GATHERING TO PRAISE GOD Sunday, September 4, 2022
Prelude
Praise Song
Welcome
The People Gather
L: We find it easy to say, “Yes, we will do as God bids.”
P: But sometimes God makes uncomfortable demands on us.
L: Yet, in all of this, Jesus calls us continually to follow.
P: Jesus is present with us at all times.
L: Let us place our trust always in his guidance.
P: Let us open our hearts to his will and his ways. AMEN.
Hymn
The People Pray
Lord, from the very beginning of your creation, you breathed your love in to all that you made. You gave us the breath of life and asked us to be your partners. You placed your trust and love in us. Help us to turn again with joyful hearts to you, placing our trust in all that you have done for us. Let us be a blessing for you. AMEN.
Special Music
Children’s Moment
The People Confess Their Sin
Forgiving God, we have turned our backs on people who need our help, healing, and peace. We have neglected service to others to do what we find more pleasing. Please forgive us, Lord. Refashion us to be your people, celebrating your love in service to others. For we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
God has fashioned you to be God’s people. Rejoice! For God is with you and forgives your sins. AMEN.
The Word of God for the People of God
Scripture Jonah 1:1–4,
The Lord’s word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their evil has come to my attention.”
3 So Jonah got up—to flee to Tarshish from the Lord! He went down to Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, so that there was a great storm on the sea; the ship looked like it might be broken to pieces.
They said to him, “What will we do about you so that the sea will become calm around us?” (The sea was continuing to rage.)
12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea! Then the sea will become calm around you. I know it’s my fault that this great storm has come upon you.
Meanwhile, the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah 3:10-4:2
God saw what they were doing—that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it.
Jonah 4:1-2
But Jonah thought this was utterly wrong, and he became angry.
2 He prayed to the Lord, “Come on, Lord! Wasn’t this precisely my point when I was back in my own land? This is why I fled to Tarshish earlier! I know that you are a merciful and compassionate God, very patient, full of faithful love, and willing not to destroy.
God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?”
Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!”
10 But the Lord said, “You ‘pitied’ the shrub, for which you didn’t work and which you didn’t raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night.
Psalm 139:7, 9-10
Where could I go to get away from your spirit?
Where could I go to escape your presence?
Message A Whale of a Story
Pastoral Prayer
The People Bring Their Gifts
Please use one of our on-line giving methods
The People Come to the Table
Blessing of the Sacraments
Sharing the meal
The People Go into The World
Praise Song
*Benediction *
Postlude
T or F A prophet in the Old Testament predicts the future.
Jonah is called to go to
Why does Jonah flee the Lord?
Psalm 139 asks?
What are the consequences for Jonah’s lack of obedience?
What the the 3 gifts God gives to Jonah?
Jonah was on the boat because he didn’t want to obey God’s call. Yet he identified himself to the sailors by saying, “I worship the LORD, the God of heaven— who made the sea and the dry land.” Have you ever identified yourself as a follower of God (or a Christian) while acting in a way that clearly wasn’t obeying God? If so, how persuasive was your “witness”?
Nineveh was the capital, of Assyria. The Assyrian empire defeated and scattered the 10 northern tribes of Israel in 722 B.C.E. People feared them because of their generally cruel policies toward conquered peoples. “Nineveh” triggered the same negative feelings for most Israelites as “Moscow” does for Ukrainians now. How does that background help you understand Jonah’s initial negative response to God’s assignment?
What do you learn about God from this story?
What do you learn about yourself from this story?
A Model of Prayer
1. Family and friends
2. Someone with whom you are having tension or conflict
3. Strangers suffering
4. Pray for self. Pray for compassion, forgiveness, and self-love
Then the Lord God provided a shrub,[a] and it grew up over Jonah, providing shade for his head and saving him from his misery. Jonah was very happy about the shrub. Jonah 4:6
God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?”
Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!”
10 But the Lord said, “You ‘pitied’ the shrub, for which you didn’t work and which you didn’t raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night. Jonah 4:9-10