Pastor Dale Critchley Sermons

(Matthew 26:57, 58) Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the chief priest, where the scribes and the leaders had gathered together. Peter followed at a distance until he came to the chief priest's courtyard. He went inside and sat with the guards to see how this would turn out.

(Luke 5:1-11) One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him as they listened to God's word. Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen had stepped out of them and were washing their nets. So Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowd from the boat. When he finished speaking, he told Simon, "Take the boat into deep water, and lower your nets to catch some fish." Simon answered, "Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I'll lower the nets." After the men had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Their partners came and filled both boats until the boats nearly sank. When Simon Peter saw this, he knelt in front of Jesus and said, "Leave me, Lord! I'm a sinful person!" Simon and everyone who was with him was amazed to see the large number of fish they had caught. James and John, who were Zebedee's sons and Simon's partners, were also amazed. Jesus told Simon, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will catch people instead of fish." Simon and his partners brought the boats to shore, left everything, and followed Jesus.

(John 18:1-11) After Jesus finished his prayer, he went with his disciples to the other side of the Kidron Valley. They entered the garden that was there. Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus and his disciples often gathered there. So Judas took a troop of soldiers and the guards from the chief priests and Pharisees and went to the garden. They were carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him. So he went to meet them and asked, "Who are you looking for?" They answered him, "Jesus from Nazareth." Jesus told them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with the crowd. When Jesus told them, "I am he," the crowd backed away and fell to the ground. Jesus asked them again, "Who are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus from Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these other men go." In this way what Jesus had said came true: "I lost none of those you gave me." Simon Peter had a sword. He drew it, attacked the chief priest's servant, and cut off the servant's right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) Jesus told Peter, "Put your sword away. Shouldn't I drink the cup of suffering that my Father has given me?"

(Jonah 1:3-16) Jonah immediately tried to run away from the LORD by going to Tarshish. He went to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid for the trip and went on board. He wanted to go to Tarshish to get away from the LORD. The LORD sent a violent wind over the sea. The storm was so powerful that the ship was in danger of breaking up. The sailors were afraid, and they cried to their gods for help. They began to throw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship's load. Now, Jonah had gone below deck and was lying there sound asleep. The captain of the ship went to him and asked, "How can you sleep? Get up, and pray to your God. Maybe he will notice us, and we won't die." Then the sailors said to each other, "Let's throw dice to find out who is responsible for bringing this disaster on us." So they threw dice, and the dice indicated that Jonah was responsible. They asked him, "Tell us, why has this disaster happened to us? What do you do for a living? Where do you come from? What country are you from? What nationality are you?" Jonah answered them, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship the LORD, the God of heaven. He is the God who made the sea and the land." Then the men were terrified. They knew that he was running away from the LORD, because he had told them. They asked Jonah, "Why have you done this?" The storm was getting worse. So they asked Jonah, "What should we do with you to calm the sea?" He told them, "Throw me overboard. Then the sea will become calm. I know that I'm responsible for this violent storm." Instead, the men tried to row harder to get the ship back to shore, but they couldn't do it. The storm was getting worse. So they cried to the LORD for help: "Please, LORD, don't let us die for taking this man's life. Don't hold us responsible for the death of an innocent man, because you, LORD, do whatever you want." Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the sea became calm. The men were terrified of the LORD. They offered sacrifices and made vows to the LORD.