Why are there so many people outside the church who are seemingly 'better people' than churched people? Why haven't Christians got it more together than non-Christians? How can we believe in a faith that seems to have sanctioned war, violence, racism and injustice over the years? And what about those ‘religious fanatics’?
What do we say to these very valid questions.? How does the Jonah narrative help us critique Christianity and indeed ourselves? Let's delve deeper!
Jonah's mission to Ninevah was a success, yet this was not down to the effort of Jonah. God uses an imperfect person to turn a nation and he still uses imperfect people today. Lou wraps up our Jonah series and encourages us to consider what it is to know God, how we can bring our prayers to Him and how we can freely receive the grace He has for us.
Revival is on the lips and hearts of many Christians in our day.
Jonah reluctantly preaches just eight words of doom to the Ninevites and all of them repent and cover themselves with sackcloth and sit down in the dust, from the highest to lowest (animals included!). What can we learn from the multitude of God's revival waves through history? What can we learn from bible revivals? What do revivals look like? Be filled with faith and expectation as we explore some key features of Christian revivals.
As Jonah finds himself washed up on dry land after his time in the belly of the fish, he is met not with judgement and rebuke but with a second chance. This time Jonah followed his calling and went to the city of Nineveh. In this talk Gavin unpacks what this might have meant for Jonah, and what we can take from this as individuals today as we go into the cities around us. What does it mean to 'go to the city'? How can we do that practically? Is this a calling just for individuals or a greater call for us as a church?;
Running away from God has brought Jonah to a low and desperate place. There can often be moments of despair in all our lives, yet it's often in these moments that we discover the depth of the love of God. Simon reminds us that it is the grace of God that we need to keep receiving as we walk through the highs and lows of life.