Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Readings for Sunday, January 21, 2018

Hello Everyone,

The following is a slightly edited repeat from my 2012 commentary. Enjoy.

Yeah!!!! Jonah’s Back. So here we go.

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 – PLEASE, Please, please read all of Jonah. It is only 4 chapters long. Here is the synopsis and with only one question: Jonah is called to go east to Nineveh but hops a ship to go west. Ship runs into a nasty storm and as a last straw the crew throws Jonah overboard. Jonah is swallowed by a (pay attention here) large FISH, not a whale. Jonah prays to God. Fish vomits Jonah up on a beach. Jonah goes to Nineveh and prophesied “Forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown.” All of Nineveh repents, from the king to all the people to even the animals, and God has mercy. Jonah pouts and pouts (he hates Nineveh). God makes a bush grow to give Jonah some shade. It dies and Jonah pouts. God chastises Jonah asking, "And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?". The question: What do Jonah do?

Psalm 62:5-12 – Verses 5 and 6 are a repeat of verses 1 and 2. Verses 3 and 4 tell us that the psalmist is suffering at the hand of others. Who is the psalmist waiting for and why? Who is the psalmist speaking to in verses 8-10? What does he want them to do? What two things belong to God in verses 11-12? What does the last part of verses 12 say to you and how do you resolve it with Paul’s teaching that all are saved by faith alone?

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 – This is the second week of five we will spend in 1 Corinthians. This can be a difficult passage to understand. What is Paul asking believers to do and why? What is Paul’s expectation when he wrote the letter? What about our times? How should we behave?

Mark 1:14-20 – Mark is in a hurry to tell his story so he doesn’t elaborate on the details. Verses 12 and 13 are about Jesus’ temptation with no details. The same for verses 14 and 15 about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Just a brief mention. Matthew 4 and Luke 4 give more detail to both. Where is Jesus in verse 16? Who were the first two disciples and what was their occupation? What did Jesus say they will do? Who were the next two disciples? Who was their father? What were they doing at the time?


Have a great week serving God by serving your neighbors.

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary

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