Courage Church

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: November 13, 2016

series: Jonah

title: After an Election

scriptures: Psalm 11, Romans 13, Jonah 3, Jonah 4:1-3, Psalm 56:8, Isaiah 57:15 (mentioned), 1 Corinthians 9:22, Jon 13:35, 2 Peter 1:3-8

series: Jonah

title: Before an Election

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: November 6, 2017

scriptures: Jonah 3:1-5, Matthew 12:38-41, Philippians 2:7, Revelation 5, Daniel 6, Psalm 118:9, Jeremiah 17:5, 2 Corinthians 5, 2 Kings 15 & 18 (mentioned), 1 John 4:18, Hebrews 12:2, Psalm 11:4

During Election seasons, it can be very easy for us to begin to think that our world will rise and fall based on who wins the election... But as Christians we need to remember that we are ambassadors in this world, of a different Kingdom, and no matter who wins the elections on Tuesday, the God that we serve will STILL be on the throne on Wednesday. Every Single Time!

We dedicated several babies and parents to Jesus this Sunday morning! 

series: Jonah

title: Before an Election

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: November 6, 2017

scriptures: Jonah 3:1-5, Matthew 12:38-41, Philippians 2:7, Revelation 5, Daniel 6, Psalm 118:9, Jeremiah 17:5, 2 Corinthians 5, 2 Kings 15 & 18 (mentioned), 1 John 4:18, Hebrews 12:2, Psalm 11:4

During Election seasons, it can be very easy for us to begin to think that our world will rise and fall based on who wins the election... But as Christians we need to remember that we are ambassadors in this world, of a different Kingdom, and no matter who wins the elections on Tuesday, the God that we serve will STILL be on the throne on Wednesday. Every Single Time!

We dedicated several babies and parents to Jesus this Sunday morning! 

series: Jonah

title: The sign of Jonah

date: October 30, 2016

teacher: Jacob Bender

scriptures: Jonah 1:15- Jonah 2 (whole thing, Jonah 3:1-2, Proverbs 13:12, Matthew 12:38-41, Mark 4:35, Jonah 1:11-12

series: Jonah

title: The sign of Jonah

date: October 30, 2016

teacher: Jacob Bender

scriptures: Jonah 1:15- Jonah 2 (whole thing, Jonah 3:1-2, Proverbs 13:12, Matthew 12:38-41, Mark 4:35, Jonah 1:11-12

series: Jonah

title: Deep Decisions

teacher: Chilly Chilton

date: October 23, 2016

series: Jonah

title: Deep Decisions

teacher: Chilly Chilton

date: October 23, 2016

series: Jonah

title: Yom Kippur

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: October 16, 2016

scriptures: Jonah (entire book), Leviticus 16, Leviticus 16:22, Hebrews 10:8-14

This last week, those who practice Jewish culture celebrated Yom Kippur. This year it was Tuesday, October 11th at sundown, and ended Wednesday October 12th at the same time. And there is a Jewish tradition… that in their afternoon services on Yom Kippur every year, they read, in its entirety, the book on Jonah. And its a tradition that dates back thousands of years… where families would all gather around together on Yom Kippur, and they would read it together. 

Because to most people, the book of Jonah is the story of a guy who got eaten by a whale. Who was in his belly for three days, and then he got spit out. Thats the gist of what most of us know about the book. 

So, today we are going to start our series on the book of Jonah, exploring some of those questions…

Why is it considered to be one of the books known as “the prophets” when Jonah doesn't give a single prophecy the entire time… Why do the Jews, on their holiest day of the year, take the time to sit down and read the book in its entirety? 

series: Jonah

title: Yom Kippur

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: October 16, 2016

scriptures: Jonah (entire book), Leviticus 16, Leviticus 16:22, Hebrews 10:8-14

This last week, those who practice Jewish culture celebrated Yom Kippur. This year it was Tuesday, October 11th at sundown, and ended Wednesday October 12th at the same time. And there is a Jewish tradition… that in their afternoon services on Yom Kippur every year, they read, in its entirety, the book on Jonah. And its a tradition that dates back thousands of years… where families would all gather around together on Yom Kippur, and they would read it together. 

Because to most people, the book of Jonah is the story of a guy who got eaten by a whale. Who was in his belly for three days, and then he got spit out. Thats the gist of what most of us know about the book. 

So, today we are going to start our series on the book of Jonah, exploring some of those questions…

Why is it considered to be one of the books known as “the prophets” when Jonah doesn't give a single prophecy the entire time… Why do the Jews, on their holiest day of the year, take the time to sit down and read the book in its entirety? 

series: Red Letter City

titles: Retaliation

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: June 5, 2016

scriptures: Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 7:11, Exodus 21:23-25, Galatian 2:9, Matthew 7:12, Joshua

On Friday Dawn and I drove down to Ann Arbor to visit Matt and Chavonne in the hospital... Their daughter, baby Charlotte was born, and she is just the sweetest thing. She was born, I think a whole two months early, so she is just absolutely tiny and so so precious. And I just need to say this about Matt and Chavonne. I have never in my life seen two believe glow the way that they were glowing that day. The peace. The excitement, and the love in their eyes toward this absolutely precious child was just amazing. 

And I can’t explain it. I know that, their pregnancy was very difficult. They went through some really hard circumstances, things that I could not even begin to imagine… and I know that the whole pregnancy was to a degree plagued with some fear and so to at the end of it all be holding this amazing child obviously was such a sign of the grace of God and an amazing hope for the future. 

Jesus says something a little later in the sermon on the mount, and we will get to it in a couple of months, but he says this:

“if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.”

and I thought about that when I saw the way that Matt held his daughter. and the look on his face, and the way everything toward Charlie was unconditional love… and as strange as this sounds…  it made me realize something about violence. and the way that we treat each other. The same way that Matt looks at his daughter, God looks at all of his children. and I think that for most of us, we want to always know that we can come to God knowing that no matter what we have done, he still looks at us with that same twinkle in his eye. That same unconditional love. 

and not only that… but there are millions of other Matt’s in the world. People who think the world of their children. Who would do anything for them. And in every situation that you find yourself in, in which you are paired AGAINST another person… that person is someone’s child. That person has a world of people that he has touched merely by being born…. 

and if we approach every situation and every confrontation that we are faced with from that perspective, perhaps it would be easier than you think to do what Jesus asks of us here in this revolutionary sermon.