The Sunday School class that meets in Room 200 regathered last Sunday and will meet again at 9:15 a.m. each Sunday. There is a Sunday Worship service immediately following the class. Those who attend are asked to wear facial coverings and stop at a check-in table in the library before going to the classroom.

The Friday ladies Bible study group at First Baptist has launched a new Bible study. It meets weekly, ending before Thanksgiving. Mary Brown is facilitating the study by Ray VanderLaan and a short video entitled “The Mission of Jesus”. There is no cost for this study. Ray VanderLaan is the creator of the Faith Lessons series on Focus On The Family, and founder of That The World May Know Ministries. He is an ordained minister and the chairman of Biblical Cultural Studies and instructor at Holland Christian Schools in Michigan. The group is honoring social distancing, wearing masks, and meeting in Room 200 at the church. Meeting dates are Oct. 2, 16 and Nov. 6, 20 at 9:30 a.m.

Kids Church will resume on Sunday, Oct. 4. Children in Kindergarten through 6th grade are welcome and must have a facial covering. Kids Church will take place during the Sunday Worship service, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

We are seeking folks to participate in passing out treats at our outdoor trunk-or-treat and Candyland event on Oct. 30. Those who volunteer are asked to decorate your vehicle, which is where you will pass goodies out to the children in costume who attend. You are asked to provide the treats; please do not purchase candy with peanut butter due to some having peanut allergies. Plan for 200-300 children. There will be a prize for the best-decorated vehicle! If you wish to participate email claire.metzger@firstbaptisthamilton.org or katie.simpson@firstbaptisthamilton.org. Those who hand out treats are encouraged to wear facial masks.

Jonah 1–4: The Fear of the Lord versus Fear of the World

Scripture: “According to the Word of the Lord.” Jonah 3:3

God is sovereignly at work in the calling of Jonah, the sea, the sailors, the fish, the Ninevites, the vine, the worm, and the writing and preservation of this historical account…even over you right now as you hear this account!

Psalm 139:8, we cannot escape from God’s pursuit. God is sovereign and immutable (never changing), so His purpose for us is perfect.

The sailors and Ninevites feared the Lord exceedingly, the shepherds in Luke 2 and the disciples in Mark 4 all feared exceedingly…let’s get our fear in the right place! Fear how gloriously God pursues His people.

2 Timothy 2:24-26, “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

The Sign of Jonah: Matthew 12:39 & 16:4.

Acts 11:15-18, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

We are called to repentance, to live “according to the Word of the Lord.”