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9 October 2007
Theme for this week: The Sign of Jonah
Jonah 1:1-6
The Lord spoke his word to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it, because I see the evil things they do." But Jonah got up to run away from the Lord by going to Tarshish. He went to the city of Joppa, where he found a ship that was going to the city of Tarshish. Jonah paid for the trip and went aboard, planning to go to Tarshish to run away from the Lord.
But the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, which made the sea so stormy that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. The sailors were afraid, and each man cried to his own god. They began throwing the cargo from the ship into the sea to make the ship lighter. But Jonah had gone down far inside the ship to lie down, and he fell fast asleep. The captain of the ship came and said, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray to your god! Maybe your god will pay attention to us, and we won't die!"
How does God call us? What do we expect the voice of God to sound like? A big booming voice? A bringer of wind and storms? How do we react at hearing God's voice? Do we fear and run away from the One who calls us? What causes that fear to rise within us?
Jonah reacts in fear and tries to go as far as he can in the opposite direction, even to the outside edge of the known world, hoping to escape God's challenging call.
What happens when the storms begin to rage? Do our hearts fear? What do we cling to for our security? What do we throw overboard?
The sailors fear for their lives while Jonah sleeps, ignorant of the terror gripping those around him. Crying out to their gods, the sailors find no answer and so go to wake up Jonah. Instead of the feared God of Judgment Jonah is running away from, the sailors ask Jonah to pray to God for pity, for mercy.
Who are the people we journey with? What do they value? What do they fear? Do we take time to listen or do we continue to sleep below-decks? Like Jonah, we may be surprised on waking to find in those around us a thirst and a hunger for the One True God.
Jesus, you call us with a voice of love and mercy, and yet we are still afraid.
As the storms rage in and around us, help us to hear your voice speaking to the storm "Peace be still!". Amen
Written by Pete Sandford of FaithMatters
Theme for this week: The Sign of Jonah
Jonah 1:1-6
The Lord spoke his word to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it, because I see the evil things they do." But Jonah got up to run away from the Lord by going to Tarshish. He went to the city of Joppa, where he found a ship that was going to the city of Tarshish. Jonah paid for the trip and went aboard, planning to go to Tarshish to run away from the Lord.
But the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, which made the sea so stormy that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. The sailors were afraid, and each man cried to his own god. They began throwing the cargo from the ship into the sea to make the ship lighter. But Jonah had gone down far inside the ship to lie down, and he fell fast asleep. The captain of the ship came and said, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray to your god! Maybe your god will pay attention to us, and we won't die!"
How does God call us? What do we expect the voice of God to sound like? A big booming voice? A bringer of wind and storms? How do we react at hearing God's voice? Do we fear and run away from the One who calls us? What causes that fear to rise within us?
Jonah reacts in fear and tries to go as far as he can in the opposite direction, even to the outside edge of the known world, hoping to escape God's challenging call.
What happens when the storms begin to rage? Do our hearts fear? What do we cling to for our security? What do we throw overboard?
The sailors fear for their lives while Jonah sleeps, ignorant of the terror gripping those around him. Crying out to their gods, the sailors find no answer and so go to wake up Jonah. Instead of the feared God of Judgment Jonah is running away from, the sailors ask Jonah to pray to God for pity, for mercy.
Who are the people we journey with? What do they value? What do they fear? Do we take time to listen or do we continue to sleep below-decks? Like Jonah, we may be surprised on waking to find in those around us a thirst and a hunger for the One True God.
Jesus, you call us with a voice of love and mercy, and yet we are still afraid.
As the storms rage in and around us, help us to hear your voice speaking to the storm "Peace be still!". Amen
Written by Pete Sandford of FaithMatters