Happy Monday!
For those who attended church yesterday, I’d love to hear something that stood out in the sermon (or really in any part of the service). I don’t know about you, but it’s always a challenge for me to recall what I learn even if it’s a great insight and I think I’ll remember it in the moment. So talking about it here will hopefully be helpful for us to reflect on what we heard and learned!
My church is going through a series on Jonah, and it really stood out to me when my pastor said that when God called Jonah the second time to preach repentance to the Ninevites (after Jonah had run away from his call the first time) that God did not accuse Jonah or add any reprimand, and, in fact, the call to preach to Nineveh the second time was almost exactly the same as the first:
"Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you’” (Jonah 3:1-2).
Also, I hadn’t realized how risky this call potentially was for Jonah. The Assyrian Empire where Nineveh was had a reputation for their brutality and ruthlessness. Jonah would have known he could lose his life for preaching God’s message that the city would be destroyed.
I’m pondering what this says about God’s patience with me, as he showed patience and compassion both with Jonah and the Ninevites.
What about you? Share what spoke to you this week!