As I read Jonah 3, one question that keeps popping up in my mind is, "How am I helping others walk one step closer to Christ?" This is what Jonah was doing for the people of Nineveh over his three-day ministry within the city. In fact, as I think about the mission Christ called us to in Matthew 28, this is what Jesus was calling us to do for the world—to go and make disciples who seek to walk one step closer to Christ. This Sunday, we will consider our purpose in this world and how we can help others follow Jesus.

Have you ever tried to hide from God? Have you ever gone out of your way to avoid contact with Him? I think every one of us, at some point, has pushed God away or at least tried to sidestep Him. The prophet Jonah was no different. Jonah ran from God because God had disappointed him. As Jonah discovered, we can try and run from God but we can't hide from Him. This Sunday, we will unpack the incredible and patient grace of God and how running to God is always our best option.

Jim Cymbala writes in his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, "Prayer cannot truly be taught by principles and seminars and symposiums. It has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. If I say, 'I ought to pray,' I will soon run out of motivation and quit; the flesh is too strong. I have to be DRIVEN to pray." This Sunday, we will discover that Jonah was DRIVEN to pray in the belly of that big fish. In fact, we will learn that the best place for us to think is with God in prayer. So join us Sunday as we wrestle with prayer.