This is my first sermon, written and given almost a year ago.

"'Trust me,' he says. Yeah right! Like I'm gonna stick my neck out for him..."

You know, sometimes I wonder about trust. Human nature says "trust", society says "don't trust."

I saw a movie the other day, "Sneakers." Two people in the movie said, "Trust me," to the main character. The first time, his trust helped the main character. The second time, it almost got him killed. That seems to reflect our society. If you trust someone, you have a fifty-fifty chance of being right. So, that being the case, it's better to trust people with smaller things than larger. It's easier to lend someone twenty bucks, than it is two hundred.

In the same way, it seems easier for many to trust God with the little things, rather than the big ones. I can trust God to give us a good week at Bible school, I can trust God to be with me on my trip, I can trust God to help me through my test. It's when the larger things come, that we have trouble trusting. When a relative is dying, and there seems to be no hope, we have trouble trusting in God, that he is doing the right thing. When finals come, and everything is riding on these grades, we panic, and try to cram as much knowledge as we can into our heads as fast as we can. When the weight of the whole world is upon our shoulders, and everything looks hopeless, we wonder why. Why are we here? Where has God gone?

When push comes to shove, we often fall face first in the mud. Just like Peter -- although in his case, it was in the water. There he was, Peter, The Rock of the Church. "If you are truly the Lord, bid me come to you," he says to Jesus.

Jesus' reply is simply, "Come." In that word is implied many things. I've often wondered if he might have said more, or maybe something a bit different. But Jesus doesn't say, "Come if you are holy," or "Come if you feel worthy." He says, "Come." In that one word, is hidden a myriad of meaning. Come, trust me, I am here for you, do not worry, do not doubt. That is what I think Jesus was saying to Peter. Come... be mine.

And so, trusting in the Lord, Peter got out of the boat, and began walking toward Jesus. You can imagine his thoughts. "Holy cow! I'm walking on water! And it's not even still! The wind's blowing, the waves are everywhere... This is -- wait a second! This is impossible!"

Whomp!!!! Guess who's sinking? Peter, the Rock. Like us, who have so many times found ourselves going under in very similar ways. Doubt encroaches on our faith, and all of a sudden, we say, "Wait a second!" Whomp!

And what does God do? The same thing he did for Peter. He reaches out, and picks us up. And then he asks, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

That's what bothers me about my faith. Why do I doubt? Where does my faith go? Well, I doubt, because I'm human; and my faith doesn't go anywhere, it just busy being tested.

It's much easier to believe, when we don't have to risk much. It's like being anxious to get off the train at the right stop. "Hey man! I think that was my stop there, so I'm just gonna jump..." And then while we're lying face first in the mud, the train comes back, and the conductor says, "Trust me. I've been doing this for a long time... you'll know when your stop is." And wondering how we could have ever doubted, we climb back on the train, and go back to the dining car, where we have a great meal and some wonderful fellowship with our brothers and sisters.

When we do risk though, sometimes we come out ahead -- and with a clean face too. Most of you have probably heard of Pastor Jim Chappell. A few months ago, he was hit by a car while on his morning walk. It was a miracle, they said, that he lived. They rushed him to the hospital on Pegasus, and then all was silent for a while. Later on in the day, we found out that Jim had been hit in the legs, and would most likely never walk again. It's in the Lord's hands now, they said.

And so, it was lifted up into the Lord's hands. Every week, churches all around -- including ours -- prayed for Pastor Chappell. Every weekend, we prayed for him at the youth center. And many other people prayed for him every day. And you know what? He got better. Well, ya know, he might be able to walk, the doctors said. You can go home now.

Wild story, huh? All that praying, and God listened. Personally though, I was amazed by the stories of Jim Chappell's own faith. They said as soon as he was in there, he started praising the Lord, and telling all the nurses of God's glory. I believe that Pastor Chappell's faith had a lot to do with his healing and rapid recovery. God reaches out to pick us up when we fall into the mud. In faith -- we respond with our trust.