JONAH: A Story of God's Persistent and Generous Mercy - Part 1a "Mercy to the Sailors" Jonah 1:1-1627/4/2014 The main character of the Story of Jonah is God. It is fundamentally a story of God's wide and generous mercy which He shows to all kinds of people throughout the 4 chapters of the story. The key verse of the story is 4:2a - "“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” It is this characteristic of God which shines through the whole story! In this first chapter we pay attention to God's mercy shown to the sailors on the ship. These sailors have no knowledge or understanding of Yahweh, the God who is the Creator of the sea and the dry land. Even as Jonah is running away from Yahweh, these men are introduced to Him and by the end of the chapter they are offering sacrifices and making vows to Him. We respond to this story by offering praise and worship to God for his persistent and generous mercy and then through obedience as we realize what He has done for us! May we truly learn and respond!
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Alleluia! He is Risen!! We pay attention to the Easter Story as the Story that is the core and foundation of our faith. We notice the opening words of Paul's great 'resurrection chapter' - 1 Cor. 15 - where he expresses our faith in the form of a creed. He draws attention to its importance by declaring 'For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance...' He continues with 4 points each beginning with the word 'that': 1) that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 2) that he was buried; 3) that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures; 4) that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. This Easter Story in a nutshell is designed to give confidence to all believers! They help us to Know Confidently so that we may Live Fully! Paul's invited response may be seen at the end of the chapter: "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
Listen below or right click here to download We join the crowd today as Jesus goes into Jerusalem and as we observe this event as it is described by Matthew we ask some questions. What did this event mean to the Romans? What did it mean to the people of Israel? What did it mean to Jesus? The people of the day proclaimed Him as king without a true awareness of what they were saying. Today we have the privilege to proclaim Him as King of Kings from the perspective of history and we also look forward to the day when "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language" will stand around the throne of God and will say together: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." We celebrate the Kingship of Jesus today!
Listen below or right click here to download. With urgency in his voice, Paul closes his letter by calling us to pay attention to our surroundings. In particular he want us to know for sure that we live in a world that is bombarded by evil; a world where the 'spiritual forces of evil' are at work, seeking to undermine and destroy truth. Using the analogy of a suit of armor, he calls his readers to equip themselves with 6 instruments of defense: truth; righteousness; peace; faith; salvation and the word of God. The language Paul uses indicates that we may have absolute confidence and stand strong against evil with these defenses in place. There is no need to fear. Prayer is added to the discussion as another essential discipline - not just sometimes; but always... for all people! And so we see Paul drawing his letter to conclusion with this very strong encouragement so that we may truly know how to receive the life and Jesus into our lives and in turn live it out fully and carefully! May God be glorified in our lives!
Listen below or right click here to download Two weeks ago we observed the story of Creation where God created everything out of nothing! Everything was perfect and all relationships were in harmony. Last week we read the terrible story of the Fall where rebellion entered into the world as people chose to rebel against God's wishes and establish their own way in the world. Brokenness, destruction and separation from God was the sad result. This week we see God initiating His great plan of redemption as we observe the highly significant promise to Abraham.
Click here to see the outline and questions for Sunday April 6th. Come and join us! 5-6:45pm Sunday evening. We note carefully that our text today is connected not only to Eph 5:22-33 (words about wives / husbands) but also to words in 5:15-21. The overriding imperative (command) of the whole passage is: 'Be filled with the Spirit'. One of the characteristic marks of being filled with the Spirit is 'submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ' (v. 21). We noticed last week that this phrase acts like a 'hinge phrase' which connects 15-21 to the following section which is comprised of 3 sets of relationships - wives/husbands (5:22-33); children/parents (6:1-4); and slaves/masters (6:5-9). ALL of these relationships fall under the umbrella of 'submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ'! Underneath this overriding theme we hear specific words given to each member of the household and community. Our question for this message is: how do I, in my position in the family or community structure, live out the life of Jesus in a way that gives glory to God? May we truly hear His Word in this text!!
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