04/22/2026
Pastor's Points w/Pastor Joe-A recap of our Sunday sermon...point by point... From the sermon "THE MIRACLE OF RECOGNIZING JESUS"
I. WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE JESUS OR WE WILL COME TO THE POINT OF GIVING UP
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.”
Im a fisherman…I go fishing…but I have thankfully never had to depend upon my fishing to pay the bills. I never had it as an occupation or a career. Peter, James, John and Thomas, Nathaniel and 2 disciples unnamed. They weren’t going out on a mens fishing trip for fun.
PETER WASN’T GOING FISHING FOR RECREATION…HE WAS GOING FISHING AS THAT WAS WHAT HE USE TO DO BEFORE HE MET JESUS. HE WENT BACK TO HIS OLD LIFE BECAUSE HE THOUGHT JESUS HAD DESERTED HIM.
When we don’t recognize Jesus, we drift back to old patterns…when we fail to read our Bible, when we fail to pray, our church attendance starts slipping that isn’t the only thing that starts slipping
WHATEVER WE FOCUS ON WE WILL ALWAYS SEE AND FIND…GOOD OR BAD
SHOPPING FOR LUXURY CARS IN MEMPHIS WITH AUNT- I researched it, I learned model numbers, and styles, we went to dealerships and I knew prices and how much I should pay. What do you think it was like after I was driving home from Memphis? I RECOGNIZED MERCEDEZ, LEXUS, AND BMW’S THAT HADN’T NOTICED GOING DOWN TO MEMPHIS.
BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE WHAT WE FOCUS ON
WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE JESUS OR WE WILL COME TO THE POINT OF GIVING UP
PETER and the other disciples were at a point and place where they were about to give up on the last 3 and half years that Jesus had invested in them because they failed to recognize Jesus in the moment.
DON’T GIVE UP ON JESUS THIS MORNING BECAUSE YOU FAIL TO SEE HIM IN YOUR CURRENT SITUATION
OPEN YOUR EYES…KEEP THEM FIXED ON JESUS AND YOU WILL RECOGNIZE HIM AND IT WILL KEEP YOU FROM GIVING UP.
DON’T GIVE UP!!! JESUS IS RIGHT THERE, YOU JUST DON’T RECOGNIZE HIM YET!