Our Mission: “To share the Good News of Jesus Christ, teach children, and assist parents in training children to be witnessing Christians and productive citizens.”

Weekly Devotion

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head.

To the roots of the mountains I went down,

to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.

Yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O LORD my God.

(Jonah 2:5-6)

It’s time for a theological hot take! When Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, he did not simply huddle in some corner of the fish’s mouth. No, I believe Jonah died. The language of his prayer is striking: the waters closed to take his life. His life had to be redeemed from the pit. These are Old Testament idioms for death. But the most compelling evidence is that Jesus uses the story of Jonah to tell His hearers about His death and three day rest in the tomb.

But more importantly, we see the power of our God in this passage. Jonah confesses his utter helplessness as his life slips away. There was nothing he could do as the great fish enclosed him and swam the murky darkness of the sea. Have you been there? Not necessarily in the belly of a great fish (if you have, please tell me that story!), but in the midst of such overwhelming circumstances that you could not even keep your head above water? God save you if you are there now!

But remember that God was the one who sent the fish to swallow Jonah. God was fully in control, even as Jonah was not, and He knew the end of Jonah’s troubles. In the same way, God is fully in control of the troubles that have surrounded you, and He knows their ending. It’s more than just knowing, though. He also has been overcome by evil circumstances. Jesus, bearing our sin and not His own, was abandoned by God at the cross. He was closed off from the land of the living. He has been there, too. He is with you in your suffering. And because He has been there Himself, He has redeemed your life from the pit—from death and hell itself.

Let us pray: When life’s troubles rise to meet me, though their weight may be great, they will not defeat me. God, my loving Savior, You know all my woes and how best to end them. Deliver my life from the pit. Amen. (Based on LSB 756, stanza 2)

Written by Pastor Jordan McKinley

Students and Families we are praying for this week....

Theodore McKinley, Nohea, Leilani, and Malia McPherson, Miriam and Isaac Meyer, Abigail and Charlotte Nichols, Theodore Noelker, Beckett and Blair Nolting, Raelynn O’Donnell, Rhett and Ryler Olson

Chili Supper Volunteers Needed!

Please consider helping. Also a great opportunity for NHS service hours!

We love hosting our school families AND the wider community at our annual Chili Supper (Friday, October 2nd). We need volunteers to make it possible! Use the sign up genius to let us know when and how you can help.

https://bit.ly/4cMAny7