Sunday 1-11-26 with Johnathan Pfeffer

This message confronts one of the most misunderstood emotions in our spiritual lives: anger. We often carry shame about being angry, believing it disqualifies us from following God. Yet Scripture reveals a more nuanced truth—anger itself is not sin, but rather a signal revealing what our hearts love most. Jesus overturned tables in the temple, grew angry at hardened hearts that overlooked the suffering, and confronted those who prevented children from coming to Him. His anger was always aligned with God's heart for justice, compassion, and truth. The central teaching draws from Proverbs 19:11, which introduces the Hebrew concept of 'bina'—insight that allows us to understand the deeper motives behind our emotions. This insight creates a fork in the road: we can either spiral into impatience, resentment, and bitterness, or we can gain understanding that leads to forgiveness and compassion. The story of Jonah powerfully illustrates how anger can resist God's grace when we love our preferences, comfort, or sense of justice more than we surrender to His purposes. Jonah's anger at God's mercy toward Nineveh reveals how our unchecked anger often stems from disproportionate love—when we cling to what we want instead of aligning with God's heart. The message challenges us to examine whether our anger serves God's grace and direction, or whether it holds us captive to past offenses and prevents us from reaching toward the new things God has for us.