This is the first sermon of the series "Calling All Disciples," which invites the worshippers to consider God's call on their lives. The sermon did not reach the potential I imagined when I chose it to begin this preaching series. I am not sure what happened, but the whole sermon felt a little flat. It is a great story, so it should have preached easily. Part of the problem was I tried to organize the sermon instead of letting the story flow. My structure seemed to suffocate the story! I also seemed to be a bit off all service, beginning with stumbling through the announcements at the beginning of the service.
“Where Are you Staying” John 1: 29-42; SAPC, Denton; January 15, 2023; Calling All Disciples series Richard B. Culp
John 1: 29-42
29The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 35The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Introduction: We begin our preaching series, “Calling all disciples” this morning. Over the next six weeks, you are invited to consider your own send of call.
Each week, the texts we read will lift up various aspects of call, but they will not cover every aspect of call. so fill free to imagine other aspects of your own sense of call at this particular time. I hope that as you hear the texts and reflect on the sermons, you will discover God’s call for your life.
We begin this week with Gospel of John’s version of how Jesus calls the first disciples. I am particularly interested in the conversation that takes place between Jesus and the two disciples.
move 1: Jesus notices two people following him and ask them the question: “What are you looking for?”
a. This tells us at the outset that these two disciples were out looking.
1. A simple beginning to finding our calling - we have to be looking.
2. And the very important reminder that when we look for our calling, Jesus notices and is willing to engage us.
b. When Jesus finds these two and recognizes they are looking for something, he asks them, “What are you looking for?”
1. A good question for each of us.
1. what are you looking for?
2. When you arrived at church today, what were you looking for?
3. When you sit around and dream your dreams, what are you looking for?
c. In the context of our faith, we are looking for our calling, our purpose, our role as followers of Christ.
1. In his novel Jayber Crow, Wendell Berry tells the story of Jayber, the town barber in Port Williams, KY. jabber was born there, but at age ten both his parents died, so we was sent off to the The Good Shepherd orphanage.
He describes it this way. “For as long as I could remember, I had been hearing preachers tell in sermons how they had received “the call.” … Not one of those [preachers] had ever suggested that a person could be “called” to anything but “full-time Christian service,” by which they meant either the ministry or “the mission field.” The finest thing they could imagine was that an orphan boy, having been rescued by the charity of the church, should repay his debt by accepting “the call.” (Wendell Berry. Jayber Crow, pp. 42–43)
1. As we hear his description, we might recognize that we most often use the word call when describing our activities related to the church - we are called to be ministers, or deacons, or ruling elders.
2. But I hope as you reflect on your sense of call, you will have a much more expansive sense of call.
3. No doubt, you have heard Frederick Buechner’s description of one’s calling as, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Frederick Buechner. Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (1973), p. 95)
4. Our call inhabits the places where each of live and and move.
5. God sends us to those particular places to live our our discipleship.
d. When Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” it is both a question about what the disciples want to do with their lives and an invitation consider following him.
Move 2: The disciples respond with their own question: “Where are you staying”
a. Sort of a strange response, don’t you think.
1. Maybe they meant the question literally.
1. maybe they wanted to see the place where Jesus was living.
3. Author Lillian Daniel notes that we quickly see Jesus go from being the Lamb of God to a guy having some others guys over to his place!(“Grand introductions: Isaiah 49:1-7; John 1:29-42” by Lillian Daniel, January 2, 2002; https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2002-01/grand-introductions)
b. I suspect that the disciples had more in mind then the actual place where Jesus stayed.
1. they want to learn more about him.
2. when I hear people talk about meeting people on dating apps, I find a similar pattern.
3. you see someone who seems interesting. You text wiht them multiple time to learn a little about each other.
then, you meet in a public place for coffee or tea. Maybe even do that a few times.
then, if everything seems ok and both parties are still interested, an invitation to come over to someone’s house.
Going to their place is a big step in revealing who you are and getting to know the other person.
b. A key part of understanding our calling is knowing the one who calls us.
1. the disciples go over to Jesus’ place.
2. We cannot do that literally, but we can learn more about Jesus.
3. Discover what Jesus valued and how he handled himself with others.
3. Work on our own relationship with him.
4. Listen and watch for the movement of the Holy Spirit.
c. As we look and listen for our calling, we would be well-advised to go over to Jesus’ place.
1. Get connected with him.
2. interpret our sense of call through the ways in which jesus lived his life.
3. Our calling ought to be closely tied to what we see in Jesus.
Move 3: Jesus responds to the disciples question with a simple response: “Come and see.”
a. Did you notice that the story begins with two unnamed disciples.
1. Those two disciples can be anyone.
2. Those two disciples could be you.
3. But you have to own your sense of call.
4. it is not enough to to just consider our callings or think about what our calling might be.
5. We have to lay claim to our call.
6. We have to go and see what it is about and then make the choice to follow Christ.
6. when we read Paul’s letters, he often begins like he did in the letter to the Corinthians - “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,”
7. Paul laying claim to his calling.
b. As the story progresses, we learn that one of the unnamed disciples is Andrew.
1. Andrew - who will become one of the twelve disciples who work closely with Jesus.
3. Andrew, who goes and finds his brother
4. Andrew, for whom this church is named.
4. the unnamed disciple who finds his calling in Christ now has a name.
the point is made - when you discover your calling, you find out who you really are.
the invitation is there for all of us - come and see, come and lay claim to your calling.
Conclusion: One disciple remained unnamed.
We do not know what became of him.
maybe he walked away.
Or maybe he heard his call and raced back to wherever he was from to live it out.
We can only imagine.
imagine what God is calling you to be and do.
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