The Scapegoated God - The Sign of Jonah

November 9, 2014

Jonah was called to preach to the first empire the world had ever seen. The early Christians also existed under an empire: the Roman Empire. And it’s a small group of Christians, meeting in Rome (in the belly of the beast) that Paul declares: I am not ashamed of the gospel.

What is the good news of Jesus? How does it end hostility between segregated groups? And why does it matter that Jesus was nailed to a cross?

***ALL THIS AND MORE! In the shocking conclusion to The Sign of Jonah!***

ACT IV: The Chapter We Don't Talk About - The Sign of Jonah

October 26, 2014

2014.10.26 - Kevin Makins - The Sign of Jonah

ACT IV: The Chapter We Don’t Talk About

Jonah 4

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When you hear the story of Jonah it’s often told as a Three Act Play: Jonah hears God’s calling and flees, he’s swallowed up by a sea monster and changes his mind, he goes to Nineveh and BAM! they repent.

But there’s a fourth act in Jonah, a chapter we don’t talk about, and it’s probably the strangest part in the story!

And ultimately it asks the question: what do we do when we’re #blessed?

Note: At 41 minutes there is a brief financial update from Matt Willard!

October 20, 2014

2014.10.19 - August “Gus” Konkel - The Sign of Jonah

Turned Upside Down

Jonah 3

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August “Gus” Konkel is a professor at McMaster Divinity College, and we first met him when doing some preliminary research on the book of Jonah. As we talked with Gus three things were quickly revealed: He is super smart, he is very wise, and he reads from the Hebrew text.

Then we found out he taught a class called “Preaching Jonah”… So of course we had to have him join us!

Gus preaches about the repentance of Nineveh, the culmination of Jonah’s prophetic word, and what “repenting” is truly all about.

Leviathan on a Leash - The Sign of Jonah

October 12, 2014

2014.10.12 - Leshia Knopf - The Sign of Jonah

Leviathan on a Leash

Jonah 2

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When Jonah fell into the waters he fell into the one place where a good god shouldn’t be: a place of chaos and death.

And the strangest thing happens…

Prophet Pagans, Pathetic Prophets - The Sign of Jonah

October 5, 2014

2014.09.29 - Kevin Makins - The Sign of Jonah

Prophet Pagans, Pathetic Prophet

Jonah 1

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The author of Jonah is making subtle commentary in the book. See if you can find it!

Also, Kevin tells a story about the worst spiritual retreat he ever had. Worst. Spiritual. Retreat. Ever.

The Nazis of the Ancient World - The Sign of Jonah

September 28, 2014

2014.09.29 - Kevin Makins - The Sign of Jonah

The Nazis of the Ancient World

Jonah 1

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The world Jesus lived in was ruled over by the Roman Empire. Nearly a millennium before Jesus, there lived a man named Jonah.

And the world of Jonah had it’s own Empire: the Assyrians.

And the capital city of Assyria? Nineveh.

As we dive into the text of Jonah, we also dive into the world he inhabited, and it is most certainly a violent, depraved, and wicked world.

Two side notes:

1) The quality of the recording this week is… subpar. It’s listenable, but not great. Listen at your own risk!

2) This sermon has a fairly large audio clip from Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History” - the clip is about 10 minutes, but the full episode comes in at over an hour. It’s ABSOLUTELY worth listening to if you want to understand more about the Assyrians and the city of Nineveh.

To download the rest of the episode visit this link: http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-17-judgment-at-nineveh/

For more podcasts from Dan Carlin, including his “Hardcore History” series, visit dancarlin.com

Dan, you are incredibly smart, interesting, and talented. Please don’t sue our little church. xoxo

I've Got Good News, And I've Got Bad News... - The Sign of Jonah

September 21, 2014

2014.09.21 - Kevin Makins - The Sign of Jonah

I’ve Got Good News, and I’ve Got Bad News…

Matthew 12

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We begin our series on the story of Jonah by looking at… the Gospel According to Matthew. Obviously.

And as we do we dive headfirst into a CRAZY text about “The Lord of the Flies”, robbing strong men, awesome haircuts, trees producing fruit and the only sin God can’t forgive.