Called to & Called Through

Sermon Notes:

In this week’s service, we will read the stories of Samuel and Nathanael. Both of these stories come under the theme of “call stories.”

In one, Samuel thinks he is being called by Eli. Though he is obedient and responsive, he goes to the wrong person when called. It takes a few times, and a little help from Eli, to get clear about who is calling him. Eli’s advice is good and true and gives Samuel the shift he needed to get still and listen, rather than running off naively in the wrong direction.

In Nathanael’s call story, God uses someone else to invite Nathanael to “come and see.” He doesn’t really seem to know where he is headed or who he is about to see, but when Nathanael experiences Jesus for himself, he realizes there is a call on his life.

In the sermon, we will explore how we are called and how we call: how we fail to hear God sometimes, what helps us listen, who the people are who invited us to Jesus, who we have invited, and to whom we might extend an invitation now.

You may relate to all of these questions, or none of them. These are not questions to get right or wrong. With our whole lives, we respond, sometimes running in the wrong direction first, sometimes having no clue we are actually headed in a good direction. In the meantime, we can seek peace in the truth that it is God who calls – to us and through us.