Jonah received a clear, direct call from God to bring a message

God gets angry. So does Jesus. God gets angry at injustice and oppression. Christ gets angry at suffering and with leaders who seek their own benefit rather than the benefit of those they lead. They both hate to see religious leaders neglect their responsibilities to shepherd God's people and twist religion into something that weighs people down rather than free them. Unfortunately, anger can be destructive. We can become instinctive, lashing out with anger before we realize it and then find ourselves overwhelmed with remorse because of what we said or did. Anger can be difficult to control. But God promises freedom from sin. He also promises to renew our minds and fill us with peace. We can retrain ourselves. We can find ways to direct our anger towards good actions and healthy levels.

God gets angry. So does Jesus. God gets angry at injustice and

Envy is the only emotion that makes it's way in the Ten Commandments (covet). It's an expression of lust and greed as well as a possible motivation for stealing, murder and adultery. It is a force that directs many sinful behaviors. Interestingly, it can also be a motivating force for good as well. The Greek word for 'lust' can be used to describe the passion that drives our godly ambitions. When we see people advancing their lives, improving their relationships and growing spiritually, envy can motivate us into personal action. We can want that good for our own lives and make positive changes to get there. The trick is not letting envy drive us into temptation and sin but to let it propel us towards good action.

Envy is the only emotion that makes it's way in the Ten Commandments (covet). It's an expression of lust and greed as well as a possible motivation for stealing, murder and adultery. It is a force that directs many sinful behaviors. Interestingly, it can also be a motivating force for good as well. The Greek word for 'lust' can be used to describe the passion that drives our godly ambitions. When we see people advancing their lives, improving their relationships and growing spiritually, envy can motivate us into personal action. We can want that good for our own lives and make positive changes to get there. The trick is not letting envy drive us into temptation and sin but to let it propel us towards good action.

Expressed in a healthy fashion, sadness can motivate us to be compassionate as we identify with other people's suffering. Sadness also gives us the opportunity to evaluate the true worth of what we have lost. In addition, it allows us to express our love for a person who is gone as well as the pain we are suffering from life's tribulations. Left unchecked though, sadness can grow into despair or depression.It has the power to immobilize us. We stop living in the present because we can't move on from what we have lost. We isolate ourselves from relationships and sink into inaction. We see the world through a dark lense and lose joy. The Bible is clear that expressing sadness in healthy ways is cathartic (just read the Psalms, the Prophets and Lamentations). The key is learning how to express it in ways that don't overwhelm us.

Expressed in a healthy fashion, sadness can motivate us to be compassionate as we identify with other people's suffering. Sadness also gives us the opportunity to evaluate the true worth of what we have lost. In addition, it allows us to express our love for a person who is gone as well as the pain we are suffering from life's tribulations. Left unchecked though, sadness can grow into despair or depression.It has the power to immobilize us. We stop living in the present because we can't move on from what we have lost. We isolate ourselves from relationships and sink into inaction. We see the world through a dark lense and lose joy. The Bible is clear that expressing sadness in healthy ways is cathartic (just read the Psalms, the Prophets and Lamentations). The key is learning how to express it in ways that don't overwhelm us.

To check out the video Pastor Mike referenced this week: https://www.youtube.com/v/IY-FzWumn_A?start=122&end=216

To check out the video Pastor Mike referenced this week: https://www.youtube.com/v/IY-FzWumn_A?start=122&end=216

God's love transforms. The grave becomes a stage for life. Where once guards secured a lifeless body, an angel protects a monument to victory, a garden of hopeless grief becomes the scene of celebration - all because God's love has won. Christians pushed worship from the end of the week to the beginning because they wanted to always remember the amazing display of love, life, hope and peace that emerged on Sunday. Their devotion to Jesus Christ moved them out of hiding, in fear of their lives, into the crowded streets to declare that God's love had won. Eventually, their awe over God's love in Jesus Christ would push them all over Europe, the Middle East and into Northern Africa. They would transform communities, heal the sick, build institutes of learning, translate the Bible into multiple languages and declare the life that God offers through Jesus Christ. Even when they faced their own execution, they possessed joy because love had won.