the love in our lives every day, Father.
Lord, I lift up these prayer requests, Father.
I lift up the unspoken prayer requests, Father, the things that we may be holding on to, Father.
I pray that as we go out tonight, Father Lord, or even tonight, that we can open up about those things, Father.
Lord, that we can just speak our heart to you, Father.
Lord, there is nothing that we can't bring to you, Father.
Lord, I pray that you just protect those, Father, who are in the military.
Father, you protect our homeless.
Lord, I just pray that you can just watch over them.
Watch over them tonight, Father.
Lord, that you can just give them rest.
Lord, that you can surround them with your peace and your love, Father.
Lord, I pray that we can be a true light, Father, out in this world.
Lord, that we can reflect your light, that we can spread your love and pour out your fruit amongst others Father.
Lord, we continue to To bless us every single moment, Father.
Lord, quiet our minds.
Yes, Jesus.
Lord, just help us in this moment to really focus on you.
To fixate our eyes on Jesus.
Lord, we thank you for Jesus.
He came to this earth, Father.
And he made, and he gave, and he gave.
And up on that cross, he gave his life for us, Father.
Lord, that we have gained eternal salvation through His sacrifice.
Lord, according to Your perfect will.
Lord, help us preach the Word in truth, in love, Father.
Lord, that when others see us, they get a glimpse of Lord, I pray for those who may not know you.
Lord, I pray for those who may be struggling in their faith.
Lord, I pray for those who may go to bed tonight and just not have anyone to talk to.
Lord, we are so grateful to represent you, Father, as disciples.
Lord, your love and your mercy and your grace are consistent in our lives, Father.
You are constantly working in our lives.
Lord we love you we praise you we honor you in Jesus name I pray amen Lord Jesus I just want to start this prayer with scripture and this is titled Jesus blesses the little children then some children are brought to him so that he will lay his hands on them and pray and the disciples rebuked them.
But Jesus said leave the children alone and do not forbid them to come to me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
After laying his hands on them, he departed from there.
Lord Jesus, I just pray and ask that, as these kids come, that we would teach them that the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
That, Lord Jesus.
They're coming from broken homes and broken families and They have so much trauma.
And Lord, just help us to be a blessing to them.
They may have never received the blessing in their life.
They've never received the gift in their life.
We don't know what they're going through or what they're facing Lord, but we can be the hands and feet to serve them and bless them and love them with word and with action.
Lord, I just pray and ask that you would help Jared and Will and the whole team that's taking care of all this at Bridge, that you would give them wisdom, that you would give them guidance.
Lord, we just pray and ask that each and every single kid that comes here, that they would find home, that they would find a place where they're safe and, most importantly, that they would find you Jesus, if they don't know you.
Lord God, we just pray and ask that you would...
Have each and every single one of their hearts be ready soil, because the seeds will be planted each and every single time that we get to be around them.
Lord, help us not to forget about them.
Help us to be called to pray for each and every single one of them.
Help us to be brothers and father-like figures to them.
Lord, we just ask that if any of them need just a special healing touch tonight, Lord God from trauma.
They have unforgiveness in their heart.
They've been through something that we couldn't even imagine physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or whatever it may be.
Lord, we ask that your Holy Spirit, your comforter, would go and help them and touch them wherever they're at tonight.
Lord, we ask that each And every single night, that they lay their head down here in this mess hall, Lord Jesus, that they would have sweet dreams.
No more nightmares.
No more rehashing of the past.
That they will lie down and they will have sweet sleep is what your word says in Psalms 4.
That they will lie down and sleep in peace.
Jesus, if one of these little ones is what you call them in Scripture comes to know you as Lord and Savior and friend and Father, then every penny, every piece of sweat, every tear, every drop of blood, it will all be worth it if just one of your little children comes to know you.
We love you and we praise you and honor you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you, Jesus.
God, do you want us to go ahead and surround you with prayer for your mom?
If you would, I'd love that.
Everybody, get up and lay hands.
And Chris, if you could say a prayer, that would be awesome.
God, thank you for Matt.
Thank you for the courage, just the position he has, God, to just follow where you lead.
God, we just speak healing over his mom.
God, that your peace would be with the surgeons.
God, they would be with the nurses and the staff at the hospital.
God, that your presence would be there.
God, that your word would be manifest, God.
Anybody there that has a word to speak, God.
Let's hear in your voice God, that you would minister to the staff.
God, we know your surrounding spirits will be there and have an opportunity to minister in whatever capacity needs to happen God.
I just speak peace of mind and calmness of spirit over Matt's mom.
I just pray anxiety and nervousness would leave in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
The sweet spirit of God would come over her, and your peace that surpasses understanding would take over her to the point that she doesn't understand God, but she trusts you as she has trusted you in her life.
God,
You are in control as you have been in her life, God.
And we just speak health and healing, God.
We speak quick recovery, God.
We speak your presence all over everything that happens in that situation.
That you would be with her.
In Jesus' name we pray.
I never thought I could ever feel it, But your love gave me all that I need.
Part of mine was so far gone.
You came crashing in with a love so strong.
I never thought I could ever feel it, But your love gave me all that I need.
I can now remember what I was doing before I met you.
I've been captivated by a love that saved me And I'm in love.
I can now remember what I was doing before I met you.
I've been captivated.
This heart of mine is so far gone.
You came crashing in with love so strong.
I never thought I would ever feel it.
But your love gave me all that I needed.
This heart of mine was so far gone.
It came crashing in with a love so strong.
I never thought I would ever feel it.
Your love gave me all that I needed.
And I'm in love.
I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you.
I've been captivated by your love this evening.
And I'm in love.
I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you.
I've been captivated by your love.
That saved me and you saved me.
You saved me and I will never leave your love.
You saved, You saved me.
I will never leave your love.
You saved me.
You saved me.
I will never leave your love.
You saved me.
You saved me And I will never leave Your love.
You saved me, You saved me And I will never leave Your love.
This heart of mine is so far gone.
Became passionate with a love so controlled.
I never thought I could ever feel it.
But your love gave me all that I needed.
And I'm in love.
I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you.
I've been captivated by a love that saved me, And I'm in love.
I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you.
I've been captivated By a love that saved me.
You saved me.
You saved me.
And I will never leave your love.
I'll never leave your love.
You saved me.
You saved me.
I will never leave your love.
Maybe we've made this complicated.
Sure.
More than it was ever meant to be.
Hasn't always been about the same thing.
Lord, bring us back to simple things.
Be the center of it all.
My heart belongs to you.
My Savior all in all.
You're the one I hold on to.
For the beauty of your name.
My soul will give to sing.
Jesus, I love you.
Teach us to discern the moment.
To serve and when to sit here at your feet.
Keep us awake to what's important.
Just like Mary, she chose the better things.
You are the center of it.
All My heart belongs to You, My Savior, all in all, You're the one I hold on to.
For the beauty of Your name, My soul will live to sing Jesus, I love you.
For you are the center of it all.
My heart belongs to you.
My Savior all in all.
You're the one I hold on to.
For the beauty of your name.
My soul will live to sing.
Jesus I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Jesus I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Jesus I love you.
My whole life.
For your glory.
My whole world.
For you only everything.
For the honor of your name.
Give my day.
Tell a story, let it be.
For you own everything.
For the honor of your name.
My whole life.
For you own my whole world.
For you own everything.
For the honor of your name.
Come on, tell the story, let it be of you only, everything for the honor of your name.
My whole life for your glory, my whole world for you only, everything for the honor of your name.
In my days till the storm.
Let it be Of you only everything For the honor of your name.
Oh how I love you.
Oh how I love you Jesus, I love you.
Oh, how I love you.
Oh, how I love you.
Jesus, I love you.
My whole life for your glory.
My whole world For you only everything.
For the honor of your name.
Give my days.
Tell a story.
Let it be.
Love you only everything.
For the honor of your name.
Oh, how I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Jesus I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Oh how I love you.
Jesus I love you.
For you are the center of it.
My heart belongs to you.
My Savior all in one.
You're the one I hold on to.
For the beauty of your name, my soul will live to see.
Jesus, I love you.
My soul will live to see.
Jesus.
I love you.
My soul will live to see Jesus.
I love you.
My soul will live to see Jesus.
I love you.
What can I say?
Somewhere to play.
Matt, I want to speak something over your family.
Yes, sir.
A year ago, a couple weeks ago, I had a back surgery.
I couldn't walk for two months.
And I was sitting in the hospital room and my surgery got delayed a half an hour.
Wow.
And I heard doctors coming down the hallway talking to people waking up and coming out of recovery.
And, um, I just started interceding for the people.
Just like you know God, if you have me here for such a time as this, then I want to release whatever you have in this room.
And I felt like a host of angels around my bed.
And it was like the prayers of my friends that I knew I could feel the prayers of my loved ones lifting me up.
And it was like God just told me to send it out down the hallway.
And it was like I was a pivot point for the kingdom of heaven, because I was carrying the presence of the Lord with me from all the prayers of me.
But I had the same opportunity to push that to the other people that were around me in the hospital room and And it was just maybe 20 or 30 minutes.
I just meditating and praying.
I just felt so strong that, like everything that was coming in there for me, God was giving me an opportunity to forward to everyone else on the floor.
And I didn't get any stories, you know, or testimony about that.
But it was a very impactful moment for me.
And I see that over you and your family and your mom, that situation, because you're going to carry so much light into a place where there's going to be a lot of people who are experiencing darkness in their life.
And I just speak of illumination, opportunity for revelation and the gospel to move in that space.
I mean, we believe a hundred percent for you know, health for your mom and healing, but obviously there's an opportunity there.
And I just I just speak to like open door and a usefulness for you guys in the kingdom while you're there.
Amen.
I receive it.
I can't wait for eternity.
In the song they're already singing.
Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord.
Thank you, Jesus.
Just bow down before your throne.
See your face and now cry out because you are holy.
Holy, holy are you, Lord.
Jesus, King of kings.
Jesus, King of kings.
Standing with those who have heard, well done.
Claiming forever that you're the one who's faithful, faithful, faithful are you.
What can we give but an endless praise?
The heaven for our salvation, our name is God.
In Jesus' majesty.
In Jesus' kingdom come.
Worthy, worthy Lord, another glance of glory we see once more.
Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord, forever, oh forever we sing.
Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord.
Another glimpse of glory we sing once more.
Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord.
Forever, forever.
Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord.
Worthy, worthy Lord Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb.
You are holy.
You're holy.
Are you Lord God Almighty?
What is love?
What is love?
You are holy.
You're holy.
Are you Lord God?
Come by me.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb Holy.
Holy is the Lamb.
Holy is the Lamb Christ.
Righteous is the Lamb.
Righteous is the Lamb Jesus.
Jesus is the Lamb.
Jesus is the Lamb.
You are holy.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
You are holy.
You're holy.
Almighty Worthy is the Lamb.
There's one and only Lamb.
There's one and only Lamb.
There's one and only Lamb.
He's holy.
He's so holy.
He is Lord God Almighty.
So worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Holy is the Lamb.
Righteous is the Lamb.
Jesus is the Lamb.
Jesus, majesty.
Jesus, king of kings.
Jesus, your majesty.
Let's take it.
Thank you.
Does anybody need to share just a little bit deeper about what they're going through right now in their life?
I just feel like this is a perfect time where there's so much peace and comfort and protection with the brothers.
Do you just feel like you just want to be a little bit more transparent than just when we were going through the prayer request?
I feel like this would be a perfect time to do so.
Yeah, there's a lot of fear.
Yeah and uh, anxiety was how my life is about to change.
Yeah and uh don't really know what to do.
But I'm just tired of feeling like I have to carry a burden of fear.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you for sharing, man.
Yeah.
Anyone else?
I'll share with you guys a little bit before about just feeling like I'm kind of in a turning point or a kind of waiting period.
I guess it's just a place I've never been spiritually in the capacity that I'm at it, I guess.
I feel like a lot of things in my life have been pretty grounded and through faith, I felt like I've been a pretty firm foundation.
Yeah.
Um, and I just have a lot of things that have kind of got shaken just with my place at my church, like just in my whole life.
Um, just to be honest, I've got a.
My wife and I took in an alcoholic seven months ago to live in our house.
Um, as a friend of ours, we watched him go through a program for a couple of years after we met him.
And, um, It's a lot, and so it adds a lot of dynamic.
Yeah, for sure.
That's really a struggle, and I think he's supposed to be there.
When I bought my house I told the Lord it was too big.
And I heard the Lord very clearly say find someone to live here.
And I told him that.
I said, look, dude, I bought this house for you before I knew you.
It's not easy to look at someone and say, I spent $150,000 for you.
Yeah.
But the dynamic is man.
It's not like angels are singing through the house every time we walk around.
Yeah.
And it's just made a really.
I'm not going to say it's made my marriage hard, but I think it's brought a lot of things to the surface that have been unaddressed because life's easy.
Yep.
And now life's not.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and I just uh, I'm on a teeter totter every day between like I need to say something or I don't need to say something.
Yeah.
Um, I get that.
So, and, and John's not like a professing believer.
He's probably the most intelligent guy I've ever met.
Um, so like, it's really difficult to talk to him.
Yeah. about faith because he has such a logical perspective of life.
Yeah.
Um so I don't mean to ramble, but um, there's just a lot of things that I'm wrapped up in.
I guess that really come down to other people's decisions and choices.
And I can't control any of that.
No, you cannot.
Um, I feel like sometimes the freedom I experience and I know, and I believe and I walk in is I don't want it to be inhibited by what's happening around me.
I don't want to offend anybody that's around me.
I don't want to make a hard spot because I'm just moving in a very clear direction or faith that I have when someone else does with me may not see it that way.
So, I know my wife's struggling with a lot of anxiety right now.
And depression, I'm sure, is there.
And she's holding a lot together.
She's at home all day with John at work.
And that's hard for me, but that's the reality.
So anyway, you know, just really It's like I know it's supposed to be like it is.
Like I've never been more comfortable in the most uncomfortable place I've ever been in my life.
Like as much as I hate it and I wish I could just drop a grenade, I feel like the Lord just saying, just like, just trust me.
So anyway.
I don't know.
I just feel like there's not a lot I can do in any capacity that will move, because it depends on so many other hearts other than mine.
Outside of just, and there's a lot of other things.
Like my stuff at church has been a couple years going and it's just, man, it's hard.
I love my church.
And God's doing a lot in me.
Dealing with pride, an ego and like a desire to help, when i've pretty much been told it.
It's not welcome.
Yeah um, so that's the long and the short for me.
I just i feel like i'm an advice, like i feel like i'm supposed to be here so like, whatever i need to learn and get out of it, i wish like the lord would just download to me so i can get out of it.
You know what i mean.
Yeah, it's that tight spot that feels helpless, but I know he's in control.
Yeah.
I appreciate you guys.
Yeah, no.
For bringing my son and myself in and accepting us.
For sure.
100%.
This is huge.
Like, you guys don't know how big of a deal this is for us.
Yeah.
Because it's probably the most free place I've been in the last two years of my life.
Like, in the presence of the Lord with the people of God.
Even in my church every week, it's frustrating.
And...
It's just a safe space for us, and I appreciate that.
Yeah, for sure.
I'm glad you can feel that way.
That's what I got, thank you.
Yeah, yeah, man.
You don't want to move on until everybody feels clear if they want to share.
If they need to.
We all feel good?
Perfect.
Well, if we can, I'd love to pray for both Chaz and Chris.
Yeah.
If we can, I'd love to do that.
Boys, you care if we huddle around y'all and pray for you?
Sure.
All right, well, let's do it.
Let's do it.
How you doing?
I'm just kidding.
All right.
Well, Lord Jesus, I just want to pray for Chris and Lauren.
I just pray and ask God that you would just...
I just think of David, where David was already anointed the king, but Saul was also still on the throne.
And so, while Chris already knows where he needs to walk and what he's walking in which is the title of son and free and holy and worthy and chosen however, there's still people in his life that kind of make him don't feel that way.
And so David, what happened to David?
David ran into the wilderness and he ran into the caves and he had all these opportunities where he could attack and he could kill King Saul.
But he knew it just wasn't what he was supposed to do.
I mean as you were speaking, that's just the stories that played over and over in my head is where David felt like he was just trapped.
Trapped where he was king, but he wasn't acting and ruling and reigning as that king.
And so, man, I just pray the same thing over you that David had to choose to do every single day.
Just submit it all to the Lord.
Let it go.
Because if you could deal with it and you could take care of it, it would have already been done and fixed anyway.
So Lord, I pray and ask that you would give Chris sensitive ears to hear your voice like never before.
God, I pray and ask that you would give him a sensitive mind to just comprehend the things of the kingdom like never before.
Break his heart, Lord.
Break it again and mold it back up into what you need it to be for this hour and this season, for his wife and for his children, and for his church family and for the people that he holds near and dear to his heart.
You are the potter, and you can do whatever you want with the clay.
So, Lord, we just say do it.
Do whatever you need to do.
God, I pray and ask that you would strengthen his wife, that you would touch her, that you would help her.
Lord, anytime I ever talk to anybody that says how's marriage?
I say, my wife's a superhuman.
I don't understand it, Lord.
The way that you make women to just be able to do so much.
And they still keep going, and they still keep doing.
I can't wrap my mind around it.
Lord, help her to go and do even more.
But also Lord Jesus, give her the strength to say hey, I need to rest and I need to let go, and I need to just slow down for a bit up in the air Lord.
Lord, we pray for John.
We pray and ask Lord God, that you would give him a sensitive heart, that you would give him sensitive ears.
And Lord, I just pray that everything that Chris is worried and stressed out about, he would just give it to you, Lord.
He would remember your scripture that says if he dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor, how much more does he love you?
If he takes care of all the birds on the earth, how much more is he going to take care of you?
If man, being evil, would not give their son or daughter an evil gift, how much more does he want to give you good gifts?
Lord, I pray for Chaz, who is getting ready to experience the gift of life, who is about to be a new father.
Lord, we just pray for Hannah and Claire right now that everything would go exactly according to your plan.
Lord God, we just declare and decree healing health And, Lord God, we just pray that there would be favor in the doctor's office.
There would be favor in the hospital.
There would be favor in the delivery room.
That there would be favor with the nurses.
That, oh, we just accidentally just gave you all this stuff.
I mean, just crazy things that never happen.
They're going to have favor that doesn't make sense.
Lord God, we speak to the enemy and we tell them to be quiet.
Because the enemy is trying to say, oh, she's going to die in labor.
It's not going to work out.
She's going to come out wrong.
But we just say, be quiet.
Be quiet.
You have no authority.
You have no power.
You don't get to tell us what will and will not happen.
There is one man whose name is the Word.
And the Word became flesh and is dwelling among us in the midst.
And his word says that we shall live and not die.
So we speak to Hannah and her body as she is in labor.
She shall live and not die.
And we speak to Claire.
She shall live and not die.
And we speak to Chaz right now.
And you're going to live and you're not going to die.
And this is all going to work out for your good.
Chaz, at the beginning of the foundations of the world, he knew that Claire was going to be born.
And he knew that you were going to be married to Hannah.
The same prayer over Chris is the same prayer that you can receive tonight.
Just submit it.
Just submit it.
Keep submitting it.
Submit it all the way through the labor.
Submit it all the way through every single tear, every single cry of pain.
Just let it go because the Lord is going to take care of it because he's a good God.
And as much as you care about Hannah and as much as you care about Claire, he cares even more, more than you could ever comprehend him.
God, I pray and ask that you would give Chaz supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, supernatural guidance.
Anoint his hands and feet, Lord.
And we're just praying that you would make him the greatest dad that anyone has ever seen.
Just make him the greatest dad that anyone has ever seen.
Make him selfless, Lord Jesus.
Help him to have the right words to say when Claire needs comforted and or disciplined, Lord.
And help him to help Hannah the best that he can.
Lord God, we pray this all in your beautiful, magnificent name, Jesus.
Amen.
I love y'all.
Yeah, of course.
Watch y'all eyes, boys.
Watch your eyes.
Thanks for letting me just obey the Lord.
Make sure to watch your eyes.
To what?
For my eyes to adjust.
Oh, dude, they can.
It will.
It has to adjust.
That's why your eyes were made, bro.
Bro, I was tired of that.
I was tired.
Shave!
Love you, bro.
Alright, chapter 3.
Chapter 1.
God tells Jonah, hey, go to Nineveh, sissy boy.
He says, nope, ain't doing that.
And he said, no, I ain't going.
So Jonah says, I'm running away.
He runs away.
Storm comes.
We see all the parallels between the disciples and Jesus and the boat.
The disciples literally have not disciples.
The sailors literally have to pick up Jonah, chuck him into the sea.
Chapter 2.
What happens?
God sends provision and mercy to Jonah, swallows him up.
He's in the belly of the whale.
He's about to die.
And then what happens?
He gets thrown up, regurgitated onto the seashore.
And, as Will pointed out in the scriptures, that means that he got shot out of the blowhole and then lands on the beach.
Right, Will?
Yep, that's what it is.
All right, Jonah chapter 3.
If you want to fill in the blanks as we go, you can.
It just helps me a lot to actually follow along, because even though we're reading, my brain can still think about other things as we're reading something.
So it helps me to stay completely locked in.
I mean, how many times do you read a book or you're reading a text message and your brain knows that you're reading it?
But also you're thinking about oh, am I going to have nachos and cheese for dinner or am I going to have spaghetti for dinner?
And it's like, that's a lot.
I know that's a lot right there.
So this is how we watch the conference.
Where?
I don't think Speedy got a pen.
Speedy, you need a pen, bro?
Do you need a paper?
All right, here we go.
Jonah, he's right beside me.
Jonah, chapter 3.
What?
Bro, I know.
Our Bibles are similar.
I figured it might be right.
They're similar.
That was nuts.
All right.
Let's rock and roll.
Let's rock and roll.
We've got six minutes.
Praise the Lord, man.
Go ahead and read verses 1 through 4, Will Bob.
Ready?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days journey in breadth.
Jonah began to go into the city going a day's journey, and he called out yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
I think it's crazy that God calls it a great city, even though everybody's like oh, this city was the most diabolical and full of debauchery and the worst city that you could possibly go to, but then God still calls it a great city.
Well, I think it might be a great city like, like financially.
Okay, that makes more sense to me.
Like, you know what I mean?
It's a thriving city, you know what I mean?
Bingo.
What's the word?
What's the right word?
I don't know, anyway.
Yeah.
Anything else to go out to y'all?
There's no, I mean at least in the text here.
There's no uh, there's no um uh from old Jonah this time.
Yeah, as of right now.
I mean, the fact that I missed five words already, but that's all right.
It's fine.
Yeah, you gotta be locked on, bro.
You're gonna have three days on if it changes.
I put little scribbles on the ones I missed.
All right, five through six, Parker, you read that for us?
And the people of Nineveh believed in God.
They called for a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them.
The word reached the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, removed his robe and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
Okay.
Sorry.
Mine was already done.
I apologize.
Are you still in six?
Yeah.
Okay.
Go ahead and finish.
Sorry.
Oh, do you want me to read to the end?
No, I just said five and six.
Oh, just five and six.
Yeah.
Yeah, we're good.
Okay.
Crazy that we're reading this.
What was yesterday?
Okay.
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
I woke up today, though.
Yeah, I said it was yesterday.
So what does ash represent right here and right now as we're reading this?
It's a symbol of what?
Death.
Death, yes.
Death to what?
Their old way of living.
And it's also a sign of repentance that they're going to go and begin to change their hearts and their minds.
Shapes 8 through 10, finishes up out should be on seven.
Seven bro, that's what i said.
Seven through ten.
Shake do it.
And he issued a proclamation and published through nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, let neither man nor beast herd nor flock taste anything, let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them call out mightily to god, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
Who knows?
God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we may not perish.
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
What do we see in there?
Can you do it?
What do we see in that?
What do we see in these verses?
The mercy of God.
The mercy of God, man.
Yeah.
Thank God for the mercy of God.
Yeah.
Thank God that there are days when we live an awful life of sin and filth and then we get to the end of the day and we say Lord, we repent and we call out to him.
And what do we receive?
Mercy.
That's mercy.
That's right.
Parker.
Parker.
Do you have an idea of why they're making all the people and all the animals fast food and water?
They're getting on Jonah's ark.
Yeah, Jonah and Noah are similar stories.
Can you go explain that a little bit more?
Well, so I was talking about Well, first, right, it starts on a ship.
This is a parallel story.
They start out the same way.
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it.
The message that I tell you here, or just call out against it for their evil, has gone up before me.
So these are parallel situations where Jonah gets on the boat and of course there's kind of a, there is a.
It's this kind of covenantal boat which they get into.
Yeah.
Which ends in the New Testament when Paul shipwrecks in Rome.
That is pretty cool.
Yeah.
That's a good parallel, actually.
Okay.
Anything else?
Sweat.
The word reached the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne and removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
It's a parallel to Jesus, right?
The word reached the king of Nineveh?
Yeah, I think what he said up in the verses before, like the king heard the message that Jonah was yelling through the streets.
What does it mean to cover yourself in sackcloth and sit in ashes?
Okay, so in the Old Testament, that was just basically a sign of grieving, shame, or repentance.
I think removing his robe speaks of him putting his authority aside as king.
There's scripture where it talks about Jesus' training of his robe from the temple.
The significance is like in the culture of a conquered king, his robe would be taken and shown king.
So when it says jesus's robe filled the temple, it's significance of all the kings, he's defeated and he's.
That's awesome, i've never heard that.
And when he puts this robe aside, he's submitting his authority to god and saying this is like it's good, was mine and now it's not.
Yeah, you know, to humble himself in cyclops mash, but also to remove his authority.
Like that's a picture of him saying like hey, maybe i'm not like in control right now.
Yeah, yeah.
At the Ash Wednesday at St
John's.
I took a picture, just like the booklet that we worked through, and it says ash is a symbol of shame, like a child who hides in their shame when their parent catches them breaking the rules.
People throughout scripture covered themselves in ash when they were ashamed of their sin.
And then it says there's a little activity and it just says whisper to yourself I have sinned against God and I'm in need of God's forgiveness.
So I think That king was probably around that heart posture.
Oh, yeah.
With the Noah, right?
It's 40 days.
Yes.
Yeah.
And three days.
A lot of threes, yeah.
So is the only thing that he preaches to them just 40 more days and Nineveh will be overthrown?
Is that the only thing that he preaches to them?
Maybe he says sometimes.
I just... I wonder if there's something there that we, like, we don't get.
Like, does he say something else while he's actually there that we... Yep.
For sure.
Yeah, I mean, if he went around saying that for three days... Um...
Anything else that we want to discuss about the actual scriptures before we do some reflection questions.
So this was like for Nineveh too.
Like he was preaching that like they had 40 days before they did.
Yeah.
Before he was going to send a bunch of whales.
I got a question for Parker.
Uh, Is Succoth and Ash like a cultural thing, or is it a Christian thing where Jonah had to teach them what that was about?
So this is more universal because they would have known a lot of the symbolic languages in the world as well as it is, you know, specifically in the Bible.
So, and especially right, they're in the Middle East, so it's like they're right beside Israel anyways, right.
They're just outside of Syria, so, modern-day Syria.
So, it's not like... So they know the lingo.
Yeah.
It wasn't like Jonah had to teach them.
Yeah.
Okay.
Thank you.
Theologian Parker speaks.
All right.
We all clear on the scriptures?
That's fine.
I like the small talk, but that's fine.
The reflection questions on the back.
First one.
Just understanding the passage.
What stands out to you about Jonah's obedience in chapter 3 compared to the earlier in the book?
Yeah.
So far.
Apparently it doesn't have a good ending, though.
Somebody told me.
It has a good ending for an end of it, yeah.
The whole city didn't get destroyed.
That's pretty good.
Bro!
How did I not know that?
We're out of the group now.
What do you mean?
That was in our reading.
It's reflection questions.
Probably weren't locked in enough, bro.
Who read the last part?
Shafe did.
It was not the same translation.
Dude, it was the same Bible.
He's a jerk.
Probably because he lied.
You can't trust a word he says.
All right.
So other than just like him, instead of being a total freaking sissy bag, he was like bro, like I guess I'm going to go and do this.
And so he goes and does it.
I mean, also, he's a good boy for his obedience, but also God's mercy for both.
Here's something that I think about a lot.
Do you think you would still be obedient if you knew that God wouldn't be merciful on you or give you grace?
Yeah, I'm just saying like, the question is basically, if you knew that there was no reward or no grace or no mercy or no goodness from god to come to you, if you were obedient to him, would you still just do what he told you to do?
I mean no, yeah.
Yeah, i don't think i would either.
Is that bad of me to say that?
No, i think it's realistic.
That would be like i don't obey the devil Because nothing good comes from that.
You know what I mean?
I just think of it in the way of, like, my parents.
Like, my parents would tell me to do stuff, and there was no reward or anything.
I was just expected to do it.
And there's a reward of like.
You're a good human being because you listen to your parents, because the Bible says to
See, the reward comes from God, right?
Yeah.
Okay, that makes sense.
Yeah.
Because that's what, I mean, that's the fifth commandment, right?
Yeah.
Number five.
Number five.
Number five's grace.
Honor.
All right, number two, the message.
Jonah's message to Nineveh was short and direct.
It's literally like a couple of words.
Why do you think God used such a simple message to bring about repentance?
It's convictions in the heart, and they knew it already.
And if it was that simple, it was probably very easily spread without confusion of what was to come.
Because if he were to preach something on the Sermon on the Mount, all those people that left that day probably got some of the details wrong.
So I'm just keeping it simple for the spreading of it.
There had to be a spiritual revelation accompanying it with conviction beyond what Jonah said.
They had to sense the presence of the Lord to be called to conviction.
So it wasn't just his words, it was, with the confirmation of the holy spirit, convicting them and giving them a revelation of what actually yeah, so that i think that goes back to like did he say more than just see to me?
I think i think yeah.
Or did he need to?
Yeah, it could also just be like like these people, because nineveh was not like hebrew, they weren't like jews.
Right, gentile nation yeah, gentile nation.
They probably still heard.
I mean, it was very close.
They probably heard all these stories about these men of God, like the story of Moses and Pharaoh.
They were like oh, if one of these Hebrew guys, like prophet guys, comes in here and says something, probably should listen, because literally, however I mean, of course it would be legend to them.
It would be thousands of years ago or whatever it was in the timeline.
They would be like, we don't want to die.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, that's good.
There's kind of validity in the history.
For sure.
So they also say and Parker correct me if I'm wrong that Nineveh was like a big country and city of like witchcraft as well.
Probably.
So if that is true and witchcraft is demonic, then the demons already know who the Lord is.
So there's that spiritual like knowledge of knowing.
Now we're getting more into speculation, but just a thought.
Number three.
Repentance.
What actions show that the people of Nineveh's repentance was genuine and not just words?
I think it started with the king, right?
Yeah.
They did the repentant actions of that time.
I think, too, the king's issue of fast, which is like... I mean, the issue of fast.
Yeah.
So...
So Paul White in his book Greater Than Jonah he talks about when he goes through this verse, he was like this is why the leadership of a nation is so important.
Because if you can have repentance from the person that is supposed to be the model of the rest of the nation, look at what can happen for everyone else.
And he was like, we may never see this in America.
We may never see a repentant president.
And he was like however, God could still send a Jonah in 2027 or 2028 and we could watch the whole entire country come into repentance.
And so I mean he didn't use the date 2027, but that was what he was alluding to is that a Jonah still can come and talk to a president and we could see mass repentance throughout the land.
It's kind of crazy.
I was talking to my buddy at work today.
We were kind of just like...
And he's not an active believer, but we're still talking on it.
He almost said the exact same thing of that higher up where he sets that example for the people.
That's who we're supposed to look up to.
That is the people who are over our country or over a specific country.
Kind of like how you just said.
For sure.
But also, if we look at verse 5, it says the people of Nineveh believed in God.
And then in verse six, it says, when the word reached the king.
So if there are enough people walking and talking and acting as we should be, as disciples and living like Christ, the king should want to repent like the rest of the people.
So it's both and.
It's we have to do our jobs as believers to be like Christ in every single day, every single moment.
And hopefully at that same time.
If our leader, our king, does it, their repentance should follow as well.
We good to go to the next one?
Yep.
Four.
What does God's response to Nineveh teach us about his mercy and compassion?
How great it is.
Truly.
It all ties to his love too and his promise as well.
I just think it's so cool that it says that God saw their deeds.
It's just a great reminder that God has seen every deed that we've ever committed and he still gives us mercy, and he still gives us compassion.
So he sees what we do and even when we don't think that we're worthy, he's like hey, I still got you bro.
Anyone else about God's mercy, compassion throughout this?
I think he's just.
Do what?
You got to think that he's just.
Oh, yeah.
Like he's justified in wiping them out.
Yeah.
But like he has the self-control and discipline by his grace and mercy to withhold that.
Yeah.
Like, you know, there's times I want to beat my kids to death.
And then there's times like mercy and grace spared their life.
Yeah.
Not this one.
I got good kids.
But I'm just saying in general.
Like I have to make a decision in my house and what God's given me authority over.
You've got to correct when correction needs to come.
Yeah, like it just shows you a perspective of God's heart that's like, you know.
I don't want to say polarized, but like it could go either way and he would still be right.
I'll say it that way.
But his mercy and grace took the lead in that moment.
Yeah.
Wicked people can still have mercy and compassion.
Like wicked people can still get that from God.
I'll just flip back to the first chapter.
And he literally says, go to the wicked people of Nineveh.
And so even though that God knows they're wicked, he still gives them mercy and grace.
And so it's like man, let's watch out who we're calling wicked and not able to receive mercy and get grace.
Because, Even though we think the terrorists might be the most wicked people in the world, the Lord can still give them mercy and grace.
The rapists, the baby rapists, the murderers, the molesters.
I mean, we could all do some crazy damage to them in this room, but what does the Lord say that he can give them?
Mercy and compassion.
In VeggieTales, they portray the people of Nineveh as slapping each other with fish.
Yeah, very symbolically accurate because it was a water town.
Hey they're, they're gentiles, right?
Yeah, they're the sea creatures and b?
You know the, you know it's the in the sea, the sea of chaos.
You know they.
Basically they bring destruction on each other right yeah, they're showing their wickedness in a way that you know a kid watching a cartoon on a saturday was gonna want to see.
Very disrespectful and demeaning to slap someone in the face with a fish.
Yeah.
I'm going to go home and watch Veggie Kills, by the way.
Is that like a thing?
To slap somebody in the face with a fish?
Yeah, I didn't know if that was like back in the day, like way back in the day.
Oh, dude, yeah.
If you slap somebody in the face, it's basically like you.
Yeah, it's bad.
Basically the same thing.
I will hit you with my shoe.
Like whenever they get really mad at each other.
Yeah.
Why don't they just throw shoes at each other then?
Because they didn't have shoes.
Oh, that was good, Will Bob.
All right, number five, personal application.
How can Jonah chapter three challenge the way that you respond when God calls you to obey or to repent?
Who wants to repent immediately when they do something bad?
Raise your hand.
You're awesome.
Yeah.
Unless I'm angry, then it's going to fizzle for probably like 20 minutes and then I'll probably like yeah.
Hopefully I can get to that hard posture, because I messed up today at school and I didn't necessarily sin.
It's just we finished our work.
They had a quiz and a test, and they finished it early, and I was just appalled.
And so I was like, all right, like we'll watch a, uh, a documentary on texting and driving.
And, and they were like, Hey, like, do you care if we just watch the Olympics?
And I was like, you know what?
You guys did great on that quiz.
Great on that test.
Sure.
Let's celebrate.
I was like, but you got to do some vocabulary as you, as you watch it.
So you got to do a little bit of work for me, even though you're getting a little bit of celebration.
And uh, So the one day that we're not on task and we're watching the Olympics is the day the principal comes in and does my review.
Yeah, does my shocking review.
Surprise review, not shocking review.
It always happens that way.
Yes, it does, Parker.
Yes, it does.
And so he emails me later in the day and he was like, he always does a grow and a glow.
And his glow was that everybody was on task.
Every single one of the kids literally was working.
And he was like, that's a great job.
But the grow was I was not meeting the standard of the school's culture by watching the Olympics.
And I was like, oh, man.
I know, I know.
Me or him?
I mean, they're all busy.
The Olympics, to me, that's harmless.
Yeah, I know, I know.
I feel like to him it's more of a... He probably just has to say that.
I don't know.
But I felt so... I was beating myself up like crazy.
And I was like, Lord, I repent of this action of not meeting the school standard.
I was like, help me to do better.
I read back what I said.
You didn't sin.
It's okay.
I missed the CSI.
And I just felt bad.
I feel bad.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I'll do it again.
I won't.
We don't live in our emotions.
Amen.
I'll smack your hand before.
I don't think any of the Ten Commandments say not to watch the Olympics in school.
Hey, well, they might need to.
Who likes to obey immediately?
It's generally my preference, because otherwise I won't do it.
Yes.
Do you think it's easier to obey or to repent?
Repent.
You think it's easier to repent?
I think so.
Yeah.
Oh.
I would agree with that.
It's definitely easier to just abuse God's grace rather than God's obedience.
It really is.
Like praying for people, like I don't know how you guys do it because, like sometimes I feel like I need to do it.
Like, the Lord's telling me to go pray for somebody or speak about something specifically.
And, like, I'm just like, mm-mm, I can't.
There ain't no way.
Yeah.
Well, he's going to keep doing it until you do it.
Yeah.
Literally on Valentine's day, Bailey and I go, our reservation is not upheld.
So we had a reservation and they're like uh, our boss actually forgot to turn off the ability to make reservations online.
And so um, we had to go and wait.
And they're like yeah, it's going to be an hour.
Wait on Valentine's day at this Japanese steakhouse.
And so I was like, okay, no problem.
We'll wait.
And, um, I was just in my head praying for the hostesses cause they were, it was rough.
Um.
So Bailey and I go sit down surrounded by so many people, and I see this young couple, and as soon as I saw him I knew I was supposed to pray for him immediately.
And so I turned my head and I looked the other way and I, and I was like, it's Valentine's day.
I was like, I can't leave Bailey.
She's upset because our reservation just didn't get upheld.
I was like I'm not leaving them.
And then, just slowly, my head kept going and looking at them and i was like i took a deep breath and i told bailey, i'll be right back.
And she was like where are you?
And then i already walked off because if i, if i did not do it immediately, i was not going to do it.
And so in the middle of the restaurant i'm literally squatting down between this two, these two couples, and i'm like hey, do you guys believe in jesus?
And they're like, yeah.
I was like, can i, can i please pray for you?
And they were like.
They were like yes, please.
And so i got to pray for them and literally as soon as i was done praying for them, their meal arrived, which was i just thought that was insane you went and interrupted their meal and prayed for them.
Yeah, they were at the table.
They were at the table eating.
Yeah, they were.
They were eating like appetite, appetizers and stuff i did, And they were so receptive of it and they were smiling like crazy and they said thank you so much for doing that.
And they were like maybe 16 or 17 years old.
That's awesome.
Yeah, it was crazy.
So I would definitely agree.
Repenting is a lot easier.
He said, I saw what you did.
I saw that.
He's a kid.
16 or 17?
Is that the new thing?
I actually hate that.
Oh, you just did it.
You did 6'7", bro.
Parker, did you say 6'7 in class?
I did, but then we retired 6'7 because it's 2026 now.
Okay.
Did the principal walk in when you were 6'7?
Oh, if they did that, that would be a good thing.
Okay.
Because then it would be all this Ron Clark stuff that we did.
Oh, gosh.
Making it more engaging.
Yep.
They're on about that kind of stuff.
I completely understand.
They would enjoy that.
Yeah.
Yeah, I tried.
I tried really hard at that stuff.
Sweet.
All right, next week's our last week of Jonah chapter 4.
Jonah.
What's one thing that you guys are going to take with you after this meeting tonight?
It doesn't have to be about the scriptures that we read.
It can be about worship or prayer or anything.
One thing you're going to take with you this week?
I'm going to buy a sackcloth and put it in every room in my house.
Come on now.
If anybody wants to repent, I'll just get some fire ashes out.
Let's do it, bro.
Bring some ashes to commit it, please.
Every doorway.
Let's do it, bro.
Not related to this, but try to obey more.
Yeah.
Since you said that.
That's related.
Yeah.
It's so related.
Jenna, what do you got?
Something you can take this week.
Um, i thought it was really cool just to see, like it said in the in the book about just how great of a city it was.
And i mean yeah, they repented and listened to what god asked them, but it was just that was.
They only had to do that one little thing for his forgiveness and mercy.
It just shows how merciful he is.
Yeah, sometimes we think that we've got to do xyz to.
We've got to repent so many times.
It literally just takes one little change.
Just one little simple turn from what we're doing.
Good stuff, dude.
Shafe, what's the thing you're going to take?
I'm probably right there with Chaz.
Get better at obedience.
I think it was yesterday we were on the phone.
I should have went to Kroger.
I thought the Lord was telling me to just get over it.
But I had already passed it, so I wasn't going to go.
I missed that initial.
The three seconds doesn't only just work for porn and making bad decisions about that, but it also works for obedience too.
It's still three seconds yeah well um yeah, i feel like with the whole obedience thing, like i generally like i've never had an issue with it, rarely in the last Probably four or five years of my life, since I've really started kind of being all in and just like evangelizing from everywhere I went.
But just like just being a little bit more busy and like trying my best to always be like the most present husband and father that I possibly can.
I feel like I've definitely pushed that a little bit to the wayside which, like I think, is not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like I can probably find a little bit of balance.
And, you know, don't use my family as an excuse to not do the work for the kingdom.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
For sure.
Like, that's disgusting.
And when I say that, like, it makes me feel bad about it.
So yeah, definitely need to do better about not being so focused on what I want if the Lord is telling me to do something.
Speedy.
I think one thing I was going to speak on was just like being present in the moment, of being where my feet are, because sometimes I feel like, depending on where I'm at, my mind can wander.
Like I'm already looking forward to something in the future and it kind of just hinders on what's going on in my mind.
For sure.
I feel like with that you know you can't really listen or have your eyes open to what's in front of you.
You're just focused on something that's not there.
Being grateful for what's in front of us and what we've got.
Chaz, you already shared yours.
Chris, you sticking with the ashes and sackcloth?
Or you want to change?
Man, I really do want to get to a place where I can be quick to repent.
Like right now.
Because I have a lot of pride, man.
I'm not going to lie.
I do a lot of things because I'm done it for a long time where i've believed a certain way for a long time.
Yeah, i want to get to a point where i think what god has showed me in the past is more important than what he's showing me now.
Yeah, not that he's like changing, but that no.
Yeah, what he's showing me in my personal perspective is being developed and i have to release some things that maybe i didn't see you the most accurate way in my past when he did something that I look to that thing instead of to him.
Yeah, for sure.
Been there, done that.
Noah, what about you, bro?
Even if you don't obey or do whatever God has called you to do, he still gives people second chances.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
Buckle!
Buckle!
I should be more humble, I guess.
You guess?
Okay, nice.
He said, I should be more humble, I guess.
We've been pumping him up as our freaking team theologian.
The thing is that it's very hard for me to know what that looks like.
Like practice.
Yeah no, that's fair, the x's and o's of making it work out.
But i mean, it's easy to just say all the stuff that we're saying, but actually living it out and doing it well, just like, just like.
Some of these virtues are just super vague.
Yeah, i don't know what it concretely looks like.
Yeah um, and then um, maybe when i go to dc i should tell them that their city's gonna be destroyed in 40 days.
Yeah, come on parker, Let's go bro.
Yeah, I like that.
Sweet, bro.
All right.
Yeah.
Oh, me.
I love that.
Thank you for calling me out.
Yeah.
If anything, I guess I was too hard on myself today about trying to repent to the standard of the Buffalo High School.
I believe it was perfect.
You think so?
Like, yeah, you're the teacher.
We're just the dudes that think it's silly that he told you that.
Like, you're definitely making the right call to, like, submit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's an honor thing.
Who's your daddy?
Not a sin thing.
It's an honor thing.
Yeah.
Trying my best, bro.
What did you just say?
He said, who's your daddy?
Oh.
Yeah, as a principal.
He's your boss.
Yeah, I guess.
Yeah, boss.
Who's your daddy?
T.R. the man.
And Jared Davis?
And Jared Davis.
That's right.
And Matt Davis?
I guess we all got multiple daddies.
Yeah.
Alright, does anybody want to pray us out?
You going to pray us out?
Yeah, it's freaking perfect for me, buddy.
Jesus, we thank you so much for a good time of worship and fellowship and word and just getting to know you better and getting to know you a little more each and every time that we meet.
Getting to know each other a little better.
Yes.
Each time we meet, I thank you, Lord, for the camaraderie and the fellowship between the brothers.
Lord, it's been such a monumental thing in, I think, a lot of our lives.
And so we're all just grateful.
We thank you and we praise you for that, Jesus.
And we pray you protect everybody as we go home, Lord.
We pray Lord, that everybody in the room is endeavoring to give people the invitation, not just to a service that's called committed, but an invitation into a life that is better than what the world offers, a life that is something that's indescribable intangible unexplainable, but the greatest thing we'll ever experience, and that's you, jesus is lord.
We thank you and we praise you, lord.
I just want to lift up and another prayer of thanksgiving that these kids are going to be staying here.
They're going to be here lord, and we just, We just pray Lord, these rooms and these halls would be anointed with the kingdom of heaven Lord that, like Matt prayed earlier, that bad dreams would stop, that their lives would be forever changed Lord, and that we get to have the opportunity to be a difference in their lives Lord.
And I pray Lord, that you would strengthen Jared and I and Isaac and anybody else that's going to be involved in helping care for them, spend time with them.
Yes, Lord.
De-escalate them, whatever that looks like Lord, that you would strengthen and quicken us and equip us with everything that we need to handle that.
And we thank you and praise you in Jesus' name we pray.
Hey, really quick before you leave, I know that we're all going to try to scurry out of here.
Just touch one bed, two beds, if you would, before you leave.
Pray over it.
Just pray over one or two beds before you leave.
Yeah, there's this room full of beds, and then down the hallway there's another room full of beds.
Just do that.
I think that would be awesome.
You have no idea what kid will be sitting there.
All right.
Will and Speedy, sign off.
All right.
Is this the kids' dorm?
Like, this is it?
There's this room, then there's seven beds in that room.
Yeah, the whole plan.
There is all kinds of cabins.