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 Photography by Richard Thomas  Inspired Christmas Greeting Cards  NowBible Color, NASB--Audio/Video Bible Reader (4GB) By Nowbible (the Danteck Group) New name, more memory, new features-more translations! Introducing the NowBible Color, featuring the complete Bible in both text and audio formats in bright, brilliant, color! Now you can Read and Listen to the Bible at the same time using this brilliant full-color hand-held PDA! Read by Stephen Johnston. Features
 The Lazarus Phenomenon, DVD By Eternal Pictures What happens when we die? Has anybody really come back from the grave? You'll be astonished as you view the true-life---near-death---stories of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu and surfer Ian McCormack. Filmed on location, this fascinating DVD also features interviews with leading experts and with those who were "dead" and came back to tell their tales. Approx. 103 minutes.  Second Chances, DVD By Bridgestone Group When an accident claims the life of her father and the use of her legs, 10-year-old Sunny Mathews withdraws from life. But when she and her mother move next door to a horse farm operated by former rodeo star Ben Taylor, things begin to change. Can a crippled, mean-spirited horse perform miracles? Based on a true story. Approx. 100 minutes. |
written by Richard Thomas November 03, 2004 Jonah was reluctant to go to Nineveh out of animosity toward a nation that repeatedly harassed the children of Israel. Quite often the Assyrian army would descend upon the crops of the children of Israel like locusts, causing death and widespread food shortage. Assyria became the chastening rod of the LORD to bring His disobedient children to repentance, because they would not heed God’s word spoken by His messengers, the prophets. When the word of the LORD came to Jonah, he was disappointed to hear that his commission was to go and preach repentance to a race of people that showed no mercy toward the children of Israel. Jonah knew that if Nineveh repented, the LORD would forgive them. But Jonah could not forgive them for the pain and suffering the Assyrians caused his people. As Jonah ran from his responsibility, the hand of the LORD pursued him. Going down to the seacoast town named Joppa, Jonah found a merchant ship that was sailing to the other end of the known world. Tarshish (Spain) was the farthest point west on the map and so was considered the end of the world. Jonah paid the fare and before he got to his preferred location, he was tossed overboard for reasons explained in the book that bears his name. Before we proceed with our study, I would like to address a question that has put the book of Jonah under much skepticism over the years and has caused doubt to rise in the heart and erode the faith of those that do not diligently study God’s word. How large was the creature that swallowed Jonah? When considering what it was that swallowed Jonah, one must consider the size of the animal. Fish and whales come in different colors and sizes as well as eating habits. Fish: The largest fish ever captured and recorded was a Whale Shark in Thailand in 1919 - before it was eaten and brings up a question - What really happened to dinasaurs?- Whale Shark's length was 59 feet long. Certainly large enough to swallow Jonah. Whale Sharks are plankton eaters, and during a storm dive deep to avoid the turbulence on the surface. Great White Sharks are certainly large enough to swallow a man. But being consistant with the species, they tear off chunks of their prey and swallow them in pieces. Fish in general eat this way and do not make good dinner guests. Whales The largest animal on planet Earth is the Blue Whale. The largest Blue Whale was captured and recorded in 1926 ( before being sliced up for sale ) was just over 109 feet long. Blue Whales are found in every ocean on the planet and that includes the Mediterranean Sea where Jonah was thrown overboard. Another thing to ponder is the probability that there were a lot more Blue Whales that may have been even bigger during Jonah's day. Some whales have teeth for catching and eating their prey, such as Orcas or Sperm whales. Blue Whales eat tiny crustaceans, plankton and small fish that they strain through comb like plates called Baleen. Blue Whales are among the class of Baleen Whales. In otherwords, they don’t chew their food. They just swallow or gulp it down. Their Baleen plates act as screens trapping food while filtering out the water. Blue Whales do not have teeth, but their mouth is very big. Their stomach capacity is enormous. Over one ton (2200 lbs.) of food at one time can be held in its stomach. Everything on a Blue Whale is big. During a storm, a whale would not be able to stay underwater very long to ride it out. If they stayed under too long they would drown. So they need to surface to breathe. Even during a storm. Not a Fish? Before the birth of Christ a very smart man by the name of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) wrote a book called Historia Animalium . In his book, Aristotle correctly reclassified whales as mammals. The Old Testament was completed before the birth of Aristotle. So up to the time of Aristotle it was commonly misunderstood that whales were fish. There are individials in the 21st A.D. century that label whales as fish. The episode of Jonah being swallowed by a great sea creature was recorded in the Hebrew language that the sea creature that swallowed and later barfed Jonah on to the beach was a great fish. When scribes copied by hand the Hebrew text they were very careful to copy exactly as was written. Aristotle recorded his discovery in the Greek language after the Old Testament was completed. Greek was the common language of the New Testament era. There are over 5000 Greek manuscripts available today, that record the events of the New Testament era. Now Jesus being greater than the wisest man that ever lived i.e. Solomon. Didn’t have to read Aristotle to know that whales are not fish. Jesus already knew that whales were not fish when he made reference to Jonah describing His death and resurrection. (See Matthew 12:38-42) Now if tomorrow some educated person reclassifies whales as another species, will that nullify the fact that Jonah was swallowed by a great sea creature. Not at all. The story of Jonah is not about whales or fish or sea creatures or a plant that grows over night to be eaten the next day by a worm. The story of Jonah is about repentance and a God that has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. (See John 3:16-17 and II Peter 2:9) God promises if a person or community truly repents, He will pardon and turn away the impending doom. (See Jeremiah 18:7-8) Skepticism of the Bible is the fruit of unbelief. Jesus told Nicodemus what speaks to us today - "...Unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God".[John 3:3] "...He(the Holy Spirit)...will bring to rememberance all that I have told you."[John 14:26] Therefore let us proceed to study the book of Jonah and ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand as we apply what we learn to our daily lives. Begin Study Jonah Chapter 1 read and review 1.(Verse 2) Whose voice did the LORD intend to use to bring His word to the great city of Nineveh? 2.(Verse 2) Why did the LORD send Jonah to cry against the great city of Nineveh? 3.(Verse 3) What did Jonah do instead of obeying God's word? 4.(Verse 4) What did the LORD do to prevent Jonah from fleeing his responsibilty? 5(Verse 5) Name at least one reaction the sailors had as a result of the storm. 6.(Verse 5) Name at least one thing Jonah did during all the commotion on deck? 7.(Verse 6) What did the ship's captain ask Jonah to do that might save everyone onboard? 8.(Verse 7) How was responsibilty for the storm determined? 9.(Verse 12) What did Jonah tell his shipmates to do to him that would cause the storm to stop? 10.(Verse 17) How did the LORD save Jonah from a watery grave? Jonah Chapter 2 read and review 1.(Verse 1) Where was Jonah kept for three days and nights? 2.What language is the Old Testament recorded in? 3.[Read Matthew 12:40] What creature did Jesus say Jonah spent three days and nights in? 4.Turn back to intro. What language is the New Testament recorded in? 5(Verse 2) When did Jonah cry out to the LORD? 6.(Verse 3) Whom did Jonah give credit to for tossing him into the sea? 7.(Verse 9) In all of Jonah's calamity, whom did he give credit for his salvation? 8. If Jonah had not repented, what do you suppose would have happened to him? 9.(Verses 2 and 7) According to the Hebrew text, what did Jonah liken the belly of the great fish to? 10.[Read John 3:16] What must we do to avoid eternal separation from God? Jonah Chapter 3 read and review 1.(Verse 1) Fill in the blanks to complete the following verse. "Now the _______ of the ________ came to _________ the second time saying..." 2.(Verse 2) Who got a second chance when the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time? 3.[Read II Peter 3:9] Whom does the LORD desire to repent and be saved? 4.(Verse 3) What did Jonah do the second time the word of the LORD came to him? 5(Verse 4) How many days did the LORD give Nineveh to repent? 6.(Verse 4) What was going to happen to Nineveh if they did not repent? 7.(Verse 5) Fill in the blanks of the following verse. "Then the people of ______________ believed in ______; and they called a _________ and put on _______________________ from the ___________________ to the _______________of them." 8.(Verse 6) Who was the greatest in Nineveh? 9.(Verse 6) What did the king of Nineveh do after he heard Jonah's message? 10.(Verse 10) What did the LORD do when He saw that all of Nineveh had repented? [Now read John 3:16] Jonah Chapter 4 read and review 1.(Verse 1) What was Jonah's reaction to the LORD not destroying Nineveh? 2.(Verse 2) What did Jonah hope to accomplish by fleeing to Tarshish? 3. What does it mean to forestall something? 4.(Verse 2) What was Jonah trying to prevent? 5(Verse 2) Name at least one thing that Jonah knew about the LORD's character. 6.(Verse 3) What would Jonah do rather than see Nineveh forgiven? 7.(Verse 5) What did Jonah do in order to sit back and hopefully, watch the destruction of Nineveh? 8.(Verse 6) What did the LORD do to make His servant more comfortable? 9.(Verse 6) Was Jonah happy about the plant that God caused to grow overnight to provide shade for His servant? 10.(Verse 7) What did the LORD do to the plant? *note:God not only provided shade for His servant He provided food for a little worm. 11.[Read Matthew 12:41] What is the book of Jonah all about? 12.[Read Matthew 4:17] What was the message Jesus preached to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? 13. If Nineveh had not repented, what would have happened to them? 14. If Jonah had not repented from the belly of the great sea creature, what would have happened to him? 15. [Read John 3:16,17 and 36] If you don't repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, what will happen to you? |
Christian inspired thought... [Advent] [Jonah] [Noah] [Sermon] [Church Supplies] [Sunday School Supplies] [Believer's Priority] [Priority 2] [Priority 3] [Priority 4] [Priority 5] [Terrorism] [The Trinity] [Praying Like Jabez] [The Lucifer Match] [Lenten Season] [The Great Commission] [The Love of Saint Patrick] [He is Risen] [The Gift of Saint Nicholas] [The Heart of Saint Valentine] [The Promise of Heaven] [Accuracy and Reliability of Scripture] [Abandonment to God] [War and Peace] [Collectible Framed Art] [Prescritption for spiritual Dehydration] [Deep Devotional Authors] ........ Inspired by God  Out of the Comfort Zone By Ray Comfort / Bridge-logos Publishing Most of us have our own "comfort zone"---the place where we feel safe and satisfied. However, circumstances often drive us out from that area in which we feel most comfortable. Such was the case when Ray Comfort found himself being taken 7,000 miles from his homeland in New Zealand, to speak to the daunting residents of the most dangerous part of Los Angeles, California. MacArthur Park was infamous for being the home of murderers, drug addicts, thieves, pimps, prostitutes, and unfortunately, the destitute and homeless. At times, this fast-moving and true-life drama will make your hair stand on end as you enter the dark side of the supernatural. It will also encourage you and lift your faith as you learn how a celebrated Hollywood actor teamed up with Ray Comfort to bring an amazing message to America. Originally published as My Friends Are Dying! and The Power of Darkness. Includes the previously published Miracle in the Making.  The Remarkable Journey of Jonah By Henry M. Morris / New Leaf Publishing Group A raging storm, a rebellious prophet, a giant fish . The remarkable journey of Jonah has captured the imaginations of believers and been scorned by skeptics. Henry Morris offers strong support for the truth of the story. Can a man live for three days inside a fish? Did Jonah actually die, and live again? What is Jonah's significance for the 21st century? Discover the answers when you read this fascinating commentary. 
Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the BibleBy Ray Comfort / Bridge-logos Publishing If the Bible proves itself to be the Word of the One who created all things, doesn't it make sense to search its pages? If there is a one-in-a-million chance that the Bible's promise of immortality and the avoidance of eternal damnation is true, we owe it to our common sense to take a look. Here Ray Comfort offers 100 reasons to believe the Bible is supernatural in origin. ![88368: Hell"s Best Kept Secret](http://ag.christianbook.com/g/product/8/88368.gif "88368: Hell"s Best Kept Secret") Hell's Best Kept Secret By Ray Comfort / Whitaker House Publishers Why are so many unbelievers turning away from the message of the gospel? Doesn't the Bible tell us how to bring sinners to true repentance? If so, where have we missed it? The answer may surprise you. One hundred years ago, Satan buried the crucial key needed to unlock the believer's heart. Now Ray Comfort boldly breaks away from modern tradition and calls for a return to biblical evangelism.  Ken Davis Live: Second Chances, DVD By Ken Davis / Crown Entertainment This live recording of Ken's brand new message, Second Chances, is an inspiring look at the lessons learned from the story of Jonah. The gigantic gastric problems Jonah gave to the big fish that gulped him down were nothing compared to the fleeing prophet's spiritual discomfort! With his trademark humor and winning compassion, Ken Davis challenges us to understand Jehovah as Jonah finally did---as the God of second chances who prefers mercy to judgment! Region 0. Approx. 60 minutes.  Wesley Gold By Ray Comfort, comp. / Bridge-logos Publishing Wesley Gold is filled with precious nuggets---refined words from one of God's greats. This book tells you:
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