First Things First

Mark 1:16-18 - As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

There are many reasons to become a Christian. Lets think back. Now why did I become a Christian? Write it down right now on a piece of paper. The top three reasons you wanted to be a Christian--a follower of Jesus!

Maybe you wrote down, "I want to go to heaven." That is a good one! Maybe you wrote down, "Because God loves me and I want to respond to his love and follow his Son." Excellent! Maybe you wrote down, "I was so tired of this empty life." Maybe, "I saw a group of people who had real relationships!"

Lets imagine we only had part of verse 17. Lets say a few words were missing. Using your best theology, how would you fill in the blank? "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you __________."

So, how about it? What would you fill in? Jesus walks up to you. You have never met him. It's his first interaction with you. He looks you in the eye--with a slight smile, but also with incredible determination, and says, "Come follow me, and I will make you __________."

• Spiritual! That's the most important thing, that we are spiritual. Praying, worshiping, studing our Bibles! Right?
• Holy. That must be it! To be separated from the world. To be righteous! To get rid of our sin. That must be first! Right?
• Change your Character! That's it, so my life improves. That's what everybody wants, to get a new life! Right?
• A better husband or wife, mom or dad, brother or sister! Who wouldn't want that?

All these listed above are central and important. You can't be a follower of Jesus without them. But, what was first? If you follow Jesus, the first promise he gives you, the first thing he is going to teach you, the number-one proposition, the foundation for everything that is to come is . . .

To fish for souls! To help others to be right with God. This is it! That is what we do! That is what he says he will teach us first. This is number one. There is actually nothing else listed here, just saving souls!

Jesus came to save souls. He died on a cross to save souls. We pray and worship to save souls. We are holy to save souls, we change our character to save souls, we strive to be the best husband, wife, mom, dad, brother and sister we can be, to save souls!

Now I have a question for you to chew on. If I tell you I am Steven Spielberg's disciple, that we talk every day, and he teaches me everything he knows--what would you think I am doing?

If I tell you I am Roger Federer's disciple, that we meet 3 times a week, that I read his book, and try to do exactly what he does--what would you think I am doing?

What if I tell you I talk on the phone everyday with Tom Brady, and we meet 2 times a week for teaching and practice. Any idea what I would be focused on?

You get the point. If you follow Jesus, he promises to teach you to be what? A fisher of souls. Are you a fisher of souls?

Jesus keeps his promises. We should too.

Pray for Munich

The church in Munich was planted in 1989, and consists of 100 disciples. We have 17 teens, 35 kids, and our theme for 2010 is "Not my will, but God´s will shall be done!"

From January to May we are studying the Sermon on the Mount, and this summer we are focusing on the foundations and how to help a friend to become a disciple. We also have a counseling series planned for later this summer, and a marriage series coming up in the fall.

Here are some specific prayer requests for the Munich church: 

• That God opens our hearts to understand more of his character, his love and the shining light of the good news
• To grow in seeing the world through his eyes
• That we learn more to be motivated and "educated" by grace and God's love
• That the kingdom grows inward and we turn more and more away from the word and fix our eyes on Jesus
• That we grow in our compassion for the lost, and that God will add especially younger people to His kingdom
• For five teens who are studying the bible: Dorian, Eric, Alica, Elisa and Bernadet
• For our leadership team: humble hearts, deep friendships, unity, desire to stay focused on God´s will and his kingdom
• That those who desire to become elders grow in character and faith
• That God puts it on some disciples' hearts to serve full-time
• That we can start new churches in Germany soon
• That the counseling courses this summer and the marriage course this fall will bear much fruit in those who attend
• To deepen our friendships and connections we already have with all the German-speaking churches and the European churches
• For those who are permanently sick: Bernhard, Sabine, Anne, Claudia, Michaela, Riccardo and Stephan. That God strengthens their faith in Him, that we as brothers and sisters grow in loving and serving them

Thank you so much for your prayers! Your are in our our prayers as well.