Is God good?
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James 1:17a
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Philippians 1:6
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Psalms 107:1a
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Romans 6:23, 8:28-31a, 37-39,
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The Refiner's fire
God often uses illustrations to help us better understand His truths. On this Grace Notes program, Barbara Sandbek begins a new series entitled ‘Why trials?’. She’ll take us through a detailed description of the refining process and show how God uses fiery trials to mold our character. So listen in as Barbara addresses the topic, ‘The Refiner’s Fire’.
God's provision
The book of Jonah is a book about God’s provision. It was evidenced when He sent a great wind on the sea to get the rebellious prophet back on the right track, and again when He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and safely deliver him onto dry land. God also provided salvation for the sailors who prayed to Him for help and the heathen Ninevites who repented. On our program today, we’ll conclude our study of Jonah and once again see God’s provision as He teaches Jonah an object lesson about His mercy.
Revival in the Land
God was merciful to Jonah in saving his life and in giving him another chance. It’s now time for Jonah to extend God’s mercy to the Ninevites. Jonah still doesn’t agree with what God is going to do, as we’ll see later, but he does yield his will to do what God commands. On our program today we’ll follow Jonah to Nineveh and see why God was so insistent on having this mission completed.
JUST DO IT!
In describing Jonah’s personality, one commentator wrote: He was a proud, self-centered egotist: willful, pouting, jealous, and blood thirsty; a good patriot and lover of Israel, but without proper respect for God or love for his enemies. What a poor assessment of a man who is supposed to be God’s spokesman. Do you think God will use Jonah with an attitude like that? We’d say ‘no’, but that’s where God’s mercy comes in. God extended mercy to Jonah by saving his life, and in His mercy, gave him another chance to obey. The poet Robert Frost said, "After Jonah, you could never trust God NOT to be merciful again." …So true. God is a God of second chances and we’ll see that demonstrated on our program today.
Did Jonah repent?
The definition for the word ‘repent’ is ‘to feel remorse, contrition or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do’. Oswald Chambers writes… Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes. On this program, our host, Barbara Sandbek, will look at Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish and see if he is truly repentant. But first, let’s hear a song that so aptly fits the situation Jonah has gotten himself into.
Making a new start
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:2…”I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” This knowledge allowed him to endure the many sufferings he received in his ministry, and still write heartfelt instructions from his experiences that even we follow today. Resolutions are good things to make as long as we rely on the direction of the Lord to DEFINE them and His strength to KEEP them. On our program today, Barbara Sandbek will discuss how we can determine what makes a Godly resolution.
The Christmas story lives on in you!
This is the last program in our Christmas story presentation. We’ve seen that God chose people who were, young, old, lowly, elite, and even peculiar, to play the roles. The common thread was that they were willing and ready. The beauty of the Christmas story is not just that Jesus CAME to earth, but WHY He came. Listen and hear more…
The Christmas Story
We hope you’ve enjoyed the Christmas Story these past few programs and that you’ve taken time to read it for yourself. On our last program, Barbara Sandbek told of the events that led up to the birth of Christ and described the surroundings in which the Savior of the world was born. Today, she will talk about the support players, and continue with the reading of the Christmas story.
What did Mary know?
On our last program, Barbara Sandbek began a series on the Christmas Story. She talked about some of the players and their roles. We learned that God’s ways are not our ways and that He chooses people to do His work, based on Godly character, rather than on outward appearance or status in life. Today, Barbara will continue with the other players, and begin the reading of the Christmas story.
The season to be busy?
HO HO HO 'Tis the season to be jolly! From the day after Thanksgiving, until the 25th of December, everybody is HAPPY. We hear Christmas music, shop 'til we drop, go to parties and attend performances. Then on the 26th of December, it's ALL OVER. We're left with un-decorating, bills, extra pounds, and even illness because we ate and partied too much. All this for one day! Christmas should really be in our hearts, EVERY day of the year! So...how can we prevent ourselves from being caught up in all of this? By focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. On this Grace Notes program, Barbara Sandbek is going to do just that. She'll begin a series on the Christmas Story, and bring out some interesting points you may not have considered. So prepare to be blessed - and don't miss a single broadcast as she unfolds the event with a Christmas song...