Stories of barrenness followed by a miraculous new beginning are important in how they point to deeper spiritual truths. Often the physical barrenness of a couple in the OT, was intended to be a picture of the desperate spiritual condition of God’s people the Israelites in particular and of humanity in general. The pictures of […]
Sermons
Great Faith
Today in Matthew 8, we are going to see a man whose faith Jesus called great faith. He was a Gentile, Roman soldier, Jesus said, “I haven’t seen such great faith in all of Israel.” What about him made Jesus say that?
Jonah 4, The Lord Questions Jonah
This morning we are taking our second pass through Jonah 4. In Jonah 4 we get to listen into a conversation between Jonah and the LORD. What strikes us about this conversation is that Jonah is doing a lot of telling, and in contrast the LORD is doing a lot of asking.
Jonah 3, Now Jonah Obeys the Lord
Some of us, many of us our haunted by regrets. In private conversations, people have shared things done that can’t be undone, seasons in person’s life you wish could be erased entirely, sins and mistakes you may still be trying to come to terms with. Reading Jonah, we’re convinced that God can bring good to […]
Jonah 2, The Prayer in the Fish
The purpose of prayer is to express our trust in God, and as we pray, our trust in God increases all the more. The emphasis in the Bible is that we are to pray with faith, which means trust or dependence on God. The first words of the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father who is in […]
Jonah 1, The Sailors in the Storm
Every time you are confronted with a fear, financial ruin, political unrest, a relationship imploding, a negative diagnosis, Covid-19, a personal loss you never saw coming, in that moment, in all of those moments, when you are confronted with fear, you will make a decision of faith. Do not fear, only believe. I believe . […]
Jonah, The Runaway Prophet: Take 2
When people think Jonah . . . they think Jonah and the Whale, but the great fish is only mentioned in 3 of the 49 verses of Jonah; it’s only 6% of Jonah’s story, and the Book of Jonah is about so much more than Jonah being swallowed by the great fish. Focus only on […]
Jonah Outside the City, Pouting
The LORD had compassion on Jonah. Jonah, can’t you see the Lord blessed you, saving you from the sea. The Lord gave you this plant to comfort you in the heat of the day. The Lord had blessed Jonah; had shown grace and mercy to him. It would be wrong for Jonah to begrudge the […]