First Community Church 09.22.24 Glen Miles -Sermon If You Want to Walk On Water

If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat This Sunday, I will present part 2 in our Measuring What Matters sermon series, "If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat." As you can no doubt guess, the sermon is inspired by the story of Jesus (and Peter!) walking on water found in Matthew 14: 22-32. It is an extraordinary tale, one we will take seriously, not literally. Jesus has taken time to escape the crowd and find a quiet space to rest and pray. There are many lessons in this story, and the first one is this: if Jesus needs time to step aside from his work, so do you and I! As you will hear, a storm breaks out, and Jesus decides to check on the disciples. He takes a walk on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples think they see a ghost. They're filled with fear, but Jesus says, "Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid." The phrase that captures my attention is "Take heart." Karoline Lewis, a biblical scholar, suggests that Jesus is saying, "You are going to have to lead, live, and love with your heart." There is a great truth here. Living with our hearts invites us to see the world's deep needs and our gifts and to find where they intersect. Can this be frightening? Of course. Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is avoid what is going on in the world and hide away in whatever entertainment we can find. If you want to make a difference in the world, though, if you want to walk on water, you'll have to get out of the boat!