{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Jonah and the sign of Jonah","description":"Mhairi\u2019s sermon centres on Jonah and the \u201csign of Jonah\u201d in Matthew 12, showing how Jonah\u2019s story points forward to Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection. She begins by connecting Jesus\u2019 words to the Old Testament story of Jonah. Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh and preach against its wickedness, but instead he ran away in the opposite direction. His disobedience led him into danger at sea, where a violent storm threatened the ship. Even there, God used Jonah\u2019s failure for good, because the sailors came to fear and worship the true God. After Jonah was thrown overboard, God provided a great fish to save him. From inside the fish, Jonah prayed in humility and dependence, realising that salvation comes from the Lord. Mhairi\u2019s point is that God often provides for us even before we properly ask, though not always in the way we expect. When God called Jonah a second time, Jonah obeyed and went to Nineveh. The city heard the warning, repented, and turned back to God. This shows that God is a God of second chances\u2014not only for Jonah, but also for the Ninevites. God had not given up on either of them. The sermon then highlights Jonah\u2019s anger when God forgave Nineveh. Jonah knew God was gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, but he struggled to accept that such mercy should extend to people he judged undeserving. Through the object lesson of the plant, God exposes Jonah\u2019s narrow vision: Jonah saw only wicked people, but God saw people, lives, and a city worth showing mercy to. Mhairi sums up the book with a series of contrasts: God appealed; Jonah absconded God provided; Jonah prayed God called; Jonah conceded God forgave; Jonah was furious God justified; Jonah judged She then returns to Matthew 12, where Jesus says no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish, Jesus would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. But whereas Jonah\u2019s experience led to the saving of a city, Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection bring salvation to the world. The closing application is that God still appeals, provides, calls, forgives, and justifies today. For those who do not yet know Christ, the invitation is open. For Christians, the encouragement is that through Jesus they will stand saved before God, just as the repentant Ninevites will. ","author_name":"Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship","author_url":"http:\/\/www.aberdeencf.com","html":"