Sunday we’ll continue our online worship by studying Jonah chapter three. In this section the mercy of God is on full display to Jonah and Nineveh. God frees Jonah and re-engages him in ministry. Jonah didn’t deserve God’s re-commissioning, let alone being forgiven for his blatant rebellion.
It could be argued that God is simply being faithful to his covenant with Israel, but what he does next displays God’s extravagance. He puts his grace on full display by showing mercy to Nineveh. Praise the Lord for his mercy to sinners he is not in covenant with.
But for Jonah and Israel, this presents a problem similar to the prodigal son in Luke 15. It’s one thing in that parable for the father to show mercy to his older son, who had not left him, but to show mercy to the wayward son is extravagant and the “faithful” son is aghast. This is the point of the story! God’s mercy is always undeserved, it’s grace!
Join us online Sunday as we continue our study and be awed by God’s generosity.
Thanks again for joining us online. This week we’ll continue online in our study of Jonah. This section is one of the most famous stories in the Scripture as Jonah is cast overboard and swallowed by a great fish. In our passage, Jonah recounts the prayer he made to God, recognizing his own sin and appealing to him for mercy.
Several aspects of this prayer stand out. First, Jonah recognizes that God was responsible for the storm and now his suffering. He refers to the storm as “your” waves and “your” billows. Second, he understands a relational distance exists between God and him, which Jonah created by going after other gods. He says, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”(v8). Like the prodigal son, Jonah comes to his senses and longs to experience the grace of God.
Faced with his guilt, he hopes once again in God’s mercy knowing that “salvation belongs to the LORD.”(v9) His cry of mercy stands out in the book because it’s what angers him about God. While he wants mercy for himself, he offers none to those in Nineveh. He exposes his continuing struggle with grace.
Join us online Sunday as we consider God’s message to Israel through Jonah.
Thanks again for joining us online. This week we’ll continue online in our study of Jonah. This section is one of the most famous stories in the Scripture as Jonah is cast overboard and swallowed by a great fish. In our passage, Jonah recounts the prayer he made to God, recognizing his own sin and appealing to him for mercy.
Several aspects of this prayer stand out. First, Jonah recognizes that God was responsible for the storm and now his suffering. He refers to the storm as “your” waves and “your” billows. Second, he understands a relational distance exists between God and him, which Jonah created by going after other gods. He says, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”(v8). Like the prodigal son, Jonah comes to his senses and longs to experience the grace of God.
Faced with his guilt, he hopes once again in God’s mercy knowing that “salvation belongs to the LORD.”(v9) His cry of mercy stands out in the book because it’s what angers him about God. While he wants mercy for himself, he offers none to those in Nineveh. He exposes his continuing struggle with grace.
Join us online Sunday as we consider God’s message to Israel through Jonah.
A response based on Martin Luther’s letter to the Rev. Dr. Johann Hess, entitled, “Whether one may flee from a deadly plague.”
The year is 1527 and the Bubonic plague is cycling through Europe—again. In 1347, fleas feeding on diseased rats were infected, and the plague had spread to humans in Europe from Italian and French ports. A third of the population of Europe died from the plague, with high concentrations of death among the poor due to living conditions. Reformed minister Johann Hess wrote Luther for his opinion regarding a Christian response to the plague, asking specifically, “Can believers flee the plague?”
Luther’s own German prince wanted him to flee Wittenberg for Jena to avoid the plague. (1) Luther refused, believing he had a responsibility to care for the sick and the dying. Instead of fleeing, he brought several victims of the plague into his home and cared for them, resulting in his son Hans being infected (though he survived). His second child, Elizabeth, died before her first birthday; some believe it was due to his wife’s exposure to the plague during pregnancy.
As westerners in the modern world, this kind of threat is foreign to us. We’ve become inoculated to the health risks that many in other parts of the world face every day. For us, death has become something we’ve cheated through good hygiene, healthy habits, and modern medicine. History is filled with health threats and high death rates. I wonder if the coronavirus would have registered in Luther’s day alongside killer diseases like the plague infecting and killing so many. So before we continue, at least consider your response to this pandemic in the context of history and less advanced countries. It might be time to face your human frailty and reassert your dependence on a sovereign God who loves you.
Luther’s response to Hess “focused on a Christian’s responsibility to care for the sick and to use the means given to limit the plague's destruction.” (2) Christians have often taken the lead in caring for the sick and dying throughout history, out of a desire to fulfill the second great commandment to love their neighbor (Matthew 22:37). I’m going to summarize some of Luther’s thoughts as we face a potential pandemic in the coronavirus (COVID-19).
First, there were some that believed the plague was sent by God as punishment and refused to take precautions to keep themselves healthy and curtail the spread of the disease. Luther rightly condemned this type of thinking and charges these fatalist personalities with murder for the death of those they failed to protect. He argues that if a house is on fire we would not conclude it is God’s will and sit idly by as the fire spreads across the city. On the contrary, we rush in to save lives and use all means at our disposal to stop the spread of the flames. If we fail to act, we are in part responsible for whatever life and property is lost. He says, “No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicines; take potions which can help you; fumigate your house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like someone who wants to help put out the burning city.” (3)
Applications from this point? If you’re sick, stay home and don’t infect others. I know that might require loss of pay for some, but loving our neighbor means protecting them from disease. If you’re sick, get medical help. Don’t conclude getting the virus is judgment and give up. God calls you to use all the means he has provided to live out your calling. Simple things you can do—like washing your hands and disinfecting surfaces—helps put out the fire and keep the virus from spreading. Finally, don’t be around the sick unless you are responsible for caring for them.
Second, Luther argued that the desire to flee the plague was natural and honorable. Jacob fled from Esau; King David fled from Saul and Absalom; and Elijah fled from Jezebel. Luther says, “All of them fled from death when it was possible and saved their own lives, yet without depriving their neighbors of anything, but first meeting their obligations toward them.” (4) Fleeing sickness is not wrong, so long as we fulfill our responsibilities to our neighbors. Parents should not flee their children; masters should not flee their servants; believers should not flee their neighbors; the rich should not flee the poor. One way of managing disease is the quarantine of those who are sick, which Luther urged for the protection of the community based on Old Testament handling of leprosy (Leviticus 13-14), but not the withholding of appropriate care.
Realize that your fear of the coronavirus isn’t unfounded and taking steps to avoid it isn’t wrong. Avoid travel and public places if you can, but don’t let fear reign. There is a danger of missing the grace of God in allowing fear to grasp your heart. Take your fear to your Heavenly Father, and allow the Spirit to build your “faith muscle” in these insecure days. Don’t tackle fear alone; allow the body of Christ to minister to you (even if by phone). Realize that one of Satan’s tactics is to elicit fear so that God’s love doesn’t fill our hearts with faith. At the same time, don’t put yourself at risk unless you are responsible to care for someone who is sick.
Third, and finally, consider your responsibility to your neighbor. God has called us to love our neighbor and to see ourselves as bound to our neighbors. As the Good Shepherd, Christ lays down his life for the sheep, and calls us to lay down our lives for one another. Luther identifies three groups that cannot flee in a crisis: pastors, civic leaders, and health professionals. These may avoid the plague, he argues, only if there is someone else in these roles to provide care. “No one should leave neighbors unless there are sufficient care givers (Matthew 25:41-46).” (5) Ministering to the sick requires strong faith in God. Luther argues that if your faith is weak there is nothing wrong with fleeing, but he hopes that your faith will be strong enough to sustain you as you live and minister to those who are sick. If we feel compelled to stay and serve our neighbor, we must commend ourselves to God. He says, “Now if a deadly epidemic strikes, we should stay where we are, make our preparations, and take courage in the fact that we are mutually bound together so that we cannot desert one another or flee from one another.” (6)
This is the second blow we deal to Satan. (7) The first, not letting fear rule our hearts; and the second, devoting ourselves to our neighbors.
After our third child was born, one of my children became ill with rotavirus, and it spread to everyone but Debbie and our infant. We were a mess! One of our church members spent several days with us caring for me and our children, putting her own health at risk. Her risk of getting sick was high, though a long term health risk was minimal. In the same way, we should entrust ourselves to God and devote ourselves to serving our neighbors. Some of us have specific responsibilities because of our calling and careers, but all of us have the responsibility to care for each other. So before you “hole up” at home for the next month, consider your responsibilities to your neighbor.
If the coronavirus spreads to our community, each will have to decide how to respond. In the meantime, may God grant us grace to live in faith, take practical measures of protection, and prepare to minister to the sick, even at personal risk.
Now can someone tell me where to buy some germ-x?
—Pastor Tim
(1) Mary Jane Haemig, ed. The Annotated Luther: Pastoral Writings. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016), 389.
(2) Ibid, 398.
(3) Ibid, 403.
(4) Ibid, 395.
(5) Ibid, 394.
(6) Ibid, 398.
(7) Ibid, 399.
This week we read about Jonah running from God on a boat to Tarshish. In the next paragraph, Jonah is asleep in the hull of the boat running from the “presence of the Lord.” At this point, God intervenes, graciously confronting his prophet’s distortion. The opening of verse three focuses on this divine intervention, “But the LORD.” This divine intervention is an act of God’s covenant faithfulness to Jonah (and Israel). Often the storms we experience are just that, moment’s of divine intervention that force us to confront what’s going on in our hearts.
It’s an interesting setting, the sailors are quite afraid and call out to their gods. Jonah, sound asleep, is awakened by the captain who urges Jonah to call out to his god. He says, “Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” If we remember that the target audience is Israel the intent comes to light. Israel is steeped in idolatry, worshiping the gods of their neighbors. God is addressing their idolatry in essence saying, “Maybe the gods you are worshiping will save you.”
The storm creates the crisis that challenges their distorted view of God and the gods in which they trust. God often sends storms to address our idolatry. Come Sunday, and let’s consider what this means for us.
This Sunday we’ll begin moving through the text of Jonah, starting in chapter one. Several things stand out. First, God knew Jonah, and knew exactly how to get his attention. Second, God was well aware of Nineveh’s evil as the text says, “their evil has come up before me.” Third, twice the text says that Jonah was trying to flee from God’s “presence.” The book opens with the idea that God is actively overseeing his creation, whether Israel or Israel’s enemies, the Assyrians.
Scripture isn’t just recounting the story of Jonah, it’s communicating to Israel that God is well aware of what their enemies are doing to them. God is telling Israel that he sees them, knows them, and loves them. He’s also confronting Israel with his mission of grace for “others.”
So, come Sunday and let’s consider God’s message of his gracious presiding over his creation.
Sunday we will start a new series in the Old Testament studying the book of Jonah. You probably know the story, but it might surprise you that Jonah represents the people of God. The lessons Jonah learns are the same lessons that God wants to teach Israel.
This Sunday we’ll begin by considering a central verse of the little book, Jonah 4:2. In this text, Jonah is angry that God isn’t destroying Nineveh and he prays, saying, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” Jonah knows that God is gracious and counts on it for himself, but can’t imagine extending that grace to the Assyrians. God confronts Jonah with his grace throughout this book and subsequently confronts the nation of Israel.
Grace is not earned or deserved; it isn’t reciprocal and we can’t demand it; it’s grace!
Come Sunday and let’s study this familiar story!
Sunday, Pastor Andrew Harwell is preaching while Pastor Tim is in India with Chuck Emerson. Andrew is a church planter for Perimeter Church who is making plans to start a church in Alpharetta.
Andrew will take us to Psalm 126, one of the 15 Psalms of Ascent. This group of psalms was sung as God’s people made their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, ascending to the holy city. These psalms are full of encouragement at every stage of the journey, anticipating entering the presence of God at the temple. Psalm 126 captures the contrast between the fear and difficulty of life with the hope and confidence that the presence of God will make things right.
Andrew writes, “I hope our study of the Psalm 126 will offer you the good news of hope, that even in the bleakest situations, joy will come. God’s faithful mercy promises us a stream of water in the midst of the desert of life. God is the giver of joy, the restorer of hope.”
So, join us Sunday as we hear from God’s word and worship our faithful Father.
Sunday we’ll finish our Mission Emphasis Month, hearing from Nate Benard, the Atlanta Director for Christian Medical and Dental Association. His emphasis will be the command to make disciples and the equipping that Scripture provides for us.
Nate writes, “Being missional is a frame of mind, not an event. We are called to live on mission like Christ. Being a Christian is not a spectator sport.” Jesus launched his three year ministry by caring for people where they were. He loved them and declared to them the good news of His Kingdom.
Just like Jesus, you have the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the equipping ministry of the Scriptures to enable you to care for people and love them well. So, join us Sunday as we consider our calling and the equipping God provides for the mission!
Sunday we’ll continue our Mission Emphasis Month by considering the diversity of the body of Christ and the confidence diversity gives us in the gospel. Dr Bruce Lowe will be bringing the message on our sending missionaries. The text will be from 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6 where Paul says the believers are his letter of recommendation. Letters of recommendation would add weight to Paul’s ministry. Instead of providing those letters, he argues that the universal work of the gospel, evidenced by the diverse population brought to salvation, gives more weight than any letter could ever provide. The Corinthians believers, a diverse group to be sure, were Paul’s letters of recommendation and the source of his confidence in Christ.
For generations the prophets foretold the New Covenant which God would enact that would fulfill the Abrahamic covenant of “blessing the nations.” Jesus, Abraham’s greatest descendant, blesses the nations through the grace of the gospel. So, come Sunday as we continue our series.