Deeper!

Here is what it means to love God. It means that we obey his commands.  1 John 5:3 (NIrV)

Props: picture of ocean and a kiddie pool or bucket of water

             I’m sure most of you have been to the beach, so let me ask you a question.  Why do people like to go to the beach?  (Allow for response).  I’m sure there are a number of reasons, but the number one reason is the ocean.  There’s something so amazing and wonderful about the ocean.  Did you know that there are places so deep in the ocean that no one has ever been able to reach them?  That’s amazing.

            Who has been swimming in the ocean?  It’s a really cool feeling.  [Have a helper interrupt you and claim he’s been swimming in the ocean.  When you ask him to describe it, he talks about how he arrived at the beach, ran excitedly across the sand, anxiously approached the water, and put his big toe in.  (At which point he puts his big toe in the kiddie pool or bucket of water).  When you ask him what happened then, he looks confused and says, “That’s it.  That was my experience swimming in the ocean.”]

            Boys and girls, did he really go swimming in the ocean?  No!  There is more to the ocean than getting your big toe wet!  You can go in to your waist, to your neck, even over your head (provided it’s safe!).  And like I said a moment ago, there are depths of the ocean that haven’t even been explored. 

            Some people think that “getting saved” is the end.  They think if they say a prayer then they are done.  But there is so much more!  There is more of God to experience.  There is more of Him that you can know.  Saying a prayer and beginning your relationship with God is like sticking your toe in the ocean; it’s just the start.  You can go deeper with Jesus.  You can go deeper by talking to God in prayer, by reading His Word, the Bible, by going to church where you will learn about Him and by getting baptized, letting everyone know you are His follower. 

            In all these things just remember, go deeper with Jesus!