The Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

Welcome to worship on this Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany! During the Epiphany Season the Scriptures, hymns and collects point to Jesus revealed publicly as the Son of God: through His miracles, the authority of His preaching, and the testimony of others. With Epiphany's further emphasis on extending Christ's kingdom to all nations through missions, the liturgical color of green is used to symbolize such growth.

Today we begin a new sermon series entitled, "Are You My Neighbor?" We often hear and even speak the command “Love your neighbor.” But what does this mean? How well do we show love to the people we come into contact with at the grocery store, on the highway, at work, or even on social media? How do we treat those different from us, those who deliberately wrong us, or those who seek to harm either our reputation, our person or those we care about? Loving your neighbor can be tricky. Jesus gave many examples of how to show love to others through His teachings, healings, and interactions during His earthly ministry. In this series, we will look at His example to learn how to love those around us as we ask the question, “Are you my neighbor?”

Todays Message will focus on Luke 5:1-11

1 As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”

6 When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” 9 For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.” 11 Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.