Jonah – International Christian Fellowship Delft

Get up, let’s go! Come on! We’re going on a trip. We’re going to Nineveh!

This Sunday we start that journey – a new sermon series on the book of Jonah. Most people, even those who have never read the Bible, have some idea that the story of Jonah relates to a great fish, or maybe a great whale. Indeed, a great fish plays a small role in the story, but Jonah is about so much more than a supersized aquatic beast.

So far this year we have journeyed into the Kingdom of Heaven in our series from the Gospel of Matthew, ending with Jesus giving the church a great commission, to go into all the world making disciples of all nations. We continued that theme of the great commission in Paul’s letter to the Colossian church, with Paul rejoicing that the good news of Christ was fruitful and multiplying in all the world, and the mystery of God was now revealed, that Christ is for all nations.

Our series on Jonah will challenge us to think further and deeper about those themes, and how they relate to our congregation here in Delft and what it means for us personally, as individuals and as the body of Christ.

Come on, let’s go, we’re on the way to Nineveh – this week with a detour, and a bumpy ride that ends in a great fish.

Robert Landon

Speedbump Ahead!

Reading: Jonah 1:17-2:10

When you are on the road, watch out for the speedbumps. Sloooow …. dooooown …. Watch what you’re doing!

We are on a journey to Nineveh with Jonah, but this week we encounter a speedbump. That is what I think of poetry that has been woven into a narrative. Just like traffic managers put speedbumps in the road to slow drivers down, authors of biblical narrative have placed poetry in their stories to slow us down. This gives us time to reflect on the story, particularly from the point of view of the main character. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? How does the LORD respond?

This week we will be in chapter 2 of Jonah, with Jonah in the sea, inside a great fish. We will take time to reflect on the story and to reflect on how the story sheds light on our relationship with God.

See you this Sunday.

The LORD is Gracious!

Bob Landon

A City Turned Upside-Down

A five-word message was all it took. Revival broke out in the great city of Nineveh. Can you imagine that? What must it have been like? Is such a thing possible?

On July 8, 1741, during the Great Awakening revival in North America, the pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards began to preach a message in Enfield, Connecticut. It was a message that he would not finish that day. The weeping and shouts of repentance grew so loud that Edwards was forced to stop. That day, those who heard the message awakened to their need for the mercy and grace of Christ. That day, the Lord turned the town of Enfield upside-down.

This Sunday we continue our journey to Nineveh to see the “great awakening” that took place when Jonah began to deliver the Lord’s message to that great city.

Let us look forward to our time gathered for worship.

The Lord is Gracious!

Bob Landon

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Prophet

Read Jonah Chapter 4 ESV

Jesus said, “I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” If there is great rejoicing over one sinner repenting, how much more is the rejoicing when great multitudes turn from their evil way and receive grace and mercy from God!

Last week in the bulletin I recounted how the “Great Awakening” revival came to Enfield, Connecticut in 1741 when Jonathan Edwards began to deliver a message. The title of that message was “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Sounds rather harsh, but there was surely great rejoicing as a great throng of people entered God’s kingdom that day!

In like manner, the five-word message that Jonah delivered to Nineveh brought that whole city to repentance. One would think the prophet would rejoice, but instead he was angry. How can that possibly be?

At issue is seeing the world in general, and people in particular as God sees them. Jonah seems not to have been awakened to the reality of his own condition, and certainly not awakened to worshipful prayer focused on bringing a message of grace to sinners.

What about us today? This Sunday let us reflect on this question as we conclude our series on the book of Jonah.

The Lord is Gracious!

Bob Landon

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Bible Study

Bible Study on Thursday

Join our Bible Study again this Thursday, December 23, from 20:00-22:00! As usual, we meet in the Old Church (Heilige Geestkerkhof 25, 2611 HP, Delft).

Bob Landon will continue with us the study on the book of Jonah. This week will be the second last time we will look at Jonah. The next and last one will be on December 7. Be sure not to miss this! 😉 We are excited to dig into God’s word with you and find out what he wants to say to us.

Bible Study – Book of Jonah

You are warmly invited to join our Bible study series on the Book of Jonah.
When: This week, Thursday 09 November, 20.00 – 22.00

Continuing on:
23 November
07 December

Where: The Old Church, Heilige Geestkerkhof 25, 2611 HP, Delft. We use the side entrance.
(Please note, this is not the church where we meet on Sundays).

What: We are studying the book of Jonah, one of most well-loved books of the Bible. Many people are familiar with the character of Jonah, his extraordinary experience with a big fish, and the surprising results of his prophetic visit to the city of Nineveh. On the surface, the story is simple and can be easily told to children, yet there is a depth to the story that is nothing short of awesome!

Who: Bob Landon is leading. He has introduced us to the art of “inductive Bible study”. This is a simple step by step method which simply involves asking four questions: What do we see in the text? How do we understand it? What is the eternal truth of text? How do we respond to that truth?

He has also been briefly explaining some of the basic elements of Bible narratives (stories). Everyone understands stories, but we are taking a closer look at some parts of Bible stories that will help us see more in the text.

Jonah also includes a short poem. The wonderful thing about Hebrew poetry is that the most important qualities of the poetry can be translated into other languages without hardly losing any of the beauty and meaning. We are learning how to read and appreciate more fully the poetry of the Old Testament in translation.

This is an interactive study, in which everyone has opportunity to discuss what they see in the text and how they understand it. Together we are working toward responding to the truths that are in the Bible.

The study is suitable for a wide variety of people, whether you are new to the faith or are exploring the beliefs of Christianity, or whether you have been a Christian for decades. Indeed, if you have read the story of Jonah countless times and have listened to many sermons from Jonah you might be surprised to find treasures in the text that you had not seen before.

We hope you can join us.