When God Singles You Out
Tony Nester
John 21:15-23
Singled Out by God
What happened to Peter, happens to us - we get singled out by God. "Peter, do you love me more than these?" There is Peter, called out by name, and made to speak for himself, about his own commitment to Christ.
We come to faith in Christ through other people. Your parents may have brought you to be baptized and confirmed. You may have come to faith alongside of friends who helped lead you to Christ. Or you may have come to faith through a class, a camp, a retreat, or some time in worship that opened your heart to the Presence of the Lord.
The Church teaches us that our faith is always a communal experience, never solitary. We are part of the Body of Christ - one member joined with countless others. We belong to the communion of saints. Our special time with the Lord is called Holy Communion - we come to the Table together. We don't do faith alone.
And yet, God has a way of singling us out. He did it with Abraham - called him by name to leave home and family to go to a new land and form a new people. He did it with Moses - spoke to him through a fiery bush and sent him to deliver his people from slavery. He did it with Jonah - pursuing him even into the belly of a whale to get him to go to Nineveh. He did it with Saul on the Damascus Road - "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" - and turning him into the greatest missionary of the Church.
You may shrink back from getting too much of God's attention. You like sitting in the back pew. You're happy to be a spectator of the Spirit's work with other people.
But there are no anonymous believers - God knows each of us by name. And in unexpected and often surprising ways, God singles us out. That's what happened to Peter in his final days with Jesus, and his experience helps us navigate our own singling out with the Lord.
Although Peter had always been a standout disciple, he ended up hanging back from the Lord. He had d ...
Tony Nester
John 21:15-23
Singled Out by God
What happened to Peter, happens to us - we get singled out by God. "Peter, do you love me more than these?" There is Peter, called out by name, and made to speak for himself, about his own commitment to Christ.
We come to faith in Christ through other people. Your parents may have brought you to be baptized and confirmed. You may have come to faith alongside of friends who helped lead you to Christ. Or you may have come to faith through a class, a camp, a retreat, or some time in worship that opened your heart to the Presence of the Lord.
The Church teaches us that our faith is always a communal experience, never solitary. We are part of the Body of Christ - one member joined with countless others. We belong to the communion of saints. Our special time with the Lord is called Holy Communion - we come to the Table together. We don't do faith alone.
And yet, God has a way of singling us out. He did it with Abraham - called him by name to leave home and family to go to a new land and form a new people. He did it with Moses - spoke to him through a fiery bush and sent him to deliver his people from slavery. He did it with Jonah - pursuing him even into the belly of a whale to get him to go to Nineveh. He did it with Saul on the Damascus Road - "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" - and turning him into the greatest missionary of the Church.
You may shrink back from getting too much of God's attention. You like sitting in the back pew. You're happy to be a spectator of the Spirit's work with other people.
But there are no anonymous believers - God knows each of us by name. And in unexpected and often surprising ways, God singles us out. That's what happened to Peter in his final days with Jesus, and his experience helps us navigate our own singling out with the Lord.
Although Peter had always been a standout disciple, he ended up hanging back from the Lord. He had d ...
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