remarkably) bowled over. But Jesus scoffs, promising that Nathanael hasn't really experienced anything yet. Just wait. What could that be?
It's the faithful one who brushes aside the excitement and the dread, simply offering him-/herself in faithful affirmation. If the Lord is calling, he's calling you, and there is something important at stake.
Explore this topic in the sermon video below, and note the downloads below the video panel.
That ringing phone brings a mixture of excitement and dread; excitement at what may be coming, and dread ... at what might be coming. The faithful might experience the same two emotions when God interrupts their lives with a call to act.
For boy Samuel in old Eli's temple, the call comes at night. Three times he mistakes the call as Eli's summons, and is thrice wrong. On that third time, Eli comes "awake" enough to know that the Lord is calling.
Samuel responds as instructed when the call comes again. Samuel is promised by God that news of what's coming would make anyone's ears tingle - a tantalizing prospect! What could that be?
In the gospel of John, Jesus is planning a trip back to Galilee and calls on Philip to accompany him. Philip tells Nathanael who is at first highly skeptical. When Nathanael meets Jesus is quickly (and remarkably) bowled over. But Jesus scoffs, promising that Nathanael hasn't really experienced anything yet. Just wait. What could that be?
It's the faithful one who brushes aside the excitement and the dread, simply offering him-/herself in faithful affirmation. If the Lord is calling, he's calling you, and there is something important at stake.
Explore this topic in the sermon video below, and note the downloads below the video panel.
| 01-14-18-ff-answers.pdf |
| 01-14-18-this_call_is_for_you.pdf |