Jonah - the reluctant prophet

John Lanchbury | Jonah 3:1-5, 10 

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.' Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh... The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth... When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

As the story proceeds we discover the reason why Jonah was indeed the reluctant prophet, who at first ran in the opposite direction when God called him to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. Instead of rejoicing at the spectacular success of his preaching, Jonah threw a massive sulk at this outcome. In this recording John first explains the background to the story, then focuses on what we can learn about God and what he calls us to do in our own age.

There are a couple of references in John's talk to Jacquie Dewsbury, who earned the nickname "The gratitude lady" during her stay in hospital which ended with her death 3 days before this service. 

A fuller video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.