Jonah 1:7-17 ~ Embracing the Other

Text: Jonah 1:7-17
Title: Embracing the other
Preacher: Rev. Greg Brower

An angry prophet. A fearsome and hated enemy. An overwhelming storm. And a surprising message of a merciful God to his people. The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are not religious, are familiar with Jonah: a rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there’s much more to Jonah’s story than most of us realize. As we continue our study of Jonah, the sailors as Jonah about who he is and we discover a prophet whose identity is rooted in his ethnicity rather than in his God. When we fail to find our identity in Christ, we create false gods and begin walking down a path of exclusion rather than the loving embrace of God.