What if the places you most want to avoid are the very places where God intends to meet you with mercy?

Recorded at the Scottsdale Bible Church Men’s Retreat in Williams, Arizona, this session opens the “Into the Deep” weekend journey through Jonah. After a brief welcome, Aaron leads men into Jonah 1—not as a children’s story, but as a mirror that exposes the heart and reframes what we think we know about God.

We talk about rebellion that moves “down” in subtle steps, the numbness that sin can produce, and how our choices spill over onto the people around us. And we talk about God’s mercy that pursues—calling, hindering, exposing, and refusing to be indifferent when we run.

God’s mercy goes deeper still. If you’ve been resisting, hiding, or just going through the motions, this is an invitation to stop running, open your heart, and let the Lord meet you—through His Word, through prayer, and through the brothers beside you.

What if the places you most want to avoid are the very places where God intends to meet you with mercy?

Recorded at the Scottsdale Bible Church Men’s Retreat in Williams, Arizona, this session opens the “Into the Deep” weekend journey through Jonah. After a brief welcome, Aaron leads men into Jonah 1—not as a children’s story, but as a mirror that exposes the heart and reframes what we think we know about God.

We talk about rebellion that moves “down” in subtle steps, the numbness that sin can produce, and how our choices spill over onto the people around us. And we talk about God’s mercy that pursues—calling, hindering, exposing, and refusing to be indifferent when we run.

God’s mercy goes deeper still. If you’ve been resisting, hiding, or just going through the motions, this is an invitation to stop running, open your heart, and let the Lord meet you—through His Word, through prayer, and through the brothers beside you.

What if the thing that feels like pressure isn’t condemnation—it’s mercy calling you back?

Joe and Mike pick up their conversation by contrasting two paths: a life lived under conviction while still running, and the “aha” freedom some people experience when they meet Jesus after years far from Him. Mike reflects on the wreckage he left behind—especially broken relationships—and Joe challenges him toward apology, repair, and the quiet healing that can come when you make things right.

We talk about how Mike fell in love with Scripture through imagery—seeing how the Old Testament forms patterns that the New Testament fulfills. They explore spiritual realities the Bible describes with startling clarity: angels, demons, and the call to stand armored in Christ. From there, Mike gets deeply practical about what it looks like to “pick up your cross daily”: early mornings, Bible, prayer, presence, discipline, and integrating Christ into work, marriage, and fatherhood.

The adventure isn’t comfort—it’s transformation. If you’re in depravity, half in and half out, or trying to lead other men through it, there’s hope: plant seeds, do the hard work, and keep coming back to Jesus.