Repentance (Jonah 1:5–2:10)

Title: Repentance 

Text: Jonah 1:5–2:10

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I will never forget a particular lady who came into my office and informed me that she was a prostitute. She said, “I need help; I’m desperate.” So I presented the claims of Christ to her. Then I said, “Would you like to invite Jesus Christ into your life?” She said, “Yes,” and she prayed. I said, “Now, I want you to do something. Do you have your book with all your contacts?” She said she did. I said, “Let’s light a match to it and burn it.” She looked at me and said, “What do you mean?” I said, “If you want to live for Jesus Christ, and you’ve truly accepted His forgiveness and met Him as your Savior, then you need to prove it.” She said to me, “That book is worth a lot of money. I don’t want to burn it.” She put it back in her purse and looked me right in the eye and said, “I guess I don’t really want Jesus, do I?” Then she left.

When it came down to counting the cost, she wasn’t ready. I don’t know what the outcome of that poor woman has been. I do know that she knew the facts and believed them, but she was not willing to make the sacrifice. What she kept wasn’t worth anything compared to what she could have had in Jesus Christ. (John MacArthur)  

God’s Missionaries to the World and Satan’s Missionaries to the Church (3 John)

A church is made up of people—not buildings; flesh and blood—not brick and mortar. It seems beyond some people’s capacity to picture a church as something more than a building. If you tell some people, “A church is not a building; it is a group of people who gather weekly to give their worship to Jesus,” they look at you as if you were doing the twist in a hip-hop world. Or maybe better for our county, as if you were doing the waltz at a country line dance. That’s out of place. It doesn't fit.

Christian Hospitality – Part 2 (2 John 5–11)

Title: Christian Hospitality

Text: 2 John 5–11

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My wife and I try to get our children in bed by a certain time every night. When they go to bed, we stay up and talk. Sometimes I will talk to her about the text I am preaching on Sunday. It helps me to hash-it-out in a community setting before I give it. You get the 10:30 a.m. version, and she gets the early service. Now, I don’t bring a pulpit in the living room and sing a couple of congregational hymns, but I do give a come-forward invitation (just kidding!). Just a five-minute conversation can help me ground all my exegesis in the reality of everyday life.