Our 4-week series on the biblical book of Jonah continues, examining the prophet’s response to God’s discipline. God doesn’t just give Jonah a bellyful, he turns him into one. Pastor James Harleman examines the contents of a fish’s stomach, as Jonah learns what happens when you give your Creator and Lord the finger.

Originally called “the repentant prophet”, closer examination reveals Jonah still has quite a way to go before he repents. Drowned, disoriented, and desperate, he gurgles for God’s grace and finds himself swallowed by something fishy. Filled with terror and remorse, he amalgamates fifteen psalms into a personal prayer of thanksgiving to God. The prayer and God’s aquatic albeit unglamorous rescue of Jonah gives us some thoughts to consider:

• There is much profit in knowing and praying the psalms God has given us.
• Apart from God, we are like Jonah – terrified, bound, imprisoned and destined for the grave – and God is the one who hears us, answers us, and brings life to pit-bound sinners who deserve Hell.
• Sometimes we may not be cheerful or “feeling” like being faithful, but must persevere in obedience to our God and Savior.

We should ask God to help us overcome our own stubbornness, so we don’t wait until we are like Jonah - literally at the threshold of spiritual and physical ruination - before we cry out and acknowledge Him.

Jonah Episode Two:
THE REGRETFUL PROPHET
preached by Pastor James Harleman

Listen right here by clicking the play button below.

You can also download the mp3 by clicking (or right clicking and “save as”) HERE.

For more MHC | Lake City Sermon and Teaching material, check out the media library.

The prophet Elisha was dead, Amos wouldn’t be around for forty years, and since the reign of Solomon the nation had been split into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom Israel. During that forty year window, the only recorded prophet who brought God’s word to the people was a slippery dude named Jonah… a belligerent bigot who flips God the bird with good intentions and shows how complex our sin can be, even when we are part of God’s family.

Our 4-week series on the biblical book of Jonah begins, exploring the titular prophet’s response to God’s calling. In the first chapter we see he doesn’t just tell God “get out of town”, he tries to show God exactly how that’s done. God is not amused…

Jonah is a rich, sobering text with intriguing historical and literary qualities that are worth savoring, meditating on, and conversing about. It also highlights many of our own failings in relationship with God, walking according to the unique calling He has for each of our lives.

• In what areas are we presently shirking a responsibility God has laid on us?
• Where are we withholding time, treasure, talent, or movement in a direction God has put on our heart?
• Are we even doing good and godly things to distract others, ourselves, or even God from the fact that we aren’t following the course he has charted for us?
• Are we seeking to manipulate God to achieve our own, desired, even “righteous” outcomes?

Bottom line: are we going to be used in LIGHT of God’s direction, or is He going to get his glory in SPITE of our direction? God will get His glory, one way or another.

Jonah Episode One:
THE REBELLIOUS PROPHET
preached by Pastor James Harleman

Listen right here by clicking the play button above.

You can also download the mp3 by clicking (or right clicking and “save as”) HERE.

For more MHC | Lake City Sermon and Teaching material, check out the media library.

It is uncommon for a man to use his dying days to be a light to others, yet last Thanksgiving in the grip of terminal illness, Oscar told his brother Cesar, “I would rather be sick and with Jesus than heathy and without him.”

These words haunted Cesar, a man living in his flesh, just as he pleased.  What kind of God would allow a young, faithful man to be inflicted with full-blown lung cancer?  But Jesus showed his mighty power to Cesar through Oscar’s weakness; it would be Oscar’s faithful words in suffering that Jesus would use to call Cesar from death to life.

Cesar had grown up Catholic and never given much thought to Jesus.  Jesus was the figure on the cross that accompanied ritual and ceremony. Jesus was “not personalized,” as Cesar says, and he had never really considered Him.  With Oscar’s death imminent, however, Cesar’s heart was stirred.  He came to Mars Hill, compelled to find a church where he could lean about the gospel and about the Jesus that Oscar knew.  At the Mars Hill Men’s Training Day last winter, Cesar responded to the altar call and gave his life to Jesus.

The weekend before Oscar went home to be with Jesus, he instructed Cesar in how to address their family with regard to the cancer. “I don’t have room for doubt, ” Oscar said.  “I need you to speak life.”

Cesar did just that when he eulogized his brother in Spanish to three hundred non-Christian relatives.  He told the story of how as children, he had saved Oscar’s life–but in His brother’s death and testimony, Jesus used Oscar to save Cesar’s soul. Cesar didn’t want to waste his brother’s death. When you love Christ, Cesar said, “you want that for everyone else.”

Oscar was a drink offering poured out to save Cesar from himself– from partying and immorality, from death to life.  In memory of his brother, Cesar cites Romans 5:3 we rejoice in our sufferings. “I witnessed my brothers live this verse,” he says.  “Now I have that hope.”

When I interviewed Cesar for this story, he praised Jesus for giving him just one day to become a Christian.  This past Easter, it was our pleasure to baptize Cesar at Mars Hill Lake City.  His account of who he was apart from Christ was simple and straightforward, “I was a wretch,” he said, followed by “it’s all about Jesus.”

Truckloads of garage sale items showed up this Sunday for the upcoming garage sale this Saturday the 16th, as members of Mars Hill and possibly our neighbors band together to open the facility and make a day of it. All are welcome to show up, check out what’s available, enjoy a free hot dog and chips, plus get a balloon and coloring activities for their children.

Garage sale signs are up all over town so it’s only fitting we love our neighbor in a way that seems to be a neighborhood norm. Hopefully the extra perks of barbeque and balloons will emphasize our house as one of hospitality and loving community. Proceeds are secondary, but WILL go to help renovate our building so that it is even more hospitable come fall.

More than fixing a building - which HAS to be done - we are excited about helping medical ministry overseas. Better yet, throwing softballs and frisbees is a pretty simple way to DO it. My buddy Arjuna in India is kicking off a new aspect of ministry for Vision Nationals. Since an orphanage, a church planting network, and a school weren’t enough, they’ve decided to start a medical ministry to help those in need; you gotta love that guy.

Throw together a softball or ultimate frisbee team for the event on the 23rd. Playing ball AND blessing a mercy ministry is easily worth the donation which breaks down to about $30 a person. Details are available HERE.

I’m looking forward to a very ACTIVE August as we bless the community and our partners abroad with simple works of our hands. Whether we’re swinging a bat or bagging a sale, God will be honored by worship as deep and profound as singing on Sunday for His glory and fame.

It’s a pleasure and privilege to preach the book of Jonah throughout August. I’m reminded of those bumper stickers on cars in Seattle that say “Jesus, save me from your followers.” When I look at Jonah, and even my own disposition when I step out of line with God’s spirit, I see just how that reputation got started. Thank God our faith is not sourced in ourselves, but in the fact that “behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” - Luke 11:32 (referring to Jesus).

From what I can tell, Jonah and I have a few things in common. Number one? We’re both jerks. Thankfully, God didn’t make me sleep with the fishes. Looking at God’s prophet, we can learn a lot about God’s grace and compassion, and our own lacking. God schools Jonah with a fish and spits Him in the right direction. Praise God that Jesus is not like us, but “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness… ” -Exodus 34:6

Next Week: Jonah Episode 1: The Rebellious Prophet
The 4-week series on the biblical book of Jonah begins, exploring the titular prophet’s response to God’s calling. He doesn’t just tell God “get out of town”, he tries to show God exactly how that’s done. God is not amused. Read and pray over Jonah 1:1-16 this week.

-Pastor James Harleman

For over ten years Mars Hill has participated in this calling. As a church we’ve seen multiple churches planted in India, we’ve sent teachers to train new pastors, and we have been blessed by the stories of lives being changed, with the God in Heaven being glorified throughout it all.

Over the years Vision Nationals has seen the scope of it’s ministry grow. Master’s Fellowship, the church planting aspect of the ministry, has started hundreds of churches throughout the region. By God’s Grace, the number of Christians grew (and grew and grew). The need for more well-trained pastors was evident which prompted the development of the Leadership Training Program. Master’s College of Theology was then created to prepare people for ministry in a full-time environment. Two other ministries sprung from a desire to assist the orphaned - Master’s Home for Children (a home for the homeless children) and Master’s Public School (education for the children in Master’s Home and the surrounding area). Ashraya was created to help support widows in rural areas where access to necessities is limited.

And now their latest endeavor (all praise be to God) and the reason for this post … Life Medical Clinics. As a means to provide care and medicine to those who cannot afford it, Life Medical Clinics is the natural extension of a ministry that serves God and neighbor.

CRUSHIN’ FOR A CAUSE

Yes, we were getting to the crushin’. Vision nationals is teaming up with Mars Hill Sports to continue the MHC tradition of the Summer Softball Tournament. We are also excited to announce the addition of an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament to the line-up! On August 23rd, Softball and Ultimate Frisbee players from all over the Puget Sound Region will gather to compete in “Crushin’ for a Cause”. Funds raised form this even will benefit Mars Hill sports ministry and Vision Nationals’ newly established Life Medical Clinic in India.

Co-ed Slowpitch Softball and Ultimate Frisbee Tournaments for the day break down as follows:

SOFTBALL:
12 Team Maximum - 4 Game Guarantee
Round-Robin Pool Play seeded into Placement Brackets
$350 Entry Fee (corporate sponsors are welcome)
Prized and Awards for All Teams

ULTIMATE FRISBEE:
12 Team Maximum - 3 Game Guarantee
$125 Entry Fee (corporate sponsors are welcome)
Prizes and Awards for All Team

1. click here to register your team:

2. for persons wanting to help sponsor the event only, click here:

CONTACTS:
For Vision Nationals, contact Lauren Hunter
(lauren.a.hunter@gmail.com)

For MH sports, contact Phil Hart
(sports@marshillchurch.org)

Questions? 206-423-9868

This Saturday Mars Hill will love our city, meeting them in the streets and performing simple acts of service as part of the Lake City Summer Festival.  We want to be a church that is sent and serves and doesn’t just expect interested neighbors to come to us.  However, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to do everything we can to make our home an open one.

Summer is in full swing; the city abounds with garage sales and barbecues.  It’s fitting to open our facility for a co-op Garage Sale and Swap Meet with free barbecue and activities for children, throwing a party that loves our neighbors and lets them see how we party.  Your pastors ask all able members to help us show hospitality to strangers in the facility God has called us to steward.  Mars Hill congregants can sign up on our online network, The City, to collaborate.  Those reading in the community, we invite you to mark you calendars and join us.

Christians should party harder than anyone. We don’t gather or barbecue to create precious moments while we have breath left in us; for Christians, partying and Feasting is practice… a dim mirror of an eternity of barbecues and hospitality in the Son that is holy, overwhelming and all-encompassing. Our practice is made perfect in Jesus, and we look forward to that flawless feast.

- Pastor James Harleman

Actor Christian Bale is saving the city in The Dark Knight and now is set to stop the robot apocalypse, taking on the legendary role of John Connor in Terminator: Salvation.  He may also be Robin Hood in an upcoming film.  My wife and I first saw him taking down an Orwellian regime in the Brave Fu World flick Equilibrium.  Who would have thought that kid from Empire of the Sun, that 120-pound skeleton of a man from The Machinist, this Welsh-born actor would be our new all-American hero.

In 2007, he starred opposite Russell Crowe in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, a gripping western which will be our upcoming Cinemagogue presentation Friday August 8 at 7pm.  All are welcome to join us for the film followed by an examination of its narrative themes.  The review of Bale’s latest film, The Dark Knight, is also up on our Cinemagogue website.

Summer brings sunshine, even to Seattle, and opportunity to marvel at what our God has made. He has made so much, and though it is easy to become lost in the grandeur of it, there is a simplicity under-girding everything that exists.
 
Everything and everyone was made to worship Him, and though the expressions vary, the devotion remains steadfast. As the psalmist says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136) The artists currently on display throughout our building remind us, in all their form of expression, to give thanks to the Lord: for what He has given, for what He has made, for how He has done it, and even for the things we often forget to thank Him for.
 
If you enter through the main doors of our campus, you will enjoy the work of Brittany Sponseller. With a vibrant kaleidoscope of color, held together by the common thread of Scripture, her work is unified in theme but diverse in content. Her work demonstrates how God has given us the capacity to experience so much – that our emotions run a wide gamut – though it is all for His glory. We respond to His freely given love, by giving it back just as freely.

Entering the main sanctuary, you will see the works of Devon Watson. With crystallizing images, her photos bring the less clear into focus. What we see is not always what is really there; sometimes we need another to show us what is hidden. We are reminded that creation is displaying more than we are noticing, and the trick is to keep our eyes open, and our hearts soft. Just a bend of light, or a twist of angle, and we are once again enraptured by an awesome God. Our response is one of wonder.

Past the stairs on the main floor, you will see the works of Matthew Bodaly.  With silhouettes and shadows they also convey a playfulness of light. At first glance somber, these photos’ subtle dance of light also creates an undertone of play.  Its duality reveals that God makes, not because He has to - bound by rules - but He makes and does all that He does out of joy, out of sheer delight to share His relationship with us.  We respond somberly and delightfully.
 
As you make your way downstairs for refreshments and fellowship, you will see the works of Annette Reisbick as well as the remaining works by Brittany Sponseller.  Annette’s felted pieces visibly exude texture and her work escapes constraints – a line twisting here, a piece of material flowing there.  They are simple, but by their simplicity conveying what is complex.  We are shown the mystery inherent in our Maker in crafting a universe so complex, and yet doing so with nothing more than the power of His word.

God has made everything that we can see, and everything that is hidden, and even our bodies to experience it.  Our response is simply to echo the words of our Maker, “It is very good, God. You are very good, God.”  It is the prayer of the artists, the prayer of our church, and the continuous prayers of our great High Priest, Jesus, that you would find your own voice and your own way to express devotion to our great God.

“Mars Hill Church lives for Jesus as a city within the city; knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus”.  This statement stands as a contextual complement for the great commission given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28.  All Christians are to be imitators of God, and at Mars Hill we live that out in various expressions of the statement above.  The constant tension is that, much like our culture, a mission statement can become a catch-phrase.  It’s important to think, pray, and act on this individually and corporately as a congregation.  Thanks to all those walking AS the church, putting actions to the words that our church lives by for Jesus’ fame.

– Pastor James Harleman