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God is Relentless in His Compassion – Jonah 4

Brian Hopkins

March 9, 2025

Recall from our previous study that the people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, and that God therefore relented from the destruction of the city that Jonah had foretold in his brief prophetic message. Here in Jonah 4 we see that Jonah was highly displeased with the compassion God showed toward the Ninevites, forgetting the compassion God had shown to Jonah himself by rescuing him out of death through His sovereign provision of the great fish that swallowed and preserved him. God's mercy upon Nineveh is not at all what Jonah expected, and he didn't hesitate to tell God exactly how he felt about it.

The Twelve – Philip

Brian Hopkins

March 2, 2025

Our information from scripture about Philip is limited, so we need to infer what we can about Philip from these few mentions of him taking care not to read anything into the scripture. We see that Philip was called directly and individually by Jesus to be one of His apostles. We also see in the story of the feeding of the 5,000 that Philip was somewhat pedantic and literal in his understanding of the lessons Jesus taught him. When he was approached by some Greeks who wished to see Jesus, Philip was cautious. It wasn't Philip's nature to be brash and decisive like Peter and the sons of Zebedee.

God is Relentless in His Grace – Jonah 3

Brian Hopkins

March 2, 2025

In our study of Jonah so far, we have seen God's relentlessness in His pursuit of Jonah when the so-called "Reluctant Prophet" tried to run away from God's call for him to go to Nineveh. Then we saw God's faithfulness in rescuing Jonah out of death, and Jonah's gratitude for God's mercy. Now in Jonah 3, we see God's infinite grace and mercy not only upon the prophet he rescued out of death, but also upon the Ninevites to whom God called Jonah to preach a message of repentance. God's grace is particularly manifest in that He knew the Ninevites' repentance was only temporary in their fearful response to Jonah's prophecy of their destruction.

The Twelve – John

Brian Hopkins

February 23, 2025

John - who refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" - was the human scribe who wrote five books of the New Testament. John was part of Jesus' inner circle of chosen apostles who was present at the Mount of Transfiguration along with his brother James, and Simon Peter. From the cross before He died, Jesus entrusted the care of His mother Mary to John. Of the remaining 11 after Judas Iscariot died, only John was not put to death for his Gospel testimony as far as we know from the scripture itself.

God is Relentless in His Rescue – Jonah 2

Brian Hopkins

February 23, 2025

All of the events that took place during Jonah's mission to Nineveh occurred in accordance with God's will and by God's power. When Jonah tried to run away from God's calling, God relentlessly pursued Him, and made it possible for Jonah to be redeemed out of death by His provision of the great fish that swallowed him. Jonah understood all this, and cried out to God for salvation knowing that God would hear his prayer and answer him in accordance with His plan and His will out of His abundant mercy and grace. God had a purpose for Jonah who hadn't yet fulfilled it.

The Twelve – James Son of Zebedee

Brian Hopkins

February 16, 2025

Jesus gave the two sons of Zebedee - James and John - the nickname Boanerges meaning "Sons of Thunder." Although this name is found only once in scripture, we are intrigued by it because we can imagine several reasons why Jesus might have tagged the brothers with it. James (sometimes called James the greater) was one of three apostles in Jesus' so-called "inner circle" along with his brother John and Simon Peter. These three were present with Jesus when He was transfigured before them. This inner circle were among seven of The Twelve to whom Jesus appeared on the shore of the Sea of Galilee following His resurrection. After Jesus ascended to His father, James was one of the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem. Of course, Judas Iscariot was the first of the twelve to die, but James Son of Zebedee became the first of the twelve to be martyred for his Christian testimony when Herod had him executed.
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