A man is walking along the seashore. The sounds of water lapping on the beach compete with the cries of the seagulls. The smell of the sea is in the air. Two men in a boat are struggling with their fishing nets as they cast them into the water. The man on the shore calls out to them. The fishermen immediately leave the fish for someone else and the man on the beach.

A little further down the shore, the three men stop. There two younger men are working on their fishing nets with an older man. The man on the shore calls to them also. These two men leave the elder and they too walk away with the group.

If you were standing on the shore watching all of this, what would you have thought? What could this man have said to them to make them leave their work? Did those fishermen know him? Where were they going? What were they going to do?

From our Scripture lesson we know the man walking along the shore was Jesus. The men who followed him were Peter, Andrew, James and John. As we heard from last week's sermon, Peter and Andrew already knew Jesus. Jesus had called Peter and Andrew to learn from him, but they had parted company since then.

Today's lesson tells us that they were called again. However this call was different. They would be called to serve Jesus, not just learn from him. "Come, follow me." This was a call extended by the Savior. It was a call heeded by believers.

Those men were being called to action. The previous call revealed Jesus as their Savior from sin. Now they were being called to take on new responsibilities in the kingdom of God.

Jesus explained to them what their new job would be. Before they were fishermen, but now they would be fishers of men. No longer would they just cast out their nets into the Sea of Galilee and haul in fish. Now they would have a higher calling. They would cast out the net of the gospel and haul in souls for God's kingdom.

These were not college-educated like the Apostle Paul. Jesus did not ask them to take some time to prepare for this ministry. Jesus simply assured them that he would make them into His workers. He would teach them. He would show them great miracles. He would give them gifts from the Holy Spirit which would enable these men to carry out their mission. But most importantly they had already received the most important preparation for their work - they were given faith in Jesus as their Savior. They knew Jesus would take away the sins of the world. They believed that Jesus was the one whom God had promised from the beginning to give them eternal life. They had faith in the Savior. And now the Savior was extending them a call to serve.

There are some parallels here for us. First of all, these men did not seek out Christ. They were fishing and Jesus came to them. So it is that we don't seek out Christ either. The Gospel of John records these words of Jesus in chapter 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit." Martin Luther explained it like this: "I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him …" Our sinful nature makes it impossible for us to search out and find Jesus. Our sinfulness only leads us to death in hell. We could wander our entire lives in the darkness of sin and never find the light.

But Jesus, in love, came and found us. He found us and tells us that he took care of everything for us. He tells us that he lived a holy life for us. Jesus tells us that he died on the cross to take away our sin and guilt. He tells us that we will live forever in heaven because He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. Jesus comes to us and says, "You are forgiven, dear child of God."

Another parallel between those disciples and us is that just as those disciples were unworthy to handle the precious message of the gospel, so are we. They were not qualified to be apostles. Neither are we. But it is by the grace of God that any of us can receive the status of God's children, let alone God's messengers.

Also just as Jesus would train and equip those disciples, he still trains and equips his followers today. One of the most frustrating things for a person is when you are told to do something but no one tells you how to do it. Jesus never does this to us. Jesus trains us in our faith with His Word. He molds us through the trials we endure in life. The Savior equips us to do His work.

One more parallel between those disciples and us is that Jesus was not calling those disciples to do a part-tine job. It was to be full-time. Our calling is similar. There are to be no part-time Christians. God does not want you to only bear fruits of faith on Sunday morning. God expects us to follow him and do his work whether it is Friday night or Monday morning or any other day.

The Savior extended a call to His disciples. They did not chase after Jesus. They were not deserving of this call. These men were prepared and trained by the words and actions of the Savior. These men were called to serve Christ with their entire lives. But what led these men to drop everything and follow the call of the Savior?

I have a divine call to serve as pastor at St. Stephen Lutheran Church. Am I worthy to carry out this responsibility? No. Did I ever imagine this was what God had planned for me? No. I was more like Moses. When Moses was called by God to lead the people of Israel, he argued with God six times. That was me growing up. I fought with God about being a pastor.

People ask me quite often what led me to want to be a pastor. I have to answer that it was the same thing that led the disciples to follow Jesus and serve Him with their lives. They knew Jesus as their Savior. I know Jesus as my Savior. That's it in a nutshell. I am not really smart. I am not super holy. I am not worthy. But I know Jesus is my Savior. He trains me with the words of Scripture. He molds me with trials and troubles.

Those disciples of Jesus were called to faith previous to this time. They knew exactly who Jesus was. Immediately they dropped everything and at once heeded the call as believers in Jesus Christ. They did not ask for more time to think about it. They did not ask for more time to spend with their families. They did not put their nets away or try to sell their boats. Immediately they followed Christ to become fishers of men.

It was not that they did not love their families. I think that is one of the hardest things for God's servants to deal with. James and John left their father that day to serve Jesus. Pastors and teachers leave their families behind to go anywhere in the world that the Savior might call them to preach and teach the Gospel. Teens may leave their families behind to go to Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw to prepare to be pastors and teachers. Does this mean that those disciples or students or pastors or teachers don't love their families? No, it just means they love their Savior more. It means that the love of Christ has moved them to serve wherever and whenever God wants.

But it isn't just pastors and teachers that are called to serve Jesus. All believers have been called. Pastors and teachers come and go. The Church and God's Word remain. Thus all Christians must take the call of the Savior seriously when he says, "Come, follow me." All Christians must drop what they are doing and serve Jesus. All Christians must examine their gifts from the Holy Spirit and serve Jesus.

I hope and pray that there are some future pastors and teachers here in our congregation. Maybe one of our adults may consider this path yet. Maybe it is your son or daughter. Pray for those who are training to be ministers of the gospel. Support our schools with your offerings to God. And follow Jesus yourselves and serve Him as full-time Christians. God's Word is calling you today.

Our beloved principal and his wife are each holding two calls at the present time, one here to St. Stephen and another to Immanuel in Sault St. Marie. They are serving faithfully here because they know Jesus as their Savior and I am confident that they would serve the Lord faithfully in the U.P. also. It is good and proper for us to pray that the Lord's will be done as they deliberate their calls. May we also give thanks to God for servants of the Gospel like the Neumann's.

The Savior says, "Come, follow me." Let our response be immediate. Let our hearts be filled with joy. Let our lives be filled with service in His kingdom. AMEN.