Jesus Calling
Luke 5:1-11
5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Isaiah 6:1-6
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook Page @ Sunday, February 9, 2025
I begin my greetings to you today with a written prayer from our 'Red Book,' the one we are using for prayer and devotional readings as a church community:
Prayer: Almighty God, creator and keeper of the world and all that is in it, help us we pray, to know the duty you have assigned us and to so live our lives that the world may be a better place for all your creatures.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
This Sunday, we are reading together from Luke's Gospel again, picking up in Luke 5, and the beginnings of Jesus calling His Disciples. Isaiah's text is also the beginning of God's call to Isaiah. As I read this prayer, I was struck by the part of asking God to help us "know the duty which has been assigned to us- with the desire that the world is better." The word duty is an important one to examine: It means 'a task or action that someone is required to perform, or a responsibility." To frame this, when we follow Jesus, we are given a responsibility with our gifting to serve the world in His Name.
We will read this week of the LORD God calling people to know Him first, and then to follow Him, and understand what they have been gifted and suited to do on this earth, while here. In 1 Corinthians we are reminded of the gifting and abilities the members of the body of Christ are given.
And, this is my deepest hope and prayer for us all. First that people respond to Jesus' call to follow Him, be loved by Him, and know Him. And, that we will all then know the special duty That we will also not see duty in the sense of what we have to do in this life, but what we get to do with God help's and empowerment to make this world a better place, to the Glory of God. When we respond to God's call for us in this mindset, it makes the call a wonderful adventure with God, full of His love and purpose. I am excited to explore this more with you Sunday, and in the days, weeks and life to come.
I am looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday!
In Christ, Pastor Kari
The Readings for this Sunday: Luke 5:1-11, Psalm 138, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-8
GATHERING FOR SUNDAY
CAN BE FOUND AT:
https://www.facebook.com/NewDayCovenantChurch/
Following the worship gathering, worship services will be uploaded to our website and will be available at www.newdaycov.org/listen.
NewDay Online Giving: https://newday.churchcenter.com/giving
Search Committee Update 2/7/2025
The search committee is at work! Thank you to the leadership team for calling the new search committee to renew the search process for a lead pastor for NewDay Covenant Church, and to all of you for approving the search committee and supporting this new start. We are grateful for your ideas, thoughts, hopes, and prayers throughout this process.
What's happened:
The newly formed search committee is excited and hopeful to continue seeking God's heart as we move into this season at NewDay!
The committee has had our first meeting. We reviewed the process from the first search round, assigned roles (see below), and connected with Kara Stromberg, Superintendent of the NW Conference, to inform her that we are restarting the process and will continue to work closely with her throughout.
The NW Conference suggests that the search process takes on average 9-15 months. Quick review:
The search process has been on pause since November. We had 2 enlightening and encouraging candidate visits, and both candidates felt called elsewhere. Both of these visits were productive and provided insights into how to continue the process and build community as a congregation during this season.
The NW Conference did not at that time have more full-time lead pastor candidates to refer to us.
We are so grateful for Pastor Kari, Pastor Steve, and Pastor Zach's commitments to pastoring NewDay through this transition. We are also so grateful for our leadership team, staff, and worship team leading our community.
What's next:
The search committee will provide weekly written and verbal updates on the process via the Friday emails and in the Sunday worship services
The search committee will meet again in the next couple of weeks to work towards next steps:
review our CovConnect profile where candidates can learn more about NewDay and update our information as needed
decide how to gather additional information from the congregation on priorities and hopes for a new pastor, as NewDay has changed since the focus groups last spring
explore other ways to recruit candidates from inside and outside the Covenant denomination
solidify the dedicated search process prayer committee
What you can do:
Connect us! If you would like to suggest any candidates to connect with the search commitee, please contact one of us. We are happy to take name suggestions and connect with them through the official NW Conference channels. We are unable to share follow-up information about their potential candidacies.
Please pray for wisdom, patience, and creativity for the search committee and for the congregation. If you would like to be part of the dedicated search process prayer committee, please contact one of us.
Please contact any of us with questions or concerns at any time.
Pastoral Search Committee email address: newdaysearchcommittee@gmail.com
Members and roles:
Kristi Florek: chair
Charlotte Florek: secretary
Cindi Halleen: leadership team liaison
Curt Harlow: member
Jeff Hester: prayer committee coordinator
Natalie Woodberry: congregational communications liaison
