Jonah 3-4 The Power of God for Salvation
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Power of God for Salvation audio
Last week we saw how Jonah had been called by God to go and proclaim the gospel to Nineveh, to the Assyrians, the enemies of the people of God. We saw how he instead went in the opposite direction until God stopped him, and sent a great fish to transport him to the shores of Assyria.
Well, today we come to the next exciting instalment of the story. Jonah is now back on dry land, suitably chastised, and the word of the Lord comes to him again. “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” It’s the same message as before, but this time he’s learnt his lesson. This time he goes.
We’re told that Nineveh is an exceedingly large city, three days' walk across. That makes it sixty or so miles across. That would make it the size of Melbourne. Now in fact Nineveh proper at this time was probably not much more than 2 kilometres across, so it’s probable that he means Nineveh and the surrounding cities which together formed greater Nineveh, the region that was at the centre of Assyrian life. So let me suggest why this narrative might choose the larger city area.
Jonah 1 & 2: The Reluctant Prophet
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Jonah, The Reluctant Prophet audio
Well, it’s a familiar story isn’t it? Jonah is told to go and preach to the people of Nineveh, to warn them of God’s judgement and what does he do? He heads off in the opposite direction, to Tarshish in Spain. But he doesn’t get away with it. God knows where he is! He sends a great storm, so that the ship is foundering, until the sailors discover the truth. Jonah’s running away from the Lord who made the sea and the dry land. So they throw him overboard, the storm stops and a great fish comes and swallows up Jonah, only to spit him out on the shore of Assyria three days later.
But you know, there’s a bit more to this story than just a morality tale of someone who brings bad luck to those he travels with because he’s disobeyed God. Jonah is one of those Old Testament books that point forward so clearly to the gospel and its implications for us as Christians.
Matt 6:5-8 - What Shall We Pray
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
What Shall We Pray audio
A few weeks ago Steve talked about why prayer is easy; then the following week Hannah explained why prayer is hard. I was away for that one but I’m sure what she said would have resonated with me. A regular and consistent prayer life is hard. But equally hard is knowing what and how to pray. There are so many needs in the world, so much going wrong; how do we decide what to pray about?
When you think about the great needs in the world do you feel guilty if you pray for something for yourself? For example, is it OK to pray for a parking spot when you’re going out to dinner or the theatre? Or is that bothering God with something that’s both trivial and self-centred? Well, I have to confess that I do pray for parking spots on occasion – and more often than not God seems to provide them.
But more seriously, what shall we pray about when we stop to pray? And what sort of shape might our prayers take?
Gen 45 - God's Providence
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
God’s Providence audio
God has a wonderful plan for your life. That’s how a popular evangelistic tract of the 70s and 80s began. The implication was that if you decided to become a Christian your life from then on would be wonderful. But was that true?
Well, you could get that idea if you chose the right set of Scripture verses. Let me give you some examples:
“All things work together for good for those who love God.” (Rom 8:28)
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1).
“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”" (Psalm 34:8).
“5Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Certainly there’s a recurrent them in the Old Testament that those who obey the Lord will be blessed, will live a long and happy life.
But is that the experience of every Christian? Is it even the experience of most Christians?
Making Margins for Generosity
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Today we’re thinking about Generosity but before we talk about that I’d first like to do a little test. I’d like you to put up your hand if you consider yourself to be holy. Anyone?
Well, let’s hear what God says about you being holy: (reader) “9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people. So put up your hands now if you consider yourself to be holy.
Of course there’s a big difference between being holy and acting that way isn’t there? So what does it mean to act as in a holy way?
Matt 10:5-34 - Trust in the Lord
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Trust in the Lord audio
I wonder if you’ve ever had the experience of suffering for your faith. I think for most of us that would be a rare occurrence. Though of course suffering for your faith can take lots of forms. In Australia it rarely comes in the form of physical suffering, though it certainly does in other parts of the world. In Australia it’s more likely to be in the form of disadvantage in employment, or being shunned by friends, or being mocked for your beliefs. In the public arena it often takes the form of being sidelined or ignored in public discourse in political policy making.
Prayer and the Trinity
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Heb 4:6-8; Eph 1: 3-14; Luke 11:1-13
I wonder, if you were here last week, how what Steve said about prayer has affected your prayer life, especially what he said about prayer in times of difficulty, when you just can’t find the words to use.
But maybe that isn’t your problem. Maybe you’re happy to pray whatever your circumstances. Or is your problem that you’re not sure if you’re good enough to pray? Are there times when you feel like you’ve been so disobedient that God won’t hear you; or perhaps that your problems are so insignificant that you shouldn’t worry God with them?
Well, as Linus would say good theology can be very reassuring.
