In Jonah chapter 2, Jonah cries out to God from the belly of the great fish that had swallowed him at the end of chapter 1. From this text we learn three main lessons: 1) God is answering your cry in spite of your sin, 2) God is rescuing you from you and 3) God is humbling you in order to give you a heart like his.

Is your heart aligned with God's heart? In Jonah chapter 3 we see what happens when God works in Jonah's life to align Jonah's heart to his. Despite Jonah's unwillingness to do any more than the bare minimum, God continues to work his plan of repentance and salvation through this reluctant vessel.

In chapter 4 of Jonah, we see the small, selfish heart of Jonah fully revealed. We see that he is nothing but disappointed that God is true to his character. As we read through this part of the story, Pastor Doug gives us 3 metrics to help us diagnose whether we also have a small, selfish heart or a big, merciful heart.

In the first act of the book of Job, we find a righteous man whom God allows to suffer horrible loss and then horrible disease. We see that through all of this, Job did not blame God or sin with his lips and his story foreshadows Jesus, who would be the greater Job, the only person who ever truly served Jesus perfectly without reward.

After Job loses everything in Act 1 of the story, three of Job's friends arrive, first to mourn with him, and then to offer advice. We see them repeatedly tell Job that he must have sinned and earned this tragedy, and nothing could be less helpful. When we have friends who experience tragedy and hardship the word HELP will aid us in remembering what to do: give HOPE, ENTER into their pain, LISTEN to what they say and PRAY patiently and steadfastly with and for them.

In part 3 of Job, we hear from God as he responds to Job's earlier complaints. God reminds Job that he is in control of everything, that nothing happens without his permission, and that Job could never begin to comprehend why things happen the way they do.

We begin our summer series looking at the story of Ruth. In chapter 1 we meet our cast of characters, some of whom are faithful to God and some who decide to disobey. As their story begins to unfold we are reminded that no matter where we are in life, our story is not over yet. God is still working.

In this chapter we see God use the most ordinary circumstances to guide and save His people. We see Ruth's willingness to go out and work to take care of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Then we see Boaz's commitment to follow God's commands despite what the culture around him says is right and acceptable. In all of this we see an example of humility toward God and an acknowledgement of His sovereignty in our lives.

This week we see Ruth, with Naomi's encouragement, take the lead in initiating a more romantic relationship with Boaz by visiting him in the middle of the night and sleeping at his feet. While this is certainly not how we would suggest someone go about pursuing a romantic relationship, we see that God works even through our poor choices and questionable motives.

In the conclusion to the story of Ruth and Boaz, we see Boaz step in and redeem both Naomi and Ruth. In a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do for the whole world, Boaz uses his riches for God's glory to rescue others who cannot rescue themselves. Although early on it looked like this story would not end well, we should not try to judge God's decisions without having His perspective.