The Gospel According to.....

I have noticed that there are a lot of books entitled "The Gospel According to....."  I've seen the gospel according to Harry Potter, Disney, The Big Lebowski, The Simpsons, The Beverley Hillbillies, among others.  I even have the Gospel According to Star Wars, Superman, and LOST.

Why why are there so many books about how pop culture can be seen in the bible?  Well I think there are many reasons.  First, the bible has sold more copies than any other book.  Second, the bible is still relevant after all these years, few books have been relevant for that long.  Third, we should look for the bible in as many things as we possibly can because is it relevant and because it is so important.  The bible can teach us so much that we look for it in anything and everything.  Not only do we do that, but we should do that.  That keeps the bible relevant in today's world and in our individual lives.

kevin

Jonah, Jonah

     The last couple of weeks we have talked about the story of Jonah.  Thomas Q. Robbins is also conducting a sermon series on Jonah.  Growing up as a kid the only thing I really knew about Jonah was that he was swallowed by a whale and spit up (or as veggie tales puts it barfed up) on shore three days later.  I suppose that everyone knows that part of the story because we have seen plays or musicals about it or because it makes for interesting coloring pages for children.  But really that is only a small part of the story.  In fact the whale is only mentioned in these three ways:
     1. the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah (1:17)
     2. from inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord (2:1)
     3. the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land (2:10)
     The big fish is a very important part of the story.  God sends the fish as a means of salvation not punishment. (thanks to the Wesley Study Bible for making me sound so eloquent.)
     There is much more to the story.  Jonah first responds to God's call by running away and then when given a second chance (after being swallowed by a big fish) he does what God asks.  How many times have we ran the other way when we are asked to do something?  How many times have we not responded to God's call when asked?
     And yet God does for us what he did for Jonah.  Time and time again we are given a second chance to do what is asked of us by God.  Not because we deserve it but simply because that is who God is and what he willingly does for us.

grace&peace
kevin