Reach

Introduction

PRAY

I watched a documentary a few weeks ago called “Heroin(e)” It is on Netflix and it is well worth your time.

Heroin(e) follows the lives of three extraordinary women in Huntington, West Virginia which has been called the overdose capital of America. The overdose rate in Huntington is 10x the national average. These three women, a Fire Chief, a Judge, and a street missionary are working to turn those truths around. And, they are seeing some success.

And, rightly so, my wife sometimes get bothered when I am on my phone when I get home. I mean, by the time I get home, I usually only get a few hours with my family before the kids go to bed, and so it is reasonable for her to want me to get off of my phone.

From 2013 to 2016 America Taxpayers have spent over 320 Billion on drug control and care efforts.

And, to be honest, we can all get a bit jaded. Why are my tax dollars going to pay to save someone who has chosen to use heroin?

And there have been a few times when I will see her noticeably get upset. And so I ask, “what’s wrong with you? You upset about something.”

My mom has been a paramedic in rural Ohio for almost 30 years and was talking to her about this epidemic the other day. She mentioned that she can get 2-3 calls per day for heroine overdoses. Sometimes, the same person twice in a day.

And she might say something like - “you only have a few hours each day to connect with us, and you’ve been on your phone since you got home.”

Why am I paying to save people who would overdose twice in the same day?

Or maybe you get bothered by other areas.

Maybe you have a problem with your tax dollars paying for pedophiles to be in prison - you’d rather they get a swift death sentence.

Maybe you’re irked by the different social programs in our government and you don’t like that fact that your tax dollars pay for someone else’s housing, or groceries, or healthcare.

I’m not interested in talking politics - what I am interested in is how we take our opinions about what other people do and do not deserve so poison our thinking that we would say -maybe not outloud, but surely in our mind - not only do you not deserve my tax dollars, but you don’t deserve Jesus.

But, perhaps your opinions about these types of things move past the realm of a person opinion that I keep to myself and into the realm of affecting the way in which you live for your daily life. Into the realm of affecting the way in which you engage God’s mission.

Maybe you don’t want to serve refugees in Cleveland and reach them with the gospel because you don’t feel like they belong here - a drain on our system.

CVCMissions has developed a group of local ministries in Cleveland that we call the Big Ten. Each of these ministries mirrors the heart of God in a unique way.

Cleveland Pregnancy Center

Maybe you are resistant to feeding the poor because you feel like they need to get a job for goodness sakes!

Maybe you are resistant to feeding the poor because you feel like they need to get a job for goodness sakes!

Maybe you are uninterested in volunteering at a pregnancy center because, well, if you want to sleep around, that’s what you get!

Building Hope in the City

Maybe you are uninterested in volunteering at a pregnancy center because, well, if you want to sleep around, that’s what you get!

Maybe the thought of taking the gospel to Pearl Island is abhorrent to you because you’ve got too much hatred in your heart for Muslims.

Care on the Square

Maybe the thought of taking the gospel to Pearl Island is abhorrent to you because you’ve got too much hatred in your heart for Muslims.

The E

This is the story of Jonah

Jonah is a racist, a bigot, he is prejudiced. He hates the idol-worshipping, animal sacrificing, blood-thirsty Assyrians. He hates them!

And he hates them so much that he has no interest in God having any sort of mercy on them.

In week 1 pastor Chad mentioned that God could have destroyed Nineveh just like Sodom and Gomorah - rain down fire from heaven. And Jonah would have loved to be sitting up on the hill watching it happen.

This is how Jonah feels

Jonah is a racist, a bigot, he is prejudiced. He thinks he’s better than everyone else. That they are undeserving of God’s mercy.

He hates the idol-worshipping, animal sacrificing, blood-thirsty Assyrians. He despises them.

And he hates them so much that he has no interest in God having any sort of mercy on them.

In week 1 pastor Chad mentioned that God could have destroyed Nineveh just like Sodom and Gomorah - rain down fire from heaven. And Jonah would have loved to be sitting up on the hill watching it happen.

There is a scene in the documentary where Jan Rader, the fire chief in Huntington, is at a meeting with other government officials and community members talking about the heroine overdose epidemic in Huntington. The conversation moves to the topic of Noxalone (the drugs that saves the lives of those experiencing overdose (you may have heard it called naracan. One man stands up and says this:

And sometimes I might respond the right way - you know, you’re right - I’m sorry. *turn phone off*

Jan Rader -

“A lot of people believe in town that by having Naloxone more available that it is just empowering the addicts.” And he says to Jan, “ How would you respond to that?”

But sometimes, perhaps I have had a long day, or I’m on the phone dealing with something difficult, I might pull one of these.

*set down phone, sit in a grouchy posture* “Okay, here I am - what do you want to talk about?”

And I love her response. It is filled with, hope, love, and compassion.

Jan says, “the only qualification for getting into long-term recovery is that you have to be alive. I don’t care if I save someone fifty times, that’s fifty chances to get into long-term recovery.”

Jan believes that people are worth her time, worth her money - worth her compassion.

Do you believe that people are worth your time, money, and compassion - do you believe that they are worthy of the gospel?

Jonah is a racist, a bigot, he is prejudiced. He hates the idol-worshipping, animal sacrificing, blood-thirsty Assyrians. He despises them.

And he hates them so much that he has no interest in God having any sort of mercy on them.

In week 1 pastor Chad mentioned that God could have destroyed Nineveh just like Sodom and Gomorah - rain down fire from heaven. And Jonah would have loved to be sitting up on the hill watching it happen.

Transition #1

Transition #1

The book of Jonah is

Jonah is a racist, a bigot, he is prejudiced. He hates the idol-worshipping, animal sacrificing, blood-thirsty Assyrians. He hates them!

And he hates them so much that he has no interest in God having any sort of mercy on them.

In week 1 pastor Chad mentioned that God could have destroyed Nineveh just like Sodom and Gomorah - rain down fire from heaven. And Jonah would have loved to be sitting up on the hill watching it happen.