We often experience righteous anger when we face injustice in the world. However, sometimes this righteous anger can get the better of us and leave us bitter and resentful like Jonah. In this sermon, we look at the final chapter of Jonah’s story to uncover the warning signs of when our anger strays from its righteous roots. 

How does failure impact you? For most, personal failure has a devastating effect. It brings shame, regret, self-loathing, and a desire to distance ourselves from others. But God comes to us in our failures, and allows us to experience mercy in a way that heals our deepest wounds.

Jonah was desperate. He was drowning. He hit rock bottom in the most literal way possible. But then in a miraculous act of grace, God sent a fish to swallow him. A strange salvation, but one began to change Jonah. In desperation while inside of the fish, he prays. He remembered God, and that simple act opened the door for grace to begin to change him. When we are overwhelmed, we can do the same, because God listens to desperate prayers.

We all have a little bit of Jonah in us, desiring at times to live independent from God. At our core, we prefer telling God what we’d like, rather than allowing him to tell us what to do. 

So what can we learn from the hard-hearted prophet?

Just as a caterpillar is not meant to remain a caterpillar, we are not meant to stay where we are today. When we are willing to die to ourselves, we will be transformed into the kind of being who truly understands God and delights in His ways.

Being generous is often associated with greater overall health and life satisfaction. People who share their wealth tend to be happier, more fulfilled, and enjoy better relationships. In contrast, those who hold back may experience increased stress, anxiety, and a sense of isolation from genuine community. So, why is being generous so challenging? In this sermon, we explore Jesus’ teachings on money to better understand the barriers that make it difficult for us to give.

Usually when our spiritual lives begin to stagnate, the first warning signs can be seen in our habit of prayer. They start becoming mechanical and routine, lacking any sort of passion or conviction. But is there a prayer that has the power to revitalise our prayer lives? In today’s sermon we examine the most powerful prayer ever prayed and how we can pray it as well. 

Our days are often full of worry. We fall into a routine of trying to control everything, our schedules, our work, our relationships, doing our best to hold it all together. And it’s exhausting. We need a Fresh Start. We need a way to step out of the cycle, loosen our grip, and trust God more deeply with our lives. Today, we’re going to explore practical ways to grow in faith and experience the peace God promises, even in the midst of life’s chaos.

Throughout Jesus’s life, even for His closest followers, it was common for people who saw Jesus not to really see Him. In this message, we’ll explore what we know about truly seeing and loving people around us, and how that honest approach can help up so love and see God clearer.

Over and over in scripture, we are told to be “awake”. The tendency is for us to be spiritually drowsy, missing out on an adventure and “sleeping through” the reason we are on this planet.