Posted on by Matt Erickson

What a Pity

I concluded the “Gone Fishing” series at Brooklife Church yesterday with a message entitled “What a Pity” on Jonah chapter four.

The message focused on how the entire book of Jonah is a journey into the heart of God and God holding up a mirror to our hearts to see how they compare to His in terms of compassion and love. What was most helpful to me in approaching this message was realizing that the interlude from verses 4-9 on the plant and the worm was God’s way of teaching Jonah about His grace and justice.

One of the quotations that really spoke to me from the message was a brief sentence from Anne Lamott:

You can tell you have made God in your image when it turns out He hates all the same people as you do.

You can listen to the message at the Brooklife web-site here, or subscribe to the Brooklife podcast via iTunes.

I am embedding my slideshow for the message below to help fill out the message when you listen.

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4 Replies to “What a Pity”

  1. I was caught up in the message at vs. 2… So, Jonah complained to the Lord about it: ….. I KNEW that You were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love, I KNEW how easily You could cancel your plans for destroying these people.

    WOW!, Jonah KNEW what kind of God he was serving and yet…. it sure made me … Read Moregrasp hold of how well I KNOW the God I am serving and how well? am I serving in His image. I recognize I’m still falling so short but am thankful for the power of the Word to pull me closer to the image that He sets before us. Thank you!

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  2. You did great Sunday!! Especially the part about the lawn mower…Thats totally a Jason right there haha : )

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  3. Thanks for the feedback, Anita. Yes, I found that aspect of Jonah’s statements so challenging as well.

    It seems to me that there are things that we know and then there are things that we KNOW. The first are things that are just mental bits of information. The second kind are truths that impact our experience.

    Jonah had the first but lacked the second.

    Reply
  4. Pingback: John Calvin: a prayer from Jonah « Renovate

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