{"id":29610,"date":"2025-05-18T18:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/?post_type=cpl_item_type&#038;p=29610"},"modified":"2025-07-14T03:26:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T03:26:00","slug":"the-book-of-jonah-gods-scandalous-mercy","status":"publish","type":"cpl_item_type","link":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/series\/the-book-of-jonah-gods-scandalous-mercy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Book of Jonah: God&#8217;s Scandalous Mercy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"312\" data-end=\"374\"><strong>A Prophet Who Ran. A City on the Brink. A God Who Pursues.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"376\" data-end=\"684\"><strong>Though small in size, the book of Jonah has left a monumental mark on culture, faith, and imagination. Across centuries, it has inspired artists, poets, theologians\u2014and even modern musicians like Bruce Springsteen, whose haunting lyrics reflect the depths of being \u201cSwallowed Up (in the Belly of the Whale).\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"686\" data-end=\"734\"><strong>But why does Jonah\u2019s story still resonate today?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"736\" data-end=\"1050\"><strong>At the heart of this four-chapter narrative is a truth that cuts across time, culture, and belief: God\u2019s mercy is scandalous.<\/strong><br data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"868\" \/><strong>It confronts sin.<\/strong><br data-start=\"885\" data-end=\"888\" \/><strong>It pursues the undeserving.<\/strong><br data-start=\"915\" data-end=\"918\" \/><strong>It overturns human expectations.<\/strong><br data-start=\"950\" data-end=\"953\" \/><strong>And it reveals a God whose love cannot be boxed in by borders, prejudices, or self-righteousness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"1052\" data-end=\"1089\"><strong>What to Expect in This Series<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1091\" data-end=\"1151\"><strong>In this verse-by-verse journey through Jonah, we\u2019ll explore:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1153\" data-end=\"1453\">\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1153\" data-end=\"1222\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1155\" data-end=\"1222\"><strong>God\u2019s Sovereignty and Compassion over all peoples and nations<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1223\" data-end=\"1305\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1225\" data-end=\"1305\"><strong>The Heart of a Reluctant Prophet who knows the law but not the love of God<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1306\" data-end=\"1372\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1308\" data-end=\"1372\"><strong>The Power of Repentance and Mercy in the darkest of places<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1373\" data-end=\"1453\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1375\" data-end=\"1453\"><strong>What It Means to Truly Know God\u2014not just in our heads, but with our hearts<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1455\" data-end=\"1660\"><strong>Each message will challenge us to reflect on our own hearts:<\/strong><br data-start=\"1515\" data-end=\"1518\" \/><strong>Do we love what God loves?<\/strong><br data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"1547\" \/><strong>Do we run from mercy or run to it?<\/strong><br data-start=\"1581\" data-end=\"1584\" \/><strong>Are we willing to be agents of grace, even to those we find hardest to love?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1455\" data-end=\"1660\">\n<p data-start=\"1455\" data-end=\"1660\">Resource: Kevin J. Youngblood, <a href=\"https:\/\/ref.ly\/logosres\/exegcomm32jon2ed?ref=Page.p+25&amp;off=22\"><em>Jonah: God\u2019s Scandalous Mercy<\/em><\/a>, ed. Daniel I. Block, Second Edition, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2019)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Book of Jonah: God\u2019s Scandalous Mercy<\/p>\n<p>A Prophet Who Ran. A City on the Brink. A God Who Pursues.<\/p>\n<p>Though small in size, the book of Jonah has left a monumental mark on culture, faith, and imagination. Across centuries, it has inspired artists, poets, theologians\u2014and even modern musicians like Bruce Springsteen, whose haunting lyrics reflect the depths of being \u201cSwallowed Up (in the Belly of the Whale).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But why does Jonah\u2019s story still resonate today?<\/p>\n<p>At the heart of this four-chapter narrative is a truth that cuts across time, culture, and belief: God\u2019s mercy is scandalous.<br \/>\nIt confronts sin.<br \/>\nIt pursues the undeserving.<br \/>\nIt overturns human expectations.<br \/>\nAnd it reveals a God whose love cannot be boxed in by borders, prejudices, or self-righteousness.<\/p>\n<p>What to Expect in This Series<\/p>\n<p>In this verse-by-verse journey through Jonah, we\u2019ll explore:<\/p>\n<p>God\u2019s Sovereignty and Compassion over all peoples and nations<\/p>\n<p>The Heart of a Reluctant Prophet who knows the law but not the love of God<\/p>\n<p>The Power of Repentance and Mercy in the darkest of places<\/p>\n<p>What It Means to Truly Know God\u2014not just in our heads, but with our hearts<\/p>\n<p>Each message will challenge us to reflect on our own hearts:<br \/>\nDo we love what God loves?<br \/>\nDo we run from mercy or run to it?<br \/>\nAre we willing to be agents of grace, even to those we find hardest to love?<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":29612,"template":"","cpl_scripture":[101],"cpl_season":[],"cpl_topic":[],"class_list":["post-29610","cpl_item_type","type-cpl_item_type","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cpl_scripture-jonah"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpl_item_type\/29610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpl_item_type"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cpl_item_type"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cpl_scripture","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpl_scripture?post=29610"},{"taxonomy":"cpl_season","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpl_season?post=29610"},{"taxonomy":"cpl_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpl_topic?post=29610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}