Come, walk on water

Allan Bartlam | Matthew 14.22-33 

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.

Even in the daytime, it would have been enough of a shock to the disciples to see Jesus walking across the water towards them. But at night, in a storm... yet Peter's response is that he wants to copy Jesus and walk on the lake too. Allan encourages us to trust Jesus amid the storms of life.

The recording begins with the reading from Trevor Whitehouse, and there is a concluding prayer from Cathie Bartlam.

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.