Only then did I cry out to God. And he answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried and He heard me.

“You cast me into the dark of the sea and flood waters pressed in all around me. Your billows and waves passed over me. I have been cast out of your sight, but I will keep my eyes on your temple. The waters surrounded even my soul, and the deep closed around me. Weeds tangled around me and I went into the moorings of the mountains. The bars of the earth shut behind me forever…
But you have brought me out of that pit, LORD. When my soul was faint, I remembered You and my prayer went into Your temple. Those who regard useless idols give up their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with thanksgiving and pay what I vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.”

And when He spoke to the fish, it spat me onto dry land.

This week, we are looking at Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2.1-10. We hope you join us and read this section of Scripture before you come.

*This is a creative rendering of the book of Jonah by Ashley Berry. Download the full version here: word | pdf.

                          

Thought Patterns: Questions to ask yourself

- How does what we are doing point us towards the gospel?

- How does the Gospel impact what we are doing?

Words | Actions: Things to say and do

- Hug when greeting one another, and when parting.

- Ask “How’s your soul?” instead of “How are you doing?”

- Ask “How is the truth of the Gospel impacting your life?”

- Ask “How can I be praying for you?” and actually pray for that person then

Group Activities: What you can do while thinking through these things

- Sit together at lunch time

- Go to sporting events together

- You get the drift: do what you would normally do alone, together with other believers.

The tough part:

It’s easy to be secluded to your group of Christian friends, but we are to be in the world and reaching out to unbelievers. So in all these suggestions, don’t forget those who don’t believe in Christ. You sit with your Christian friends at school, don’t forget your atheist class mate who is sitting by himself. Be actually caring for the people around you, and pay attention to their needs.

(photo from: http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/gallery/jim.pike?key=ep&page=28)

                          

John Piper shares on commitment to the Church below:

Maybe you’re stuck

The colleges you applied to didn’t accept you. You haven’t gotten the job you wanted. You can’t join the military for one reason or another. What now? Stay faithful. Trust that God is going to send you where He wants you. So become a member at your Church, serve there in whatever way He leads, be willing to do what He commands.

God may have plans for you elsewhere, but He might keep you right where you are. You need to be ready for either one.

                          

Upon boarding I made my way down into the hold of the ship to sleep away the voyage. Though no matter how badly I wished it, the Lord would not allow my disobedience.

As I slept, a storm began, tossing the ship about as driftwood upon the sea and the growing tempest had the hull of the ship screaming in protest. On deck, the mariners were in a panic. Scrambling and crying out to their gods, they even began heaving cargo overboard to lighten the load. Soon the captain raced down to wake me, “What are you doing?!” He yelled, “Get up and call to your God. Perhaps HE will help us!”

Barely awake, I could hear the crew saying, “Let us cast lots so we know whose fault it is that this is happening!” So they cast lots, and to no great surprise, it fell on me. They clamored around me, frantic. “Tell us why this is happening! Where did you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”

“I am Hebrew,” I admitted. “And I fear the LORD, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the land.” They all recoiled in fear. “Why have you done this?” They knew I was running from God. I had already told them. “What can we do to calm the sea?” they shouted. The waters became more wrathful by the minute, roaring and showing the Lord’s power in devastating force. It was the most frightening display I had ever seen! I swallowed hard and knew what had to be done. Was this my release?

“Throw me into the sea,” I told them. “Then the sea will calm. I know this storm is because of me.” They were reluctant at first, not wishing my death and working hard to return to land, but the sea just grew more tempestuous. There was no escape with me aboard. They all cried, “Please, LORD, do not let us perish for this man’s sake. Do not charge us with innocent blood, for you have done as it pleases you!” With all options exhausted, they grabbed me and cast me into the sea, and it calmed for them. Seeing the Lord’s display, the sailors all offered a sacrifice to God and took vows.

As for me, I sank into the depths. But God’s plan was not about to end with my drowning. A giant fish suddenly appeared from the deep and swallowed me at once For three days and nights I sat in it’s dark, disgusting, and putrid belly…*

Join us tomorrow as we talk about Jonah’s heart in this time. And prepare your soul by reading the account in Scripture (Jonah 1.4-17).

*This is a creative rendering of the book of Jonah by Ashley Berry. Download the full version here: word | pdf.

                          

Here is what some people said after this weekend,

“The service was great. I should have left a tip ;0) I just may have to attend the Atmosphere services the rest of this month or listen on line to hear the rest of it. Gulp….what a message…one that everyone needs to hear.”

“[Josh] you and the others did a wonderful job today! thank you for the uplifting music! it’s always nice to hear.”

“Keep up the good work!!!!! Good job with the youth today.”

“Absolutely awesome day at church Josh. The Spirit was leading and it was so powerful. You guys really need to lead church more often. The music was so powerful. You are doing a really good job with Atmosphere.”

Those are just a couple of the comments that I received. The service was GREAT, and we could not have done it without all the help from the following students. Thank you for loving Jesus and serving Him with your time!

• Justin Hausman
• Becka Martin
• Ryan Libby
• Kim Lessard
• Cody DeGraff
• Sarah Marchand
• Hannah Rodrigue
• Nate Gould
• Cameron Klingman
• Gabe Klingman
• Josh Frechette
• Rachel Libby
• Ryan Hausman
• Zach Provencher

Thanks guys, you make my job fun! I can’t wait to see what Jesus does through you guys!

                          

“Early years of spiritual fellowship invested in study, prayer, discussion, evangelism, and the sheer exhilaration of seeking to discover the will of God for our own lives, and the purpose of God for our fellowship, repay vast dividends in the future….. We ought to thank God with all our hearts if we have had the privilege of being bound together with fellow Christians like this, to live and to die for Christ and His cause.” (pg 7)

What a great blessing we have been given here at Atmosphere. May we not merely attend and consume, but may we gather and worship Jesus for His glory and fame!

                          

When the Lord spoke to me, He left no room for debate. He said, “Go to the great city Nineveh and confront it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

I failed to heed this command as it seemed to be beyond reason. After all, He is merciful; I knew if I went that He would save them and that they were far from deserving. So I put it out of my mind and, instead, headed for Tarshish- away from the Lord and far from His will. I found a ship in Joppa willing to take me for a simple fee.*

This weekend, we will see how Jonah ran from God’s Word. Read the account in Scripture (Jonah 1.1-3) and join us at Atmosphere as Josh preaches through this section.

*This is a creative rendering of the book of Jonah by Ashley Berry. Download the full version here: word | pdf.

                          

We recently finished a series on what makes up Atmosphere. Below are the links to the audio. For more content, visit http://atmospherechurch.com/media.

05.01.10 | What is the Gospel?

05.15.10 | What is Community?

05.22.10 | What is Mission?

06.12.10 | How Does Community Work?

06.19.10 | How does Mission Work (part. 1; part. 2)

                          

“I deserve that thy kingdom be taken away from me. Lord, I confess my sin with feeling, lamentation , a broken heart, a contrite spirit, self-abhorrence, self-condemnation,self-despair. Give me relief by Jesus my hope.”  pg 190

Valley of Vision is a series of blog post that will contain quotes from the book Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

                          

(right click on image and ‘save as’ to help promote Jonah over your social media sites/wallpaper)

The Book |

Jonah is a great book and I look forward to digging into it with you guys over the next couple of months. Jonah is many times linked with a fish and the major focus is on this small portion of the message. We will see that Jonah is more about “Revealing God’s Heart and Ours”, which is the title for this series. Click on this link and you will find the books I have been using for this series, the Jonah promo video (done by our very own video team), a schedule of the sermons for the next two months, and other great things.

(RSS Click through for video)

Jonah Promo from Atmosphere Church on Vimeo.

Invite your friends and family as for the series Jonah we will be OPEN to all ages!

                          

So click over and follow @AtmosphereYouth!

                          

Understand our Calling – We need to see that every single one of us has a calling on our life.

• Get into the Bible – The Bible will help is see the explicit things that we are called to do. These are, but are not limited to; studying about Jesus, praying, giving, going, loving, serving.
• Get into community (you need feedback) – You need people to let you know if what you are dreaming about doing is really what God has for you. I might feel like God is calling me to be a basketball player, I could even have big hopes to make it into the NBA. What I really need are people around me letting me know I’m 5’8″ white boy who is about 15 lbs over weight.
• Get into service (mission) – It is really hard to know where God wants you when your just sitting there playing Halo, COD, or reading twilight. Do something, anything; just serve Jesus.
• Get out of the river and onto the stream to see Life pass by - After you have done the above, and only after, take a day to get out of the craziness of life and see what God is saying to you. Take your Bible, notebook and maybe some key reading and think through where God is leading you.
• Get into action – Go after it!

These are just a few ways to help us discern the call God has on our life. What are some others?

                          

• Journaling Bible | This is a great way to be in the word and put your thoughts down as you read. You can use this to make notes to remind yourself of the greatness of Christ in the whole Bible.
• Journaling Moleskine | You can use this to keep your thoughts, ideas and tasks. Journaling helps you see what is dear to you and your life.
• Backgroud images | These are great ways to be reminded when you get on your computer about the importance of living for Christ.
• Don’t Waste Your Life (Book)| This is a great read for anyone looking to not waste their life. Find it here. Also, you can check out our Don’t Waste Your Summer page and grab a free copy of Don’t Waste Your Life, by John Piper.
• Don’t Waste Your Life (Sermon) | Piper’s message on the idea of the book.
• Don’t Wast Your Life video – Here is a video by Lecrae -
• Lecrae “Rebel”:  iTunes | Amazon
  

Hope some of these will be helpful for you as you strive to live your life to the glory and fame of Jesus!

                          

Jonah Promo from Atmosphere Church on Vimeo.

                          

So be our friend! We’d love to stay in touch and hear from you regarding how you’re growing.

                          

Here is a quote that I used this past weekend at Atmosphere Park Ave. I was preaching on The Kingdom and our lives.

“For the lusts of the flesh hold us entangled, when in our minds we dwell in the world, and think not that heaven is our country; but when we pass as strangers through this life, we are not in bondage to the flesh.”
Calvins Commentaries (22 Volume Set) – 1 Peter 2.11 (page 78)

What a great plea from Calvin to live not of this world, but to live of the world to come. May our lives daily seek to live in The Kingdom of God here and now!

                          

Abide from Threads on Vimeo.

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