Login / Signup

Free Access

Faith In the Storm

Illustration
Stories
Luke stared at the stack of papers sitting in front of him. The last thing he wanted to do was close the Good Shepherd Ministry. He dreaded having to put out the press release saying that they were out of money and were no longer able to minister to the street people in the city. He knew that as soon as word got out all the people they had helped and the people in need would come looking for answers. He didn’t know what he was going to say to them. Truthfully, he didn’t know what to say.

“Hey neighbour,” Fran put a cup of coffee in front of him.

“Hey,” Luke looked up. “What’s this?”

“A dark blend from the place down the street.” Fran sat down across from him. “You looked like you could use it.”

“You heard then?”

“I guessed. I was over in my office dealing with a client when the Board of Directors filed out of here. From the looks on their faces I gather it didn’t go well. What happened?”

“They’re shutting us down.”

“I’m sorry,” Fran said.  “I know how much this ministry means to you.”

Luke sipped his coffee. “I thought I could make a difference.”

“I’m not around all the time but I thought you did make a make a difference.”

“I failed.” Luke shook his head. “I failed.”

Fran tilted her head. “How did you fail?”

“The ministry that was my dream, what I always wanted to do is now done. In the words of the Board of Directors it is ‘no longer viable’.”

“Again, I’m sorry.” Fran sipped her own coffee. “That must have been hard news to get.”

Luke nodded slowly. “I knew making this ministry work was going to be hard, but I thought I could make it work.”

Fran didn’t say anything.

Luke took a deep breath. “I guess I got over my head.”

“Anytime I popped over you seemed to be in crisis mode.”

“I was trying the best I could. I thought they would give me a little more time.”

“Why didn’t they?”

Luke picked up the financial report and handed it to her. “This is why.”

Fran looked over the numbers and whistled. “Yeah, I guess I can understand. If you were a client looking for advice, I would tell you to shut things down.”

“I know we needed money but I thought maybe a grant would tide us over.” Luke took the paper back. “We were turned down.”

“They saw your books?”

Luke nodded. “They said they couldn’t justify sinking money into this effort.”

“From a financial point of view, I can see that.”

“But this is a ministry. We were helping people who really have no where else to turn.” Luke paused and slumped back in his chair. “I guess it’s really over.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Fran,” Luke whispered. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Just because this outreach isn’t going to continue doesn’t mean that there aren’t still people in need. Find another ministry to pursue.”

Luke shook his head. “I think I’m finished.”

Fran put down her coffee. “Why?”

Luke threw up his hands. “I’m a failure. I did what I was sure Jesus wanted and I ruined everything. I don’t have enough faith I guess.”

“Enough faith?” Fran frowned. “I wish I had half your faith. I mean you started Good Shepherd Ministry from nothing and ran a whole year reaching out into the streets with the good news. That takes a lot of faith.”

“But I failed. All of this was for nothing.”

Fran looked at her friend for a moment. “Do you remember the Bible story of Peter trying to walk on water?”

“Sure. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, tried to do it himself and failed. He didn’t have enough faith.”

“When didn’t he have enough faith?”

Luke paused for a second to think. “When he saw the storm and his feet, he felt overwhelmed and he sank. That’s when he cried out to Jesus to save him.”

Fran nodded. “Which is when Jesus asks Peter why he doubted.”

“Yeah, that’s the story.”

“So let me ask you again. Did Peter not have enough faith when he failed to walk on water or did Peter not have enough faith when he cried out in fear as he was sinking? Was Jesus talking about his doubt at failing to do something he’d never done before or his doubt that Jesus would save him?”

Luke opened his mouth and closed it. He thought for a few minutes as Fran sipped her coffee.

“So in other words I should trust in Jesus to save me even when I am sinking because of my own failure.”

“Exactly. If you believe Jesus can save you why do you look to your failure instead of what he can do for you?” Fran looked at her watch. “Still want that drive home?”

Luke nodded and his friend went back to her office. He looked at the pile of papers again and took a deep breath. He started to pray. “Lord Jesus, the storms are raging around me...”
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 10 | OT 15 | Pentecost 5
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 11 | OT 16 | Pentecost 6
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 12 | OT 17 | Pentecost 7
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: You may present this message as a simple story, or have the children act it out as a role-play. I will show the role-play version, but you can ignore the acting pieces and just tell the story if you prefer.

Note: For the role-play version, you will need to select two girls and one boy to play the roles. You might also have a broom and a dust rag if you want to.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started.

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For July 20, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52
Amos proclaims the word from God that punishes the people. The people are to be punished for their lack of faith, for their focus on practicing deceit, betraying honesty to their neighbors, and being impatient for the time after the Sabbath when they can focus on profit and selling their crops and wares. Oh, my! What a terrible message for people. You have been unfaithful so I will punish you. And then in the psalm, God is proclaimed to be the olive tree, that which brings blessing.
David Kalas
I have tried to find different ways of saying it so that my children don’t tire of hearing it. But the basic principle remains the same, and my kids have heard it a ton. “First things first.” They ask if they can do this or they start to do that, and I will endeavor to redirect them, saying, “Why don’t we make sure we’re doing first things first!”

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (v. 24)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
One of Martha's earliest memories was of her little sister Mary singing and dancing in the middle of an admiring crowd of friends. Mary had always been a dancer, from the time she could walk. Privately, Martha thought she'd always been something of a show-off and ought to go on the stage, for Mary loved an audience.

SermonStudio

John E. Sumwalt
Jeanne Jones
Several years ago, before we moved to Wisconsin, I was an honorary nanny for our pastor's son, Jonathan. I took care of him from the time he was able to walk until our pastor moved, when Jonathan was about five. We had wonderful times together. One time, when I was at their house, and we had been doing some spiritual direction together, Pastor Michael asked me if I knew the name of my guardian angel.
James Evans
We are not surprised when we learn about crooks and robbers boasting about "mischief done against the godly" or "plotting destruction" all day long. The image we have in our minds about who "bad" people are, and how they conduct themselves, make such accusations completely plausible. We are less inclined to believe such things about leaders, especially respected leaders among us. We have difficulty believing someone with wealth and power would deliberately plot to do someone else harm.
Arley K. Fadness
Today's gospel from Luke 10 follows the parable of the good Samaritan. Luke positions the good Samaritan and the Mary-Martha story back to back for good reason. The parable and the story are examples of the Great Commandment "to love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." The good Samaritan parable illustrates "love to neighbor," whereas the Mary-Martha story illustrates "love to God."
Kirk R. Webster
In the early 1990s, Wesley Nunley of Dallas completed a project he had dreamed of for decades. "I tell you, this could be a big thing," he explained. Wes then walked out to a concrete octagon in the middle of his backyard. With a beaming smile, arms raised up in excitement, the energetic retiree said, "This welcomes the UFO to land, which has never been done before."
John W. Wurster
It was the best of times. A time of prosperity and confidence, a time of relative peace, a time when most everything looked pretty good, a time when most everyone felt pretty good. It was a time maybe not unlike our own time.
H. Burnham Kirkland
Words Of Assurance
Our God is both wise and caring: afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.

Pastoral Prayer
God, we bow before you this morning, knowing that you hear every prayer. We know that in all of Creation, you are the source of life. You are the one who set the light swirling between the galaxies. The breath of your Spirit pulses through all life. You have even become flesh among us. We praise you, Lord, that in all your wonder, you have not forgotten us.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL