Welcome!
The Pastor and members of Chilmark Community
Church welcome you to today’s worship . Thanks
for allowing God to lead you to this place!
Our Bible readings for the day are from the book of
Jonah in the Jewish Scriptures and the gospel of St
Mark in the Christian Scriptures. The story of Jonah
is fascinating: the man whom God sent to change
the wicked people of Nineveh did not want to go,
so he tried to run away from God by taking a ship
going in the opposite direction. A violent storm arose and the ship was about to sink. Somehow Jonah knew that this was because he was disobeying God and confessed it to the captain and sailors who threw him overboard to rid the ship of his curse. H e was then swallowed by a big fish that vomited
him on the beach of Nineveh. Jonah went on to preach to the people and the people repented ; when the people repented
Jonah became angry with God because they repented.
What an intriguing story! What is the meaning of the story?
Where is the “prophecy” in the book and the story?
The gospel reading tells of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry:
“after John was arrested Jesus came preaching the Good News of God to all, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the Good News.’”
Both readings are about missions and bringing God’s Good News to the lost and the least. May God speak to us all
through these readings !
Sincerely,
Ernest Belisle
(Pastor)