Several years ago the news media reported on a man who was, for a prolonged period of time, marooned alone on a small Pacific island. A passing ship was prepared to rescue him, but he refused to go. It seems that while there he had acquired a pet monkey which he was unwilling to leave behind, and the ship's regulations would not permit it on board.

Here in church today we meet Christ, our rescuer, our deliverer. He says, "Come, go with me." He comes to set us free - and he will, if we are willing to give up our pet monkeys. He will release us from whatever islands we have been marooned upon, if we are willing to leave behind the things we cannot take with us.

So, let's turn loose our monkeys. In the words of Hebrews 12:1, "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely ..." Let us part ways with whatever keeps us from going His way, and from here today let us go with him who says, "Come follow me."