What would you do if God suddenly appeared and asked you to serve him by going to a place like Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. or better yet, a foreign city like Moscow or Teran and preach against sin and corruption? What would you do? Go and preach your heart or would you turn tail and run away?

This weekend as we begin our month-long focus upon SERVING, we start with an unlikely servant – Jonah! We know the story don’t we! He’s the prophet who tries to run away from God’s call to serve and is swallowed by a large fish. Realizing that he can not avoid God’s call, Jonah reluctantly goes to the great city of Ninevah and utters a mere eight words. But that’s all it takes for God to work in the lives of the people as they all repent of their wicked and corrupt ways. What a story of how God can use the most unlikely servant to bring about his purposes in this world.

As we gather this weekend, we cannot but wonder whether or not God can use the most  unlikely servants like you or me? Surely not, right! Perhaps…

Sermon Texts from the Narrative Lectionary:

Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 (4:1-11) – In spite of Jonah’s reluctance to call for repentance in Nineveh, God uses him to transform many lives. Luke 18:9-14, The Parable of the Pharisee and Sinner.