2017 July

Going Off on Nineveh, Part 2

This sermon continues to explore Jonah's hatred for Nineveh and how it was steeped in nationalism and racism, much in the same way we are guilty of these same sins in our own lives and churches today, based on Jonah 3:10, 4:1. I can remember the first time I heard the story of Jonah. After I heard the story, I didn’t go swimming for weeks. Oh, wait that was Jaws. Now, I remember the story. The whale ate Jonah, and he became a real boy. Oh wait, that was Pinocchio. Maybe I don’t remember the real story of Jonah as well as I thought! All I have is images of the Veggietales version with Archibald Asparagus as Jonah (I would have gone with Bob the Cucumber myself). And I bet I am not alone. Ask anyone—they would tell you that Jonah is a fish story and one that is very hard to swallow, at

Going Off on Nineveh

This sermon discusses Jonah's hatred of Nineveh, based on Jonah 1:1-3. I can remember the first time I heard the story of Jonah. After I heard the story, I didn’t go swimming for weeks. Oh, wait that was Jaws. Now, I remember the story. The whale ate Jonah, and he became a real boy. Oh wait, that was Pinocchio. Maybe I don’t remember the real story of Jonah as well as I thought! All I have is images of the Veggietales version with Archibald Asparagus as Jonah (I would have gone with Bob the Cucumber myself). And I bet I am not alone. Ask anyone—they would tell you that Jonah is a fish story and one that is very hard to swallow, at that! And as a result, we just don’t take these forty-eight verses very seriously (when was the last time you saw the Veggietales version of Hosea?). But Jonah is a masterpiece of a