Mark 1:16-20

Mark 1:16-20  16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

Big idea:  God's calling versus Vocation….


Our world can fixate greatly on our education/vocation for our lives and for the lives of those we love.  However, the embracing of God's calling on our lives may not always be our focus.  When we embrace God's calling on our lives our vocation, as well as all areas of our lives, falls into place.  But for areas of our lives to fall into place we need to first here from God 'Where are you calling me?'

Scriptures for Discussion: 
Matthew 16:24     
John 15:16-17
Matthew 6:33 

Discussion Points:
Mark 1:17 Jesus calls his disciples to be fishers of men, an assignment they will fulfill as they have continual fellowship with him and carry out the mission that Jesus gives them (3:14). Jesus’ words recall Jer. 16:15–17, where “fishers” and “hunters” of men will call people back from idols to God after judgment has occurred. This call happens in a context of purification (Jer. 16:17) and will include Gentiles (Jer. 16:19).

    -What strikes you about Jesus' way he engages with Simon and Andrew?
    -What strikes you about Simon and Andrew's response to Jesus?


Mark 1:20 they left their father … with the hired servants. Several of Jesus’ first disciples were not poor but were self-employed fishermen or, as in this case (James and John), were part of a family business. Levi (2:14) was a fairly well-to-do tax collector.
    -How would you respond if you were in Simon and Andrew's shoes? 
 
Closing Commentary:  (From Charles Spurgeon)
The gospel minister is like the fisherman with a net. I have sometimes heard the comparison drawn as though the gospel fisherman had a hook and a line, which he has not. His business is not to entice a fish to swallow his bait but to cast the net all round him, and lift him, by his grace, out of the element in which he lies in sin, into the boat where Christ still sits, as he sat, in the olden days, in the boat on the sea of Galilee. To shut the sinner up to faith in Jesus Christ, — that is the main work of the true gospel fisherman.

How can we as a church cast wide our nets with the Gospel?  What about our community groups?  What about our families?