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-Small Groups -  Click here for information or to sign up for a Small Group

-The Music Man will be presented as our fall theatrical event...click here (www.ChristMemorialProductions.org) for full details and audition information. 

      Performances: November 13, 14,15 at 7:30 pm and November 16 at 2:00.

      Auditions: August 16 and 17 from 1- 5 PM..

Devotions

Jonah

Buried for Three Days

Readings: Jonah 1:1-17 and Matthew 12:38-41

The Lord told Jonah to go preach His word to the people of Nineveh, to the east. But instead, Jonah gets on a boat to Tarshish and heads west. But try as he might there was no way to avoid the Lord’s mission. The judgment of God fell upon Jonah so that a violent storm arose and nearly sank the ship. Jonah knew he could not escape. He willingly accepted God’s verdict.

So to quiet the sea and save the sailors, Jonah told them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea . . . and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you” (Jon. 1:12). This early in the story we already see a picture of Jesus. Unlike Jonah, Jesus had done no wrong; nevertheless, Jesus accepted the guilty verdict of His Father for us. He knew He must die. As Jesus hung on Calvary’s cross, the wrath of God swamped over Him and consumed Him (Ps. 88, especially verses 7 and 16).

The Lord caused a huge fish to swallow up Jonah, and he remained inside the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights (Jon. 1:17). So also when Jesus died, He was placed inside the tomb for three days. Jesus Himself made this comparison, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40). After three days the huge fish vomited Jonah onto the land (Jon. 2:10). The fish released Jonah at God’s command.

So also after three days, death could not hold our crucified Lord (Acts 2:24). He gloriously rose from the dead just as He said He would (Luke 24:1-8). After being released on the ground, Jonah went to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s Word. The king repented. The Ninevites believed and many were saved (Jon. 3:3, 10). So also after our Lord’s resurrection, the preaching of his Word goes forth today and many are saved. Just as Jonah preached to the Ninevites, so Jesus still is sending His Holy Spirit into the hearts of pastors, teachers, parents, and to all who share His Good News of salvation. Jesus explained to His disciples, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).

We can learn a great deal from Jonah. Let’s not turn and run from those who need to hear God’s Word. May our Lord’s resurrection inspire us to share the message of His love at appropriate times and in winsome ways (1 Pet. 3:15). Some people are unwilling to follow the example of the Ninevites. They believed and were saved. Some today refuse to listen to the words of Jesus even though He is raised from the dead (Luke 16:27-31). These doubters and skeptics need our love, our persistence, our patience, and our prayers.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, just as Jonah was inside the great fish, so also for three days You were in the grave. Help me to share the message of Your glorious resurrection. Send your Spirit to open the hearts of those who do not yet believe. Amen.