Jonah 1 — The Reluctant Evangelist
Preached at Mona Vale Anglican — 18 September 2016
This sermon opens the Jonah series with three fears in the passage:
• The fear of Nineveh — a brutal, violent superpower whose cruelty was legendary.
• The fear of the sailors — terror that becomes worship when the storm obeys the living God.
• The fear of Jonah — not primarily fear of death, but fear that God might forgive people he believes don’t deserve mercy.
It’s a text that exposes our own reluctance, our prejudices, and our boundaries — and shows us the God who “will show mercy on whom he will show mercy.”
Bible Readings:
Jonah 1; 2 Corinthians 3:7–18.