“And Simon, don’t be a jerk.” “Me? A Jerk? Come on Andrew, you know me better than that.” “Exactly, don’t be a jerk. Give Jesus a chance.” We had just arrived at the home where Jesus was staying, and I was getting last-minute instructions before we went in. “Just keep an open mind and listen to what…
“Peter? I don’t know, I kind of like, Simon, calling you Peter would just seem strange, especially when I was whispering sweet nothings in your ear, I’d feel like I was cheating on the Simon I married.”. “As long as it’s me you are whispering sweet nothings to, you can call me anything you like,…
Another night of fishing and we were just beaching the boat when Andrew spotted a large school just off the shore, we grabbed our throw nets and waded out to try our luck. We had caught plenty through the night, but you fished when there were fish. There was no telling what tomorrow night might…
CThe sun was high when I walked through the door, Esther just arched her eyebrows and asked, “Breakfast or lunch?” “Babe, I’m sorry I’m late” “Never mind that Simon, Eli told me what happened. You must be exhausted, you fished all night and then you are gone all morning. Where were you? What is happening?” …
And so, it began. The next day Andrew was at the house bright and early, excited about what lay ahead with Jesus, and already dreaming of what life would be like without the Romans. But what Jesus taught wasn’t about a revolution. Instead, he told us about where he had been for the past six…
Talk about a swing in emotions. I have been working on two separate messages this week, one for Good Friday and another one for Easter Sunday. One was a message of despair, and the other was a message of hope. One a message of defeat and the other a message of victory. One a message…
I was still trying to get my head around Jesus’ story of his wilderness encounter with the one he called the schemer. Really? What had I gotten myself involved in? Midnight fishing on Galilee was sounding better all the time. “Peter? Peter?” Jesus’s voice broke through my fog, “Come on, we have a date at…
Jairus and others crowded around the man, asking him if he was all right and helping him to his feet. And then Jesus told us it was time to go. Time to go? But what had happened? I knew what had happened; I was there, but I really didn’t have a clue as to what…
“Simon, Simon wake up!” “Leave me alone, the sun’s not even up.” “Simon, please, something’s wrong with Mom, she’s sick, she’s burning up and I don’t know what to do.” There weren’t many days I woke up in the morning. Usually that was when I was getting to bed after fishing all night and this…
I could hardly believe my eyes; Esther’s mother was helping her in the kitchen and laughing as they listened to Jesus telling a story. Jesus? What was Jesus doing here? And he wasn’t alone. Andrew, James and John were there along with a couple of guys I didn’t know. “Simon, your friends arrived right after…