"Man on the Run"

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We watched a fun video as an overview of the story of Jonah.
We looked at how the story began - Jonah 1:1-3. God called Jonah to go to Nineveh to tell the people that they needed to repent. Jonah didn't want to go. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the country that eventually conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and took the people captive. They were the sworn enemies of the Jews. We find out later that the reason Jonah didn't want to go is not because he was afraid for his life, but because he was afraid the Ninevites would repent and God would forgive them. So Jonah runs as far as he can in the other direction - Tarshish. But God knew what was at stake, and He couldn't allow Jonah to run away.
We saw how Jonah slept in the belly of the ship even when God caused a great storm to toss it around. The other sailors were praying to their gods, but not Jonah. Eventually the sailors learned that Jonah was the cause of their distress and danger, but even then, they tried to row to shore and save his life - Jonah 1:11-17. They showed him mercy, something he didn't want for the Ninevites.
We thought about the things God calls us to do. Sometimes we say "no" simply because we don't want to do it. Sometimes we try to run away. But God asks us because we are the right people. So we need to figure out what we're going to do when God calls us - go to Nineveh or Tarshish.
We prayed to be people who obey when God calls, who go to Nineveh.
We celebrated communion at the table of love.