Steadfast Love: The Tempest - Part 1

Series Title: Steadfast Love: A Story about Running Away

Sermon Title: The Tempest (1:1-16)

Description: When the word of the Lord calls the prophet Jonah to go to Israel's enemy, Nineveh, he chooses to flee from the presence of the Lord instead. Paying the fare for a ship to Tarshish, Jonah discovers that running away in sin always costs more than we wanted to pay. But God refuses to let His running prophet go.

By hurling a massive storm onto the sea, the Lord reveals His absolute sovereignty over creation and aggressively pursues Jonah's heart. While the pagan sailors panic and cry out to their gods, God’s own prophet is found fast asleep in the cargo hold. This opening message of our series reminds us that the storms we face are not always just bad events coming down upon us, but a loving God coming after us to awaken us to His boundaryless compassion.