Jonah hated Ninevah, their worldly ungodliness commensurate with their umbrage towards Israel! God commands His disobedient prophet to warn them of their need to repent. To Jonah's surprise, God knew more about their spiritual condition than he did! What is our attitude towards unsaved people God asks us to minister to? Do we take their unsaved condition for granted, do we minister in confidence that God is indeed working in their lives?

Pastor Ryan's message for today emphasizes God's plan in using prophets of the Old Testament to fulfill His mission for His children, and ultimately, the world. Pastor Ryan particularly focuses on Elijah, and God's message, through him, to us in avoiding idolatry. I Kings 18:36-39 is our focal scripture for today.

Pastor Ryan paints a panoramic picture of God's redemption, from the serpent's enmity on Adam and Eve, through the temple of Solomon, to the resurrection of our Lord ("I will raise this temple in 3 days!") to the promise of Jesus, Lord of All, using His enemies as His footstool. Want a little taste of Heaven? Listen to this sermon! I Kings 8:1-53 starts us on this epic journey through Scripture.

Pastor Ryan continues concentrating on the focal character of David, King of Israel, sharing with us the unique correlations with his story concerning the building of the temple with the reality that the temple's true completion could be through none other than Jesus, Son of David. II Samuel 1. 2-10, 11-24 in overview

David was God;s chosen man to be king, yet he was the "haqqaton" the youngest, the runt, the inconsequential. Pastor Rick explains form I Samuel 16 David's credentials to be king, overlooked my men, but carefully considered by God: David served, shepherded, protected, spoke forthrightly, considered humbly-he thought in himself he was small, but in God he was great! So like this, we too, sinners saved by grace, commanded to be servants, are actually are declared by God to be a nation of kings and priests! Do we consider ourselves "haqqaton"? Or, as Pastor Rick exhorts, go boldly to serve our Savior, being declared priests and kings?

Broadway celebrates their forty years in the Lord's service this weekend, thanking and glorifying God for His allowance of ministry, serving downtown Fort Wayne for forty years! Praise you, Lord Jesus! Pastor Ryan concludes the festivities that challenges us in our beginning of our next forty years, starting with 40 Days of Prayer and Service to our neighborhoods. Joining Pastor Ryan on the platform are members Lora Schnurr, Grace Beltz, and Shannon Tenney, invited to share with the body some upcoming targeted opportunities to join in service.

Israel desires a king, like the other nations. God wants to be their King, and warns them of the consequences of choosing a king that resembles the worldly nations. Yet, they choose Saul, a man more of his own heart than God's, as his life demonstrates. Who is your king...God, or the things of this world? Pastor Rick uses the disobedient life of Saul to exhort us to choose God as our King!

Pastor Ryan relays the book of Ruth to the congregation, a most beautiful depiction of redemption in one of Israel's worst times. It focuses on a specific family, not a nation in distress. Judges ended with "everyone did right in their own eyes". Ruth ends with a genealogy that is a tribute to Boaz and Ruth's obedience (and God's faithfulness) and resulted in none other than Jesus, the Bread of Life!

How quickly we forget! After Israel covenants to serve the Lord in Joshua 24, we have the book of Judges! God's desire for His people to be "in the world but not of the world" (John 17) is disavowed by Israel as they experience failure after failure, idolatry after idolatry. Each time, God mercifully sends them a judge to lead them to repentance, only for them to forget the way of God and hearken again to the course of sinfulness. Pastor Ryan shares a cogent and terse review of the book, the perpetual cycle of defeat that Israel experienced following their own sin, and their forgetfulness of God's mercy following His merciful deliverance. How goes it with you in your walk, asks Pastor Ryan, sharing the analogy to our response to Christ our Deliverer.