FOLLOW ME: MADE BY JESUS › MESSAGE 2
MESSAGE 2 · Luke 5:1–11
Calling: At Your Word
Big Idea: Jesus calls us to trust His word, confronts us with who He is, and transforms our lives for His purposes.
Simon has already met Jesus, and Jesus now enters his workplace after an unproductive night on the lake. At Jesus’ word Simon lets down the nets; the extraordinary catch reveals Christ’s authority and exposes Simon’s sinfulness. Jesus responds with grace and gives Simon a new purpose. The catch is not a formula for material success.
READ THE TEXT
LUKE 5:1–11 | NASB95
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;
2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.
3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.
4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”
6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;
7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;
10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”
11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org
EMPTY NETS → CHRIST’S WORD → OVERFLOWING GRACE → A NEW PURPOSE.
Teaching Outline
- Jesus enters the ordinary places of our lives and speaks with divine authority. — Luke 5:1–3
- Jesus calls us to trust His word beyond what we think we know. — Luke 5:4–7
- Jesus reveals His greatness and exposes our sinfulness. — Luke 5:8–10a
- Jesus calls sinners to follow Him and gives their lives a new purpose. — Luke 5:10b–11
What We Covered
- Jesus enters Simon’s ordinary workplace and teaches from his boat.
- Simon acts at Jesus’ word despite a night of empty nets.
- The overwhelming catch reveals Christ’s authority rather than a reward formula.
- Simon recognizes his sinfulness; Jesus answers, “Do not fear.”
- Jesus calls Simon from fishing into a new purpose of following Him.
Choose the resource you need
Use the participant handout during class. Review the completed notes afterward, or open the teaching slides for a visual summary of the lesson.
Didn’t attend the class? Start with the Completed Notes for the fullest public study resource.