What does it take to be saved? For the mariners, it meant throwing Jonah overboard? For Ninevites, it meant sitting in sackcloth and fasting. What does it really take? Does what God requires change over the course of scripture?

Jonah 1 reveals that our choices have consequences beyond us, yet God is not surprised. God is in control of all things and works all things according to his plan! His plan is for life to come through death. Jonah primes our hearts to the message of His Son!

As we study the topic of taming the tongue, we uncver that the bible is not giving us a list of words that are "ok" to say, but challenging us to rid ourselves of any speech that fails to benefit those who hear. However, words are not the real issue, this is a matter of the heart!

Is dating ok? What is the point? Who should I date? How should I act? Answers for these questions and more are sought after in the Word as we seek to honor God even in our dating.

Lust is a consuming power that is impossible for us defeat aside from the power of the One who can and has made all things new. Our struggle is to see ourselves as deeply loved, not seeking acceptance through obedience. We must fight for our true identity in the battle against lust!

Because persecution scatters the believers, the message of Christ is able to spread farther than before. The message is taken to Samaria by Phillip in Acts 8. Through Phillip, the church's responsibility expands to all people, all nations even to the Outsiders.

From the point of view of the lawyer, this story of a Good Samaritan throws a wrench in the question of "Who is my neighbor?". Jesus turns the question on us all by asking "Will you be a neighbor?".

John 4:3-42

Jesus goes to the land of the outsiders. Speaks with the outcast. Talks of a water that never runs out. Speaks with a wisdom outside of the flesh. Stays with a people in the land of the outsiders! Every bit of this story goes against the grain, our comprehension. Yet every bit of this story gives us hope.

Why does Jesus specifically instruct his disciples to avoid the Gentiles and Samaritans in Matthew 10? What caused the divide between the Jews and Samaritans? How does this news affect us today?