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November 2011 Leaders for Life 11/09/11 Notes for Bible Study Leaders… Is it just me or when Fall in Florida seems to finally be here it leaves again as soon as it arrived. Hopefully the weekend will bring some cooler temps and less humidity our way. Isn’t it amazing we are closing the end of another year? I pray everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas season. We have so much to be thankful for. Fishing Boats or Houseboats? Something to think about. “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). This is a story we are all familiar with. Recall, Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat and pushed back a short distance from the shore in order to teach the crowd who had gathered. After the message He instructed Simon to take the boat out to deeper water to catch some fish. Simon replied that that they fished all night and caught nothing. He was certainly tired and frustrated, but he obeyed anyway. The result was a haul of fish so great that the nets began to break from the huge number of fish. In spite of fatigue and frustration, Simon launched into the deep. He did so because he was obedient to the instruction of the Lord. The parallel for us in the church and in our classes is clear, to follow the Great Commission. Every church is a fishing boat that should be intentionally launching out into the deep and letting down their nets for a catch. The drawback is that in many of our churches we converted our fishing boats into houseboats. In other words, we have forgotten our purpose. What do we do on a houseboat? We relax, fellowship, and enjoy the company of those around us. We still work on a house boat, but it is centered on keeping up the comfortable environment we have created for ourselves. However, on a fishing boat there is also work to do, but the objective is different. The fishing boat exists to assist us in catching fish. A church or Sunday school exists as a “fishing boat” to help us reach the lost and unchurched. This made me consider how are we doing? Are we working mainly to maintain what we have or are launching out into the deep to follow the scriptural call to be “fishers of men”? Most people come to know Christ through the influence of a friend or relative. Please join me in praying now for someone God would have you be a witness to this coming year. You’ll be hearing more from me about this in the weeks ahead as we plan to be intentional and purposeful ways to be the fishers we are called to be. See ya Sunday - Chris