Audio Messages & Sermon Series - Crosswinds, Plainfield, IL

This message reminds us that God’s grace is often scandalous to us because He gives it freely to those we think are undeserving — including us. Like Jonah, we can become angry when God’s mercy doesn’t align with our sense of justice or comfort. God lovingly appoints both blessings and hardships to shape our hearts toward His mission: to show grace to a broken world.

God asks Jonah a heart-checking question: “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah knew God’s grace for himself, but he resented that same grace when it was shown to his enemies. This message challenges us to process anger with God, let go of bitterness, and reflect God’s compassionate heart toward everyone.

In this message we explore how humility before God brings transformation and mercy. Using the example of the King of Nineveh in Jonah 3, we look at the contrasts between worldly power and pride with the humility of Christ—the ultimate King who gave up His glory to serve and save.

“Grace from the Pit” reminds us that God often meets us in our lowest moments to redeem and restore us. Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish wasn’t punishment but a rescue — a place where brokenness met grace.

Though Jonah ran from God’s call because he feared that God would be merciful to Israel’s enemies, God intervenes through a supernatural storm and a great fish in order to redirect Jonah and preserve his mission. The central point: we can be “swallowed up” by God’s grace—He will pursue us, save us, and send us back out to proclaim mercy, even when we resist.

God often sends storms into our lives not simply to punish, but to awaken us, redirect us, and draw us back into His purposes. Jonah tried to run away, avoided facing God’s call, and in doing so created a bigger problem—not just for himself, but for others around him. Yet God’s purposes persist, and even through disobedience, He pursues, disciplines, invites us to “arise,” repent, and take up what He has for us.

This sermon introduces Jonah chapter 1, emphasizing that Jonah’s flight from God’s command incurs “stormy seas” — turmoil and brokenness — because disobedience always brings consequences. Yet even in Jonah’s rebellion, God’s mercy pursues him: God sends storms, intervenes, and ultimately provides a way back.

Is artificial intelligence evil? That is the question Pastor Ken took on Sunday — and his answer was not a tech lecture. It was a walk through Matthew 15, where religious leaders confronted Jesus over something that looked scandalous on the surface: his disciples eating bread with unwashed hands. Jesus flipped the argument upside down. It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth (Matthew 15:11). Mark 7:20-23 says it even more bluntly — evil comes from within, out of the heart.

The scripture is Philippians 4:14-23 — Paul's closing words to a church that had supported him while he sat in prison. On the surface, it sounds like a polite "thanks for the cash." But Paul does something remarkable with it. He borrows the language of a business ledger ("credited to your account," "paid in full," "well supplied") and turns it into a picture of friendship. These believers weren't patrons buying influence, and Paul wasn't a client on the payroll. They were partners in the gospel.