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Thanks for joining us today! We hope you are blessed by worship and the sermon today.

The Church was never meant to simply gather together on Sundays. We are called to invest in people, build relationships, and make disciples. Jesus showed us that discipleship happens through intentionally doing life together, walking alongside eachother, and encouraging eachother to grow in Christ. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commands us to go and make disciples. This isn't a calling reserved for pastors or church leaders. It's a responsibility given to every believer. But we cannot invest in people if we aren't willing to move toward them. Are we making room in our lives to disciple others, or have we become too busy with our own interests? Jesus has given us the authority to make disciples and promised His presence as we do it. The question is, what are we going to do with what He's given us?

Thanks for joining us today! We hope that you experience the Holy Spirit through the worship and message this morning.

Thank you for joining us this morning! We hope that you experience Jesus through worship and the message.

Thank you so much for joining us this Sunday! We are so excited that you tuned in today! We hope that you are blessed by the sermon today, brought by Pastor Mark.

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you are blessed by today's sermon: Loving The Ones You Hate part 3

Thanks for joining us today! We hope that you are blessed by the sermon!

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you are blessed by the worship and message brought today.

We are so excited that you decided to join us this morning! We hope that you are blessed by the worship and message today as Abigial and Lemi share with us about their past and upcoming adventures with God!

Thanks for joining us this week as Amy preaches on HOW to trust the Lord!

Thanks for joining us this Sunday as we worship, and hear the Word brought by Pastor Mark Lutcher as He continues the Jonah Series. “It’s better to admit you walked through the wrong door than to spend your life in the wrong room.” Jonah heard God’s command to go to Nineveh and preach against its sin, but his heart was hard toward the people who lived there. Instead of obeying, Jonah traveled in the opposite direction and ended up in danger. It took a violent storm, a group of pagan sailors, a descent into the sea, and a great fish swallowing him before Jonah finally began to pray his way out of the mess he had created. Jonah 2:10 says, “Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.” Jonah had finally arrived where God wanted him to be in the first place. His fearful assignment had not changed, but Jonah was beginning to learn that running from God was far more frightening than obeying Him. As the story continues, the focus begins to shift. Until this point, we have watched Jonah’s heart toward God. Now, God begins exposing Jonah’s heart toward Nineveh. This city was Jonah’s specifically chosen classroom. Its people were the students, God had provided the message, and Jonah was about to learn a very personal lesson. God’s classroom would shine light into the darkest corners of Jonah’s heart so that both Nineveh and the reluctant messenger could be saved. The darkness in Jonah’s heart was revealed through his attitude toward people he considered unlovely. That description came from Jonah, not from God. It raises a difficult question for us: Do we have people we have labeled unlovely, undeserving, or beyond hope? If so, what is the posture of our hearts toward them? In Jonah 3, God spoke to Jonah a second time and told him to get up, go to Nineveh, and deliver the message he had been given. This time, Jonah obeyed. He entered the city and warned the people that Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days. Their response was immediate and astonishing. The people believed God, declared a fast, and put on burlap as an expression of sorrow and repentance. When the king heard Jonah’s warning, he stepped down from his throne, removed his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat in ashes. The leader of a mighty empire chose to go low before God. Leaders can sometimes lead their people into sin by allowing it, ignoring it, or participating in it. This king, however, humbled himself when that sin was exposed. Every one of us is in our rightful place when we are on our knees, seeking God’s forgiveness. The king called everyone in Nineveh to pray earnestly, turn from evil, and stop their violence. Jonah 3:10 tells us that when God saw what they had done and how they had turned from their evil ways, He did not carry out the destruction He had threatened. Nineveh responded correctly to its sin, and God responded with mercy. But how would Jonah respond when the evil people he despised received forgiveness? Jonah did not celebrate their repentance. He became angry. He complained to God because God had acted exactly as Jonah knew He would. Jonah said, “I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.” Jonah understood God’s character, but he resented seeing that character extended to Nineveh. That is the danger of a religious spirit. It can speak hateful words while quoting Scripture. It becomes consumed with behavior, rules, traditions, and outward appearances while ignoring the condition of the heart. Most of all, it ignores love. Jonah became so angry that he said he would rather die than watch Nineveh receive mercy. He left the city, built a shelter, and waited to see what would happen. At this point, we may feel ready to give up on Jonah. But if we decide we are finished with him, we begin displaying the same heart Jonah had toward Nineveh. As followers of Jesus, we can never simply be “done” with people. Even in Jonah’s anger, God continued giving him grace. God caused a leafy plant to grow over Jonah and provide shade from the scorching sun. Jonah was grateful for the relief, but the following morning God sent a worm to destroy the plant. Then He sent a scorching east wind. Jonah once again became angry enough to wish for death. God was performing surgery on Jonah’s heart. Jonah loved the mercy God showed him, but hated the mercy God showed others. He cared deeply about the loss of a plant that had made him comfortable, yet he felt no compassion for more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness. God allowed Jonah to walk away, sit in his anger, and be led by his feelings, but He would not allow Jonah to remain comfortable in his sin. Some of Jonah’s discomfort came from his own choices, and some of it came from God’s correction. The Lord loved Jonah too much to leave the darkness in his heart unchallenged. We must be careful not to become people who gladly receive grace while refusing to extend it. God pours mercy into our lives day after day, and He calls us to offer that same mercy to others day after day. His classrooms contain abundant grace, but they also contain lessons. Sometimes those lessons uncover attitudes, prejudices, and resentments we would rather leave hidden. Religious groups often hold to high standards such as love, kindness, justice, and acceptance. Yet the same standards that unite people inside a group can be used to shut out those on the outside. Jonah’s hatred of the Ninevites reminds us that ethnic hostility, prejudice, and self-righteousness are not new problems. God’s mercy confronts every boundary we build around the people we believe deserve His love. The book of Jonah ends with God asking a question: If Jonah could care so much about a plant, shouldn’t God care about an entire city filled with spiritually lost people? We are never told how Jonah answered. After Jonah 4:11, we never hear from him again. Perhaps the story ends with a question because that question is now ours to answer. Will we love only those we consider lovable, or will our hearts reflect the mercy of God? Will we sit comfortably in judgment, or will we rejoice when lost people repent and are saved? God’s mercy is not reserved for people who look like us, think like us, or have lived like us. It reaches into every dark place, including the dark corners of our own hearts.

Most people know the story of Jonah because of the great fish. But the fish was never the point of the story. It wasn’t simply a miracle to amaze us. It was God’s instrument of mercy. As we continued our study through Jonah, we were reminded that Satan’s greatest strategy isn’t convincing people that God doesn’t exist. Scripture tells us even the demons believe. His real scheme is much more subtle. He wants people to believe in God while refusing to obey Him. That is exactly where Jonah found himself. He wasn’t an atheist. He was a prophet. He believed every word God spoke, yet he chose to defy God’s assignment. That same temptation still exists today. We can easily convince ourselves, “I still believe in God,” while quietly walking in disobedience. The fish was never punishment without purpose. It was God’s loving intervention. Why did God prepare the fish? Throughout Jonah’s story we see four clear reasons. God prepared the fish to rescue Jonah from drowning. Had God wanted to destroy Jonah, He could have simply let him sink beneath the waves. Instead, God rescued him from certain death. God prepared the fish to return Jonah to Nineveh. God’s calling had not changed simply because Jonah ran. The assignment was still waiting. God prepared the fish to reach Jonah’s heart. Before God wanted Jonah’s obedience, He wanted Jonah’s heart completely surrendered. And ultimately, God prepared the fish because He desired that Jonah would not perish. God’s desire has always been that His people know Him, submit to Him, and complete the work He has called them to do. One of the most memorable truths from Sunday’s message was this: “In your assignment is not just a message for others. There is a lesson for you.” Every assignment God gives changes someone else, but it also changes us. God’s discipline is always motivated by love The message then turned to the characteristics of God’s discipline. First, God’s discipline is perfectly suited for each individual. God knew exactly what Jonah needed. If He had abandoned Jonah to the sea, there would have been no restoration. Instead, He patiently pursued him until Jonah learned to trust God’s instructions again. Second, God’s discipline gives us a realistic picture of ourselves. Most people don’t recognize the seriousness of their choices until they experience the consequences. The church often struggles with justifying behavior God clearly calls wrong. Jonah probably had what sounded like reasonable arguments for refusing to go to Nineveh. Yet underneath those excuses was pride, self-confidence, and a diminishing fear of the Lord. Sometimes God lovingly allows consequences because they force us to look honestly in the mirror. As Pastor reminded us: “Don’t wait until after the pressure and consequences hit before you say yes to God.” Third, God’s discipline produces maturity. Hebrews 12 reminds us that God’s discipline is always for our good so that we may share in His holiness. Growth doesn’t happen by accident. Spiritual maturity is often developed through correction, not comfort. Finally, God’s discipline provides a new beginning. Jonah chapter 3 opens with these incredible words: “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time.” What grace. Jonah failed spectacularly, yet God did not throw him away. God had prepared both a ministry and a rescue plan for the minister. One modern proverb summed up this truth beautifully: “It’s better to admit you walked through the wrong door than spend your life in the wrong room.” When God strips away every other resource Sometimes God allows every other support system to disappear so we finally recognize our greatest resource is Him. Inside the belly of the fish, Jonah had nothing left. No control. No escape. No influence. Only prayer. The message reminded us that suffering is part of the Christian life. Philippians 1:29 tells us we have been called not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Him. Some suffering comes simply because we belong to Christ. Other suffering comes because we’ve walked away from Him. Either way, suffering often brings us to the same place. Prayer. Jonah experienced physical exhaustion, mental anguish, and spiritual despair. That progression is familiar to many of us. When we violate God’s principles, physical stress often follows. As life begins to unravel, mental anxiety grows. Eventually, if we’re not careful, we begin feeling distant from God and spiritually defeated. When life becomes overwhelming, there is only one response that truly changes anything. Cry out to God. Three prayers that lead us out of affliction The second half of the message focused on Jonah’s prayer and the three steps that brought him back into fellowship with God. 1. Pray a prayer of remembrance. Jonah intentionally remembered the God who had been faithful before. Even while sitting inside the fish, his thoughts returned to the relationship he once enjoyed with the Lord. The first step toward restoration is remembering what life looked like when we were walking closely with God. 2. Pray a prayer of repentance. Although Jonah never actually says the words, “I’m sorry,” his entire prayer demonstrates a changed heart. Biblical repentance is much more than feeling guilty. It is a complete change of mind, heart, and direction that turns us away from sin and back toward God. True repentance always produces visible fruit. Jonah realized he didn’t have to remain where rebellion had taken him. Instead of making more excuses, he cried out to God. 3. Pray a prayer of return. Jesus gave the church at Ephesus this simple instruction in Revelation 2: Remember. Repent. Do the things you did at first. When we drift away from God, the answer isn’t complicated. Go back. Read your Bible. Pray. Spend time with God’s people. Return to your first love. Jonah captured that renewed commitment when he prayed: “What I have vowed I will make good.” In other words, “God, I’m going to do what You originally called me to do.” God’s invitation still stands Psalm 107 repeats the same beautiful pattern over and over again. The people found themselves in trouble. They cried out to the Lord. He delivered them. Again and again, God responded to genuine repentance with mercy. That is still His heart today. The reason for the fish was never revenge. It was restoration. The fish existed to bring Jonah to one place: Remember. Repent. Return. Wherever you find yourself today, God is still inviting you back. Jonah didn’t sit inside the fish waiting for someone else to rescue him. He cried out to God and responded in obedience. The same invitation is before each of us. Don’t stay where you are. Cry out to God. Return to your first love.

Thanks for joining us this Sunday! We hope you are blessed by the service today. When we think about the story of Jonah, it is easy to view the great fish as Jonah’s punishment. Jonah disobeyed God, ran in the opposite direction, and was thrown into the sea. Then, “the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). But the fish was not simply a punishment for Jonah’s rebellion. It was something God arranged, prepared, ordained, and orchestrated for a purpose. God was willing to discipline Jonah because He wanted to teach him, bring him to maturity, and redirect his life. The great fish was uncomfortable, frightening, and probably the last place Jonah ever imagined himself being, but it was also evidence of God’s mercy. God had not abandoned Jonah, even after Jonah deliberately disobeyed Him. The first reason God prepared the great fish was to rescue Jonah from drowning. Jonah had been thrown into the depths of the sea, surrounded by waves and tangled in seaweed. He described himself as being as far down as a person could go, with the gates of death closing behind him. Yet in the middle of his distress, Jonah cried out to God. Jonah prayed, “I was as far down as a body can go, and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever, yet You pulled me up from that grave alive, O GOD, my God!” Jonah may have thought his life was over when he was thrown into the sea. He may have even believed dying would be better than obeying God and going to Nineveh. But when death became a reality, Jonah called out for help, and God heard him. Why would God rescue someone who had been so deliberately disobedient? Because Jonah had been called by God, and he had not yet completed his assignment. God still had unfinished business with Jonah. His calling was not only to preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah was also being called to know his God, trust Him, and submit to His will. We should ask ourselves the same question: What unfinished business do we have with God? There may be something He has asked us to do that we have avoided, delayed, or refused. We may think we have successfully escaped the assignment, but God is often still working behind the scenes to bring us back to the place where we are willing to listen. The second reason God prepared the great fish was to return Jonah to Nineveh. God did not change Jonah’s mission simply because Jonah ran from it. Jonah’s disobedience created a detour, but it did not cancel God’s purpose for his life. God knew what was best for Jonah, and He also knew what was best for the people of Nineveh. It was best for everyone involved that Jonah lean into the hard thing, obey God, and go where he had been sent. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God knows the plans He has for us, plans to give us hope and a future. His plans may lead us into uncomfortable places, but He sees what we cannot see and knows what our obedience can accomplish. When God has a purpose for our lives, He will continue working to accomplish it. That does not mean we have no choice or responsibility. It means God loves us enough to pursue us, correct us, and redirect us when we begin moving away from His will. Jonah ran, but God continued calling him back. The third reason God prepared the great fish was to reach Jonah’s heart. God designs classrooms for His students that are attention-getting. Jonah’s classroom was dark, slimy, filled with digestive acids and decomposed sea life, and constantly in motion. It was an almost unbearable situation, but it was the place where God finally had Jonah’s undivided attention. Our classrooms may look different, but the lesson can be the same. Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we feel as if something has to change. We have tried to fix everything in our own strength, followed our own plans, and exhausted every option we can think of. When we finally reach the end of ourselves, we become ready to listen and learn. God was doing major surgery on Jonah’s heart. When we are on the operating table of God, our response must be prayer. Jonah had passed up numerous opportunities to pray. He did not pray when God first gave him the assignment. He did not pray before boarding the ship to Tarshish. He did not pray while the storm threatened everyone around him. It was not until Jonah ended up in the belly of the fish that he finally called out to God. We often do the same thing. We try everything in our own strength until we realize that we cannot do it, and then we pray. We wait until we hit the wall or reach rock bottom before turning to the One who has been there the entire time. The important part of Jonah’s story is that Jonah did pray. In his distress, he called out to God, and God answered him. The fish was not proof that God had rejected Jonah. It was proof that God was not finished with him. What looked like the end was actually God’s rescue plan. What felt like punishment was also protection, redirection, and an opportunity for Jonah’s heart to change. Whenever we run from God’s call or His commands, we can be certain that He will work to redirect us back into His will. Jesus said in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent Me, not to do My own will.” As followers of Christ, that should also be the desire of our hearts. Instead of waiting until we reach rock bottom, we can choose today to pray, listen, and submit to God’s will. The question is not simply whether Jonah escaped the sea. The deeper question is whether God reached Jonah’s heart. Perhaps the uncomfortable place you are facing is not evidence that God has left you. It may be the very classroom He is using to rescue you, redirect you, and teach you to trust Him.

Fear has a way of convincing us that running from God's will is the safer option. Jonah believed that if he could simply get far enough away from Nineveh, he could avoid what God had called him to do. But every step away from God's will only led him deeper into trouble. Over the past few weeks we've seen Jonah disobey God's direction, deliberately choose his own path, and become deceived into thinking he could outrun the Lord. This week we discover the devastating truth about disobedience: it never affects only us. One of the greatest lies we tell ourselves is that our choices are private. We convince ourselves that if no one sees us, no one gets hurt. Scripture tells a completely different story. As Pastor reminded us, "Your storm affects all of us." We don't live in a bubble. Every decision we make impacts the people on our boat and everyone sailing in our ocean. Jonah's decision to flee from God nearly cost innocent sailors their lives. His rebellion created a storm that everyone around him had to endure. Our obedience to God matters because other people's lives are connected to ours. Romans 5:12 reminds us that Adam's sin brought death into the world, and its effects spread to everyone. Sin has always had consequences beyond the person committing it. Likewise, Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 8 that our freedom should never become a stumbling block that leads someone else away from Christ. We are called to build others up, not confuse them by claiming to follow Jesus while comfortably living in sin. Jonah became the very picture of hypocrisy. When questioned by the terrified sailors, Jonah boldly declared, "I am a Hebrew and I worship (fear) the Lord, the God of heaven." His theology was accurate, but his life contradicted his confession. He claimed to fear God while actively running from Him. As Pastor said, "A lot of us can give a church answer, but what really counts is, are we living it?" Knowing the truth without obeying it is still disobedience. James 4:17 makes that clear: "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not to do it." The sailors, who had no relationship with the true God, displayed more spiritual sensitivity than Jonah. They prayed. They worked. They rowed with everything they had. They desperately searched for a way to save everyone on board. Meanwhile, the only believer on the ship was asleep. Jonah had become so consumed with his own rebellion that he lost compassion for the people around him. His heart had grown hard. Instead of caring about those whose lives were hanging in the balance, he remained indifferent. An unguarded heart can do that. The book of Jonah becomes a contest between Jonah's stubbornness and God's relentless love. Jonah never gets one step ahead of the Lord. Every attempt to escape God's will is met by God's pursuit, not because He wants to destroy Jonah, but because He is committed to restoring him. Pastor reminded us that while not every hardship is God's discipline, Jonah's storm was. God caused it, sustained it, and orchestrated it with one purpose: to bring Jonah back. God's motivation was never revenge. It was love. Jonah initiated the storm through his disobedience, but God prepared every step of Jonah's path toward repentance. The deception of sin is believing we can continue living in disobedience while keeping our private world together. Eventually, the storm spills over onto everyone around us. When the sailors finally threw Jonah into the sea, the storm stopped immediately. The sea became calm, and those pagan sailors responded by fearing the Lord, offering sacrifices, and making vows to Him. Ironically, the unbelievers responded to God more readily than His own prophet. The message closes with three powerful lessons from Jonah's life. First, God is committed to restoring His children. He doesn't abandon us when we wander. He lovingly pursues us until we return. Second, we must guard our hearts from losing compassion for the people in our boat. The sailors were moving toward God while Jonah was moving away. They desired God's will while Jonah ignored it. We must never become so focused on ourselves that we stop caring about the people God has placed around us. Finally, we must stay alert to the consequences of sin. Our choices matter. Our obedience matters. The people watching our lives matter. As James 4:17 reminds us, "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not to do it." May we be people who don't simply know the truth or give the right church answers. May we be people who live what we believe, walk in obedience, and point others toward Christ through both our words and our lives.