19.1 As a group, watch i, Robot (from 17:10 to 24:25) and discuss how Det. Spooner relentlessly pursues Sonny until he finds him. As we read through Jonah, we will discover a God who relentlessly pursues us in a similar fashion; One who loves us, wants us and calls us and, while never forcing himself on us, never gives up on us.
19.2 Read Jonah 1:1-4:11 (all of the book, in other words!) and invite the group to point out particular points of the book where these very traits of God's character are clearly evident; particularly, his pursuit of us.
19.3 Handout maps and background info on Nineveh and discuss just how horrific the situation was in Nineveh.
In Jonah 1:1-8 we see that Nineveh was in a bad way and God prompted Jonah to go there. However, Jonah went in the opposite direction on a ship to Tarshish. While he was on the ship, he made himself cosy in the cabin and fell asleep - during which time a huge storm started up. The captain woke Jonah up and asked him to pray to ask God to stop the storm. The sailors knew someone on board was responsible for the disaster and found out that Jonah was the culprit.
- Sometimes when we do wrong things, our sins can drag others down too. Invite the group to share times when they've been disobedient and others have suffered the consequences.
In verses 9-13, we go on to read of how the sailors tried rowing to shore to get away from the storm but made no progress. They were trying in vain to fix gthe situation themselves as the only other solution would be to thrown Jonah overboard and they didn't want to throw him overboard. The sailors thought that if they threw him overboard, God may punish them for it. However, they were so scared that they ended up throwing him into the sea anyway. as the sailors could see the immediate calmness of the sea they believed straight away.
- It's difficult doing as God says, especially if you think that it may offend others around you ie: not going somewhere your friends want you to go or refusing doing something they want you to do. Again, invite the group to share experiences like this they may have been in. What was the outcome? How did God reward them?
Jonah really feared God. He felt really bad for not doing as he'd been told to do. We can be like this too; we can feel very distant from God if we have made a choice to disobey God. When we have known the closeness of God and then we do what we want this is not God's will for our lives and we can grieve the Holy Spirit and feel very distant from God. This can be God's way of making it really clear to us that He does not want us to go down a certain path.
- Invite the group to share if they have known a time when God has been disappointed with a decision they've made? (eg: dating non-believers, etc)
19.5 As a group, read Jonah 3:1-10 and discuss Jonah's change of attitude, the Ninevites' response and God's actions. What can the group see of God's character here? Note in particular verse 10. It is interesting to read of the sincerity of the Ninevites' repentance; they 'turned from their evil ways' (NIV) and that, 'When God saw [this] he had compassion... on them...' We talk often of God's love being unconditional - and it is - yet fail to mention his forgiveness is conditional: our repentance must not be just from our lips but must be sincere. It must first come from our hearts and then transform our actions. Empty 'sorrys' are worthless and an abuse of grace. Verse 10 is a challenge to us to be truly repentant in light of what we have learned here about God's nature.
Week 19: Summary
Flying through the book of Jonah hasn't stopped us from learning a lot about God's character this week. The lesson has reinforced much of what we have already learned, yet more attributes of God's character have revealed themselves, too, including:
- God pursues us
- His salvation is for all
- His forgiveness is conditional
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