I Heart Cell Phone Series

We started a new series last week called I HEART. We talked about New York.

New York’s slogan is I HEART NEW YORK. There are hundreds of different things to love about New York… shopping, food, tourist attractions, sports, tall buildings… pretty much everything. But the slogan was written by the people who actually live in New York.

So… the slogan actually means, I love my city or I love my home. I HEART my home.

We looked at Jesus’ response to 3 guys who wanted to follow Him in Luke 9. They came up to Jesus wanting to follow Him… and He replies back with the craziest responses.

Pretty much, Jesus says “no, you don’t… go away.” And with the first guy the reason that Jesus gives is that Jesus is homeless. He has no place to lay His head. He has no house and He has no home.

This week, you are not going to like me after I tell you what we are going to talk about. It is something that we all love too much. And it is something that very few of us would be willing to give up.

Are you ready to hear this week’s HEART? I HEART CELL PHONE. Before we all get too crazy, let’s talk about what the cell phone actually represents.

What does your cell phone represent in your life? My cell phone is my connection with the world… my friends, my family, my life

Let’s think of it this way, how many of you have ever lost your cell phone… if even for 5 minutes? It falls out of your pocket… you put it down somewhere… someone borrows it and doesn’t tell you… And every time that you lose it, it is on vibrate.

What is the only thing that you can think about when you lose your cell phone? I have to find my cell phone. Why? Because your cell phone represents your connection to the world… your connection to life.

We live in a world where things happen so quickly that if we are gone for an hour, we have completely missed out.

Think about it… CNN has news footage of the plane crash on the Hudson River within an hour of the crash. People aren’t even off the plane yet and there is a film crew there.

When is the last time that you planned a month in advance to hang out with your friends? Maybe never. Everything is done instantly through texting and calling. When I was a kid, I had to ask my mom the day before to go over to a friend’s house. I couldn’t text her during class.

Everything is so instant in our world. And 10 minutes without my cell phone could mean that I miss something. And I am not bashing you guys… I am the same way.

When we go over to Ryan and Modesty’s apartment, I get bad coverage. I have honestly thought that going there may at some point force me to miss something in life. In fact, last Saturday night we were there and a friend called me. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, because I dropped my signal about 15 seconds into the call.

Our lives are completely wrapped up in these small, handheld telephones. I can get texts, email, calls, watch TV, play games, get on the internet… all on this little, handheld telephone. Oh… and it can do so much more... let’s watch

(watch video clip making fun of iPhone)

That’s just a joke about everything you can do on an iPhone… but it makes the same point. Our lives are completely wrapped up in these little devices.

And before we open the Bible, I want to clarify one thing… the words “cell phone” are not in the Bible. In fact, there is nothing in Bible times that could even compare to our cell phones.

That is why, we defined cell phones as our connection to our friends and families and the world.

So… we are going to look at the first 4 disciples. Andrew, Peter, James, and John. Let’s open to Matthew 4, verse 18… As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for the fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

This is probably a story that you have heard before. Maybe even sung the song… I will make you fishers of men… if you follow me.