Chapel in the Hills

The people of Nineveh heard the Word of the Lord and responded with repentance. We can learn many lessons from their response to God's Word, and their response provides a helpful outline for repentance. We must live lives of repentance and seek to grow every day into a greater level of Christlikeness.

When Jonah is put back on God's path and is given a second chance, God commands Jonah to call out the message that God would give to him. Jonah's message carries a call of destruction, but God intends to overthrow Nineveh through reformation rather than destruction.

Jonah has been on a downward trajectory since he first was commanded by God to preach against Nineveh. His rebellion against God's command took him all the way down to the gates of Sheol (the grave). It was in his darkest hour that he cried out to the Lord and God chose to save his life by grace alone.

Jonah, a prophet of Yahweh, is running from the presence of Yahweh in his disobedience. However, Jonah's disobedience is contrasted with the pagan sailors and their desire to obey Yahweh. In this section, we will watch the sailors go from fearing their circumstances, to fearing their gods, and ultimately to fearing Yahweh Himself.

The Book of Jonah puts God's love for the nations on full display, but it also demonstrates Israel's hard-heartedness towards the nations. While Jonah had been happy to proclaim God's Word to Israel, he ran away from giving God's Word to the nations. As believers, we must seek to love the nations as we seek to reflect God's love.

In the final sentences of the book of Romans, Paul gives all glory to God for all that he has just taught. The Gospel that Paul taught is a Gospel that gives all glory to God alone. As believers, we must recognize that every good and perfect gift (including our salvation) is from God alone and is to the glory of God alone.

The final exhortation from Paul to the Romans is to watch out for wolves, those who seek to be divisive and cause stumbling blocks for others. Churches must always be on guard against wolves and must seek to insure their doctrine is always in line with Scripture. We are in an age of deception, and wolves are looking for good churches to devour.

Peter calls his readers to love Christ, believe in Christ, and rejoice in Christ. These three commands exemplify a life committed to Christ, a life of faithfulness.

Paul spends 16 verses recognizing others with who he had ministered with throughout his ministry. He mentions over 26 individuals and 5 assemblies and commands his readers to "Greet" them 16 times. Overall, we see that Paul needed others and ministry and greatly appreciate their ministry alongside his.

Paul sought to be faithful to the calling that God had placed on his life, and was careful to plan, prioritize, and pray for his ministry. What has God called you too and how can you be faithful to that calling? Christians must look to Paul's example of faithfulness, as he followed the example of Christ, and learn from his life and ministry.

Paul says for us to follow his example as he follows Christ's. What does that look like? Paul explains what a true minister of Christ looks like in both word and deed. Christians today need to find faithful ministers who will faithfully lead them in the Scriptures, both in their teaching and life.

Why did the Son of God become a man? As Isaiah the prophet clearly states, the Servant of God (the Son of God, Jesus Christ) came to die for the sins of the "many." Without the death of Christ, there would be no forgiveness of sins. However, He will return again to see His offspring and be satisfied in His triumph over sin and death.

Jesus took our place on the cross and paid for our sins with His blood. Salvation is available for all who would believe in that statement. Have you received the life giving blood that was shed on the cross for you and me?

Who will believe the magnificent plan that God has put forward concerning His Son, the Suffering Servant? The arm of the Lord is demonstrated in the salvation that is only available through His Son, Who died on the cross for you and I.

We are all called to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us. We are not to divide over ethic lines, such as Jew or Gentile, but are called to live according to the love that we have received in Christ.

Luke seeks to provide his readers with "the exact truth concerning the Christ." The most important question you can answer is the truth concerning the Christ. Do you know who the Christ is and have you bowed your knee to Him?

We, as Christians, must seek to love one another as our Lord loved us. Christ never sought to please Himself, but laid His life down for us. If Christ gave His life for us, can't we aim to bear with the failings of the weak? Thus, we must seek to be pleasing to both God and others.

The issue of conscience is incredibly important and yet often neglected in Christian communities. We are called to build one another up rather than tear one another down. It is this issue that Paul focuses upon in his letter to the Roman church, calling for Christians to be willing to sacrifice their liberties in the pursuit of love for the weaker brother or sister.

To eat or not to eat, that is the question. When should Christians set aside their liberties to show love to a weaker brother or sister? This is the question that Paul deals with in Romans 14. As Christians, the primary pursuit should always be love, especially when dealing with those who stumble over liberty issues.

The reason Christians are not to pass judgment or to despise one another concerning differing opinions on issues of liberty is because Jesus is Lord. Every knee will bow to God and God will judge His servants. Therefore, we must respect one another's opinions on non-essential issues and seek unity is areas of liberty.

In Paul's concluding arguments, he turns to the immediate issue at hand in the Roman Church: unity. The questions are not issues of Gospel essentials but of liberty. While there are strong and weak positions, the main command is that the strong welcome the weak among them.

How should Christians treat one another in areas of liberty? Should Christians quarrel over areas that are considered to be "non-essential" to Paul, especially if we regard how the Christian ought to relate to the Mosaic Law? Paul explores the differences in chapter 14 and gives direction to believers on how they ought to treat one another.

How do you dress each morning? A simple question, but one we do not often think about. While more thought is given to physical dress, the Bible commands that we put on the Lord Jesus daily? What does that mean and how do we do it? Hear Paul's teaching on dressing in Christ.

The amazing suffering our Lord Jesus bore for His bride is beyond imagination, in that He drank the cup of God's wrath to the full for us. It is in the garden where Jesus was faced with His greatest temptation, yet He overcame so that we might have life abundantly through His atoning sacrifice.

What is the foremost debt that Christians must pay? The debt of love. Christians must prioritize their life around the principle of love, as love is the fulfillment of the Law. Christ gave His followers a new commandment for the New Covenant: to love others as Christ loved us.