Born again to a living hope; that’s important because if we had hope in this life only we’d be above all others most miserable. We may suffer trials for a little while but do not get distracted or discouraged. Our salvation will appear at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Parable of Wicked Tenants/Vinedressers from Mark 12 is read, analyzed and applied in this sermon. This is also a lesson about expository preaching and we use that model in our worship.
If Jonah ended at chp 3 v. 10 it would be a happy ending. Jonah finally preached, all of Nineveh repented, God relented of his planned destruction, everybody wins. Chapter 4 reveals that Jonah is the only one left not right with God. And that’s the reason it’s in there. Characters with fatal flaws are the ones we can relate to. There are no superheroes in the Bible.
Wrapping up the Jonah series. There are some things we can learn from Jonah; there’s more to this book than big fish story. The question that lingers though is did Jonah learn anything?
In Jonah 3, Jonah finally reaches Nineveh and preaches the message that God sent him to deliver. The people of Nineveh, from the king down, believed God. They repented in sackcloth and ashes.
After three days in the belly of the great fish, Jonah is willing to do things differently than what we saw in chapter 1. One might even say things were looking up.
As we begin a series on the Book of Jonah, we see him running away from God when called. There are some details you may remember but that doesn’t mean there is nothing new here to learn.
Romans 8:28 is like making biscuits. A lot of things that are no good on their own come together and a miracle happens.
Circumcision, the bronze serpent, the Jerusalem temple were all things given by God that the Israelites turned into idols. If we aren’t careful, baptism, the church building, crosses and even the Bible can be idolized by Christians. Things mean to draw us to God can become excuses for keeping our distance.
After re-visiting the Parable of the Forgiving Father last week on Father’s Day, we will back up to the other “lost and found” parables in Luke 15.
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