I knew that, sooner or later, I would preach this sermon.

STEPPING OUT OF THE BOAT
Matthew 14:25-33

A headwind appears on the sea of Galilee as the disciples are crossing to the other side. The seas start to get rough around sundown and have continued to toss their boat around until past midnight. These are the conditions no one wants to be in. Facing hard wind and water is bad enough during daylight. But, when it is dark and the other side of the shoreline is not in sight, such conditions are ripe for breeding fear. While it is easy for us to open our Bibles and talk about not being afraid or singing “When I rose this morning, I didn’t have no doubt,” the fact is that night-time comes up in everyone’s life and the wind isn’t always going to blow your way. The atmosphere for fear comes…