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August 4, 2024
How Not To Talk To Your Friends About Jesus | Jonah 1
Can You Outrun Grace?
Jonah is an example of how not to take the good news of Jesus to people. His actions, heart, and focus were all wrong. But God won’t give up on this failed prophet—he goes after him in love.
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- Why can it feel hard to talk about Jesus with people? Are there specific fears that stop us from obeying his command to "go into all the world and preach the gospel"?
- As far as Jonah was concerned, the people of Nineveh didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness. Are there people in our culture or circle of friends who we feel are beyond grace? What could God be saying to us about them?
- Jonah missed what God was doing around him because he was asleep. How easy is it for you to pay attention to God at work in the lives of your friends and neighbours? What distracts you from noticing God’s activity?
- God didn’t give up on Jonah, the failed prophet—he chose him and then chased him down when he ran away. What does this tell us about God’s character and his heart for us?
- Who is God inviting you to go to with the good news of Jesus? What is the next step for you?
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Recent Sermons
Ezra 3:10-13 - The book of Ezra tells the story of the return of God’s people from exile. The account details the extra care that was taken by the returnees in doing their best to reproduce what they once had. Very quickly, they got the old altar operational and began to rebuild the temple. Our story is about what they chose to do on the day the foundation of the new temple was in place. There was a party that didn’t feel like a party for everyone, and that’s just honest!
Daniel 6:1-24-The book of Daniel is all about the Sovereignty of God. The God of Israel proves himself sovereign even in faraway Babylon: boys receive foreign favour and are released from having to eat rich and potentially unkosher food. Young men are saved from a fiery furnace, and old man Daniel doesn’t get eaten by a den of hungry lions. God proves he’s not limited by international borders, arrogant kings or wild beasts. All of this points forward to Jesus, who demonstrated his sovereignty (he is God, after all!) in different ways.
Ezekiel 36:22-28- The people of God deserved to be in exile in Babylon. They had betrayed their relationship with God by worshipping idols and committing horrible acts of violence. But instead of giving up on his people, God goes with them into exile. He shows up with a message of hope: he will bring them back, clean them up, and make them new. It was good news for the Israelites, and it’s good news for us today.
Isaiah 6:1-10 - Most of Isaiah’s writings don’t have a timestamp on them, but one event does. The day that he had his most profound encounter with God was shortly after King Uzziah died. King Uzziah would have been on the throne long before Isaiah was born and would have been the only king that Isaiah knew. That’s a big loss. Sometimes, God is able to meet us best when we’re tender from loss or grief.
1 Kings 18:16-39 - Elijah lived at odds with his culture. An evil king (and queen!) wanted him dead, so he went into hiding. After 3 years, God prompted him to set up a showdown: Yahweh vs. Ba’al, good vs. evil, a battle to the death. Sadly, good’s triumph barely left a mark on the life of his country. Thankfully, there was another good vs evil showdown years later, and its impact is still being felt around the world.
1 Kings 12:1-16: King Rehoboam continues the descent that has been the story of the kings since the throne was established. No one seems to be able to get it right. Leadership is tough. It requires listening to God and keen self-awareness. Rehoboam’s legacy is that he divided the people of God. May that never happen again.
