Church Is Messy: Intro to Jonah

Rick and Svea introduce us to the book of Jonah and its timeframe in history. This is a book filled with comedy and satire; in many ways hundreds of years before its time, and yet is has profoundly important questions and themes it wants us to deal with.

Note: this episode was recorded prior to the first message being given.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• 00:00 Intro.
• 02:20 Background of the book of Jonah - it's like the arc of the entire Bible condensed into a few chapters.
• 05:01 Synopsis of Jonah.
• 08:33 The focus: are we aligned with the heart of God or will we insist on God doing something different.
• 10:16 Two camps of thought regarding Jonah: the book as historical narrative or the book as parable.
• 14:36 If we regard the book as parable are we removing some of the story's potency?
• 16:00 Pride + Ignorance = Foolishness. Humility + Instruction = Wisdom.
• 19:16 Coming to Scripture with preconceived ideas about what it says vs approaching the text in humility and letting it speak to us.
• 22:14 In our scientific and post-Christian culture, Jonah is the sort of story people love to point to and discredit our faith or the credibility of the Bible.
• 25:15 So, is Jonah historical narrative or is it a parable?
• 32:15 What is the theme on which this series will focus?