I AM JONAH (Jonah 1:1–4)

Title: I Am Jonah 

Text: Mark 1:1–4

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The Hebrew never says “whale.” There is a word in Hebrew for “whale,” but that’s not the word used for what swallowed Jonah. 

God’s Missionaries to the World and Satan’s Missionaries to the Church (3 John)

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A church is made up of people—not buildings; flesh and blood—not brick and mortar. It seems beyond some people’s capacity to picture a church as something more than a building. If you tell some people, “A church is not a building; it is a group of people who gather weekly to give their worship to Jesus,” they look at you as if you were doing the twist in a hip-hop world. Or maybe better for our county, as if you were doing the waltz at a country line dance. That’s out of place. It doesn't fit.

Christian Hospitality – Part 2 (2 John 5–11)

Title: Christian Hospitality

Text: 2 John 5–11

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My wife and I try to get our children in bed by a certain time every night. When they go to bed, we stay up and talk. Sometimes I will talk to her about the text I am preaching on Sunday. It helps me to hash-it-out in a community setting before I give it. You get the 10:30 a.m. version, and she gets the early service. Now, I don’t bring a pulpit in the living room and sing a couple of congregational hymns, but I do give a come-forward invitation (just kidding!). Just a five-minute conversation can help me ground all my exegesis in the reality of everyday life.