May 12, 2012 - Church at Worship

Sermon: "Fuming Part 4: Jonah: When God Expands Your World" - Randy Roberts

Pastoral Welcome: Darold Retzer

Children’s Feature: Patty Marruffo

Child Dedication: William Patrick Manning, III - Randy Roberts2

Meditation:

Christianity does not think of a person finally submitting to the power of God; it thinks of a person finally surrendering to the love of God. It is not that our will is crushed, but that our heart is broken. – William Barclay
 
Among the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more brilliance than justice. – Miguel de Cervantes
 
God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that he may love and perfect them. – C. S. Lewis

Scripture Reading: Jonah 4:1–4, TNIV - Jonathan and Ally Davidson

Sermon Notes:

Can you imagine yourself being angry at the grace of God? For many, it’s an almost
inconceivable thought. And yet, don’t bypass that question too quickly, for such a
negative response to grace is not uncommon. Consider a child who sees another
child disobeying the rules. That child goes straight to the teacher. “Mrs. Jones, Johnny is copying his answers on the quiz.” Imagine that teacher’s ultimate response being, “Johnny, I’m not going to give you the bad grade I should give you; instead, I’m
going to give you grace.” The child who caught Johnny cheating is liable to be fairly
upset by that. “He should have gotten punished, but the teacher went soft.”

In Matthew 20, Jesus told a parable about vineyard workers who started their workday at various different times of the day. At the end of the day, when it came time to
pay the workers, they all got the same wage. The workers who had labored all day
in the sun grumbled, “That’s not fair! What’s all this about grace?”

When Jonah, then, becomes angry at God’s grace given to the Ninevites, it ought
not surprise us. He is just wanting God to be just, not merciful. And guess what? We
all have a little bit of Jonah in us! And since we do, we probably ought to slow down
and listen to the conversation that takes place between God and Jonah. It might
have something to teach us.…

Randy Roberts
Senior Pastor

Note: Child Dedications and Baptisms are in the Extras section of the DVD