People of the Bible: Jonah

Bible Story: Jonah 1-4

Who was Jonah?

Jonah was a prophet from Israel around the 8th century BC. Jonah was called by God to preach the gospel to Nineveh. Nineveh was known for their evil wickedness. God told Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh that God’s judgment was going to come upon them if they didn’t change their ways.

But Jonah disobeyed God and he went the other way. Jonah got on a boat and while he was sleeping a huge storm arose and Jonah was eventually thrown overboard. The Bible tells us that because Jonah tried to run from God, God appointed a big fish to come and swallow him.

While in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed to be saved and God listened to him. After three days, the big fish spit Jonah out on dry land. There God spoke to Jonah again and told him a second time to go preach to Nineveh. This time, Jonah listened and went to Nineveh.

Once Jonah arrived, he started telling the people that God would destroy the city in 40 days. At hearing this, the king of Nineveh repented and called the whole city to return to God. Because of this, God relented from his judgment and saved the 120,000 people of Nineveh.

However, Jonah was not happy that God showed compassion to these people. Jonah thought that because these people were wicked they should be punished. But God taught Jonah a valuable lesson. All people are wicked and have sin in their lives, but all people are God’s people. We all deserve punishment for the sins we’ve committed, but God shows compassion on us everyday so we can live with him.

This compassion was never more clear than when God, in human form died on the cross for our sins. Even though we deserved destruction, Jesus showed us compassion and through grace has taken our sins upon himself. When we repent and return to a relationship with God, God’s anger subsides and we get to experience fellowship with him.

Jonah’s story is special because it shows us so clearly how Christ acts on our behalf. In fact, Jesus compared himself to Jonah (Matthew 12:40). Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, and Jesus would be dead for three days. But we know he didn't stay dead. Three days later, he defeated death, hell, and the grave by coming back to life! It’s through Jesus that our sins can be wiped away & forgiven. We just need to repent & turn back to God each day.

Key Takeaways:

• God calls people to repent.

• We need to pray and obey God.

• God forgives people who ask His forgiveness.

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Jonah this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Daniel

Bible Story: Book of Daniel

Who was Daniel?

Background:

• Daniel and his friends; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, along with thousands of other Israelites had been exiled to Babylon.

• King Nebuchadnezzar oppressed God’s people and attempted to conform them to Babylonian culture.

We pick up early in Daniel’s story. He and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been selected to undergo a three-year training period in Babylonian culture. This included everything from learning a new language to eating new foods. Unfortunately, the new foods they were offered we considered “unclean”. Eating these “unclean” foods would have defiled them and separated them from God.

So, instead of eating these foods, the men decided to only eat vegetables and drink water. At first, the guards were worried that Daniel and his friends would become weak. But before long, Daniel and his friends proved to be stronger than everyone else. Because of this, they were promoted and held high positions in the nation. God blessed them because they stayed faithful.

Daniel’s position and rank continued to increase the longer he lived. He had God’s favor in his life. He interpreted dreams and visions for the king which led to even greater prosperity. But eventually, people grew jealous of Daniel and the amount of favor in his life.

When a new king took the throne, the people convinced him to make a law where people could only pray to him. Anyone who prayed to anyone or anything besides the king would be thrown into a lion's den. The people did this because they knew Daniel was faithful and prayed to God every day. When Daniel heard the news of the new law the first thing he did was pray like he always had.

The people that were jealous of Daniel caught him praying and brought him to the king. The king liked Daniel but was required to throw him into the lions’ den because his law was irreversible.

Daniel was thrown in the lions’ den and everyone thought the lions would kill him. But the next morning the rock that was covering the den was removed and Daniel walked out unharmed. God had shut the mouths of the lions and saved Daniel because he was faithful. Then the people who were jealous of Daniel were thrown into the den and the lions ate them before they even reached the bottom.

In the account of Daniel, we see that God rewards faithfulness. Daniel got into trouble for obeying and following God. But because Daniel was faithful, God got him out of trouble.

We see a similar thing happen with Jesus. Jesus was faithful to God but people didn’t understand him. They had him killed and put in a tomb. But just like in Daniel’s story, the rock that sealed Jesus’s tomb was rolled away and Jesus walked out. And now we get to live resurrected lives with Jesus when we accept what he did for us.

Key Takeaways:

• Stay Faithful to the Lord

• Pray First in every situation

• Pray God’s Favor on your life & your children's lives

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Daniel this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Jeremiah

Books: Jeremiah & Lamentations

Who was Jeremiah?

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He’s given this name because he mourned for the nation of Israel and it’s upcoming destruction. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet right before the Babylonians would come destroy the city and exile its inhabitants. Jeremiah questioned his call initially due to his young age but God affirmed the call in Jeremiah 1:5 by stating that God had set Jeremiah apart and had always planned to use him.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

-Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

God told Jeremiah to warn the people that their rebellion would lead to their demise. He offered to relent from this punishment if they repented but the people failed to turn back to God. Part of the reason Jeremiah mourned was because he could see the upcoming destruction, and he pleaded with the people to change, but they refused.

Jeremiah prophesied gloom and doom. But there were many false prophets who said they were speaking for the Lord when God had not sent them. These false prophets were prophesying prosperity for Israel and the people chose to listen to them rather than Jeremiah. Later we learn that because of Israel’s rebellion and unwillingness to repent, destruction did come. What Jeremiah prophesied about came true.

Destruction came upon Israel like never before, but Jeremiah’s prophecy about punishment was paired with prophecy about hope in the future. Part of God’s punishment was to get the Israelites' attention and bring them back to himself. In the midst of chaos, God gives them a promise for a good future. God will eventually give them their land back and reestablish them as a nation, but first, God’s punishment on the nation must be released.

Here we see God’s judgement for sin, but also his mercy in giving His people new hope.

This hope was fulfilled partially when Israel was reestablished, but we saw it further fulfilled through Jesus. Jesus is who gives us all hope today. Because of His death for our sins and His resurrection, we can escape the judgment for our sins and live in heaven with Him for eternity. The world will one day experience God’s final wrath, but those who profess faith in Jesus will not experience this wrath. Instead, those people will live in His new mercy forever and ever.

Key Takeaways:

• We see the importance of LISTENING when God SPEAKS in Jeremiah's life

• Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. His prophecy was about punishment paired with prophecy about hope in the future for the children of Israel.

• There is HOPE because God sent JESUS & His word is TRUE

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Jeremiah this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.