Sunday, May 24th 2020
Welcome to Worship
Start with this link if you are new
This is the 4th and last in our series on Jonah. Jonah may have been effective but he was also filled with anger. He was so unlike the God whom he served. Today may we be transformed to be more like Jesus as we worship .
We invite you to have your bible beside you
for the service, and then take a moment to remember the Presence of God who is
with you.
Call to worship
God is a merciful
GOD is a compassionate God,
God is slow to get angry
God is filled with unfailing love.
God is eager to turn your plans of punishment into
a program of forgiveness!
Let us worship God
God
you are the giver of a beautiful world for us to live on.
God you are a giver of life, love and forgiveness.
God you are a giver of friendship and family.
God you are the giver and your greatest gift, for
you gave yourself to us.
You have proven yourself to be a God who is a
merciful and compassionate,
A God who is slow to get angry and filled with
unfailing love.
A God is eager to turn your plans of punishment
into a program of forgiveness!
Jonah knew that – yet he wanted to hoard his
knowledge of you to himself.
He wanted to hoard your mercy and kindness to
himself.
He was unwilling to forgive his enemies, or to give
them a second chance.
God like him we know our kindness but are often
unwilling to share it.
We receive your grace but are unwilling to spread
it. Forgive us.
Make us your agents of love and peace sent
into the world. Make us like you.
Let us say the lord’s prayer
together
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come and your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins as we
forgive those who sin against us. And Lead us not into temptation
And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the Kingdom, the power
and the glory. Forever and ever amen
If you are with others share your highs and lows for the week. If you
are doing this with just you and God, pause and ponder the things of your week
that you are grateful for: the people
you know and love, the company you have shared….
Don’t forget the low points – what have you struggled with this week?
Opening Song Praise to the Lord the Almighty
Brett talks to the Children about Anger and Jonah 4
We listen to a beautiful
song – He knows my name
Bible Readings:
Psalm37:1-9 read by Rubin Barnard
Jonah
4:1-11 read by Henry Barnard
Brett’s
Message: Jonah - what happens next?
Jonah and anger chapter 4
How
would you describe Jonah – runaway prophet, Selfish, indifferent to the plight
of others. Uncaring about his neighbours who are different from him – small
minded only worried about his own comfort, prayerless, my list could go on –
and nothing attractive or endearing about him – But God loves him – God called
him and used him mightily to rescue the people of Nineveh. Unfortunately,
sometimes we are a little too much like Jonah. In this story we learn why Jonah ran in chapter 1. He didn’t want the Assyrians to have a chance for forgiveness
and so avoid the doom that was coming
V1 Jonah was
very unhappy about this and became angry. 2 So he prayed,
“Lord, didn't I say before I left home that this is just what you would do?
That's why I did my best to run away to Spain! I knew that you are a loving
and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always
ready to change your mind and not punish.
Jonah is not
like God at all. God is described as loving and
merciful God, always patient, always kind, and
always ready to change your mind and not punish. Jonah was unforgiving, impatient, not kind,
keen to see the Assyrians punished. He
was the opposite of God – or what you would expect from a God follower.
We don’t know what made him like this – I think there are 2 options.
1.
He had experienced deep hurt
–
had
his parents or children been killed in a raid by Assyrian troops?
·
Had
his crops been destroyed or stolen causing starvation?
·
Had it just been the vicious nature of the Assyrians in their battles?
2.
Or
was he was worried how he would seen by others ?
·
He had
told the Assyrians they would be destroyed and they weren’t. Was he worried they would see him as a liar
or a fraud?
·
Or was
it facing his Jewish friends who would hear that Jonah’s message saw the
Assyrians turn to God and so avoid the judgement they all hoped for.
Was he more worried about the
people’s reaction rather than doing God’s will.
Was his reputation more important than God’s will or showing
kindness?
Jonah’s self centred anger ended in self hatred
V3 “Now then, Lord, let me die. I am
better off dead than alive.”
I
love my pressure cooker – I make bean salad and it saves cooking the beans for
ages. But I also like the way it builds
up steam and sometimes steam explodes out of the pressure valve. If you take it off the heat you still cannot
take the lid off until you release the pressure. I think Jonah was a man under
pressure – he had a head of steam – he was a pressure cooker full of anger –
and it effected his relationship with the Assyrians and also with himself – he
hated himself and wished he would die.
But God loved the Ninevites – and
God also loved Jonah
He
doesn’t want his servants to stay in such a miserable position – where Jonah does
things he doesn’t want to do out of mere obedience or fear of being swallowed
by another big fish. Fear is not the
motivation for obedience God wants.
So God asks him a question “What right do you have to be angry?” v4
God often challenges us by asking questions?
·
In the garden of Eden – where are you? I am hiding
because I am naked and afraid.
·
To Elijah - What Are You Doing Here? When he had run
from Jezebel to Mountain cave.
·
To Ezekiel Can These Bones Live? Is their hope when
all seems lost?
·
Jesus to Disciples “Who do you say I am?”
·
Jesus to disciples on boat in Storm “Why are you
afraid?”
What right do
you have to be angry?
God
is exposing Jonah’s heart and helping him to think and re-evaluate his anger
and resentment.
What
makes you angry? Was it because God didn’t do what you wanted but followed his way of
love. Was it when things
don’t go the way you planned or prayed or hoped – disappointment is understandable –
but anger? God says “what right do you have to be angry?”
Jonah is exposed as selfish and angry by his attitude
and his responses. He is still hoping the city is going to get invade or Nuked
or destroyed by a virus so moves out of town to see if maybe their repentance is
short term and God also changes his mind again and destroys them. So we have Jonah
the Runaway prophet, angry and hoping the city will be destroyed camped on a
hill.
If
you were GOD what would you do to him?
Leave
him there to stew and fester? Maybe hope he comes to his own senses given time?
Nuke him, write him off?
No,
God comes to him with 3 gifts. In v 6-8
Gift 1 is in v 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant (when he was still angry)
Gift 2 v7 “the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it
withered.
Gift 3 in v8 “When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind,
and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint.”
This reminds me of chapter 1v 17 “where the Lord provided a huge fish” to
swallow Jonah (when he was running away.
God’s gives
gifts
to the Unkind
and angry, the complacent, the selfish. His gift to Nineveh was Jonah with a message of hope
hidden within a message of judgement. His
gifts to Jonah was a plant, a worm and a hot wind. God has not
given up on Nineveh and he has not given up on Jonah
Jonah loves his first gift of the plant – Because he
is selfish he appreciates the cool shade the plant brings.
But the next day when God gives his 2nd
gift – the worm and his 3rd gift – a hot wind he is far from
impressed.
Jonah’s anger is building up steam. He wanted to Die and is so angry.
v8-9 He
wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But
God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you
to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish
I were dead.”
Our patient God
speaks to Jonah again in v 10-11
10 But the Lord said, “You have
been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it
grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city
of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty
thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many
animals?”
Jonah cares more about his own comfort from the plant
than all the people in the city – Do we care about our own comfort more than
all the people in our neighborhood with God or without hope that Jesus brings,
Or all the people in the world without food and water or medical care?
What shall we
say about this story today
• The
book of Jonah is a story of God’s love for all people – which includes his
enemies and ours. What a contrast
between God’s love vs our love.
• The
book of Jonah is an invitation to be a better servant of God. God loves us all and wants us to be more like
him, people of compassion and grace.
People willing to love our enemies and forgive those who hurt us.
• The
book of Jonah is an invitation to see troubles as Gifts. God provided a storm and big fish when he was
running away to help him realize He couldn’t run from God and God provided a
plant, a worm and a hot wind to help him learn compassion for others and to
look beyond his own comfort.
What will
happen next - how will Jonah react. Will Jonah
listen to God and change his attitude?
Will Jonah
feel some compassion for the Assyrians? We don’t know?
The way this
book is written is almost like a TV serial
- the last verse is a hook to make us wonder what happens next
Chapter 1 God
sent a fish to swallow Jonah – what will happen to him?
Chapter 2 After
his prayer the fish spat him on the sand- what is next will he run again?
Chapter 3 God
did not bring the destruction on the city. What is next for Jonah?
Chapter 4 –
Jonah is grumpy God meets him – what happens next? We don’t know?
How will you react to the
message has been speaking through this book?
Will
you respond with faith and repentance like the people of Nineveh or will you be
representative of God who acts nothing like the God we claim to serve. What happens next? – it is up to you.
We sing Lord make me like you as a response
Is
there other connections between your bible readings and your highs and lows for
the week?
Was
there a word, sentence, or phrase that stood out to you in the readings or the message today?
Pray
for those who shared their highs and lows giving thanks for the blessings and
asking for God’s help with the struggles.
This will be updated when we get the written version
of the prayer by Stefan, Dylan and Zoe
This Written prayer
is by Barry Thrupp
Let us pray
Almighty God, As we pause
where ever we are, we bring you our prayer of intercession. We give you
thanks for your Word from
Scripture which encourages us in all circumstances, for the opportunity to do Church together in the way
we are operating at this time, for the Church community we are a part of and most of all for the
Salvation we have received in Jesus Christ.
Currently Father we find
ourselves in a disruption of normal life. Among all the confusion and
uncertainty, we pray we
would be anxious for nothing, We pray you would give as the courage and the Faith to live responsively
and respond to those in need the best way we can. Through prayer, keeping in touch and sharing what
resources we can. We are grateful for the essential services we have access to
and for those who work outside
their bubble to keep us all safe and secure and those supplying the necessities of life so that we have
food on our table.
Lord God, not all our
circumstances are the same. We are aware of the pressures this lockdown has put on family relationships,
especially those whose financial future is uncertain, or those who have had elective surgeries delayed
and those with mental health issues. We pray for the lonely, the isolated, the bereaved and the depressed.
Hear our prayers Lord for those we know who need your special touch. We name them now in a time of
silence.
We pray for our heroes at
this time Lord. Our Government and our Health professionals who are leadingus through this pandemic
crisis. Give them competence, wisdom and a sustained energy to see us through these unprecedented times.
Lord, guide Political
leaders of all Nations as we, together, now fight an unseen enemy. Our prayers
go out to all those suffering
from this virus and the impact it is having on families and communities. We ask Lord you bring an end to
this chaotic crisis ,together with the world of research in finding a vaccine
to rid the World of this pandemic.
From it all we pray that we would all learn how to work together and care for one another.
Heavenly Father we pray for
your Church at this time. We rejoice that you are always with us. As we
adjust to a different way
to Worship we still feel a part of our Church community. Bless Brett as he leads us and brings us your Word
and encourages us to keep the Faith. We pray for those still working behind the scenes, keeping us
informed and keeping our young people involved as part of our Worship team. Be with us oh God, over all with your protection as we commit each
other and all those we love
to your tender care.
We pray all this in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen
Final HYMN Shine Jesus shine
Say this to one
another – (and yourself)
The Lord bless you
and keep you;
May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;
May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;
the Lord look upon
you with favour and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24ff
Go now in peace, Go now in peace. May the love of God surround you, Everywhere,
everywhere, you may go.
NOTICES
Help during the health crisis: We are wanting to be able to offer help where
we can and where it is needed. For
example, this might be to pick up some groceries and leave them at the door of
someone who feels unable to be in contact with people at that time. It might be a ride to an appointment. If you wish your name to go onto a list of
those willing to help please let anyone Brett or the church office know. Please note - in order to protect everyone,
you must be in good health yourself to be involved in this.
The Prayer Team: If you or someone you know would benefit from having some prayer
support we have a prayer chain so please feel free to send your requests to office@stcolumba-taradale.org.nz
and the team will spring into action. (You can be assured of confidentiality).
Zoom Meeting after worship (BYO cuppa and chat)
We are having a get together on Zoom
on Sunday after worship at 10:30am.
You can also use your regular phone
and dial in the numbers below and add the meeting id when asked.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/376981534?pwd=K1dlTWZMNUJUUDZpTnNyRWhydzVxZz09
Meeting ID: 376 981 534 Password:
014488
One tap mobile
+6498846780,,376981534#,,1#,014488# New Zealand
Dial by your location
+64 4 886 0026 New
Zealand
Meeting ID: 376 981 534 Password:
014488
Ministers all the people Parish contact
details
Website: www.stcolumba-taradale.org.nz
Church office Will be unstaffed but Anna will answer
emails for all needs or questions Phone Brett Walker
Home 06 8442256
Mobile 0274083658
or go to
https://brett-walker.blogspot.com
