Cry Out To Jesus Series

Well… I just wanna welcome everyone here to Embrace…

at all of our campuses….

and wherever you’re joining us from…

we’re so thrilled that you’re with us today…

My name is Adam… I’m one of the pastors here…

and as always…we are just so excited… that you are here…

Especially… if this is one of your first few times…

we’re pumped that you are with us…

Now… Jumping into things for today….

I just wanna start… by asking…

the same question from last week…

Looking back at your life… can you ever remember a time…

that you were scared.

Again… looking back… maybe as a kid… or in middle school…

can you ever remember a time…

that you were scared… of something.

And last week… I shared my own story…

of being chased…

and almost being killed by a junk yard dog…

in 3rd grade.

And actually… the dog never touched me.

But this week… as I thought about times… I’ve been scared…

another time…

came to the surface… within me…

and this series…

has kinda been like free counseling for me.

But this week… the scary memory…

that came to the surface…

was swimming lessons.

And there wasn’t one particular day… that came to mind.

Instead… it was just swimming lessons in general.

And let’s just say… that growing up…

I hated swimming lessons.

but you see… as a kid… in the Weber household…

for some unknown reason…

swimming lessons were non-negotiable…

It’s like as soon as we could walk…

We were signed up for swimming lessons…

and we were pushed into a pool.

which I never understood.

I mean… I grew up in northeast South Dakota.

like you have to go looking for water.

And so each year… we were signed up for swimming lessons…

and the worst part of swimming lessons…

was… no question…

the diving boards…

Why? Because I was… scared…

and I was terrified… of the deep end… of the pool.

And in Milbank’s swimming pool…

it was 12 feet… of water

which is just scary…

And so each day… my mom would drop me off…

And I was okay… when my class stayed in the shallow end.

But anytime… we started walking towards

the deep end… I just started crying.

And yes… I was that kid…

And the whole time… my mom would watch from behind the fence…

And all I could think…

was… Mom… I thought you loved me!

Mom… I can see you…

And so we would walk… to the deep end…

and all the kids… would run to line up for the diving boards…

I mean… for some reason… they all wanted to die…

And so the kids would line up…

And each time… I would be the very last kid in line…

Until… finally it was my turn.

And so… I would slowly climb the stairs… and I walk out onto the board.

and when I got to the end of the board…

From there… I would start talking with my swim teacher…

Like… you’re gonna catch me right?

Like… you’re ready for me to jump right?

And just to make sure… you know how to swim right?

Because I’m still a tadpole…

and I don’t know how to swim.

And so we would talk… and they would negotiate with me…

until I finally… gave up my will to live…

and so… I would finally give in… and instead of just…

jumping into the pool…

most of the time… I would hold onto the board….

and lower myself in.

because… safety first right…

And once in the water…

I just remember… clinging to my teacher.

Like I would wrap my body around them.

and as I’m sharing this…

I’m beginning to understand… why kids picked on me.

No but seriously… jumping in was scary…

and I was afraid…

but that was just the first step…

You see… once I was in…

from there… it got worse…

because from there…

I had to swim… by myself…

to the edge of the pool…

And just to remind you… it was 12 feet of water.

And so again… the first step was hard…

but actually swimming… by myself…

in the deep end… was scarier…

And so the lifeguard would push me towards the edge…

and I would swim for my life… doing the doggy paddle…

praying… as I swam….

hoping a shark didn’t bite me…

until I finally reached the edge of the pool.

And in this moment… there was no question…

that I just was just scared…

in this moment… there was no question…

I was completely… terrified.

Now… at this time…

we’re gonna once again… look at a story…

found… in the book of Matthew… chapter 14…

And so if we have a Bible… I’d encourage us to open it up.