January 24, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for January 24th: Jonah 3:1-5,10; Psalm 62:5-12, I Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20 Theme: Come Follow Jesus Song: Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling UMH 348 Mark: During the Epiphany Season, we have been looking at what it means to be follow Jesus to the Cross. We are looking at the way that God speaks to us and gives us marching orders in life. Jesus came to Earth to give the good news to people. Even though he was the messiah, he soon realized that he could not transform the world alone. We hear the story of how he was able to reach out and recruit 12 ordinary citizens into his mission. They were not ordained, they did not study the bible all of the time. They were ordinary men who were committed to the normal things in life. And yet each was willing to give all of that up to step into the mission of the messiah. They did not always get what Jesus was about, but they all remained faithful. They were willing to make faith a part of their ordinary life. They were able to truly make a difference. What would happen if we chose to listen to the call to come and follow me. Jonah: As a child, this was one of my favorite bible stories. I loved the pictures of Jonah in the belly of a whale. As an adult, as a pastor this is an important lesson. Jonah was willing to listen to the call of God. He just did not really care for the people that he was called to serve. And yet he learned that he could resist God’s instruction, but God always finds a way to make us pay attention. When Jonah was willing to obey, he was hoping that the people would not listen so that he could feel justified in hating them. But they listened and followed God. The lesson for us is that God loves everybody, even those whom we don’t agree with. Questions: How are you like the disciples? What is God calling you to do for the world? What group of people do you feel is not worth saving? What would happen if you thought of them as children of God?