Tuesday 19th January
For the next 4 weeks we’re in a sermon series looking at Jonah. The book of Jonah is a short book and sandwiched between Obadiah and Micah in a part of the Bible called the ‘minor prophets’ – but they have so much to teach us! Not least Jonah. He lived about 800 years before Jesus in the northern Jewish Kingdom in the time of a faithless king (Jeroboam II - 2 Kings 14:25). This is a very important story in Jewish tradition and is read in its entirety each year as part of the Day of Atonement celebrations.
Lee touched on 4 main areas on Sunday:
Jonah’s unlikely calling
Jonah’s disobedience (and its consequences)
God’s grace in the call and in Jonah’s response
Our own calling and what we can learn from Jonah
Spend some time catching up with each other, then read the passage together.
What God is doing in the passage
God is dealing with different people in this first chapter. What do we learn about God’s heart for:
Jonah?
The people of Nineveh?
The sailors that Jonah sets off with?
What does this teach us about God’s heart for us?
What Jonah is up to
What is Jonah’s attitude towards:
God’s calling?
The people of Nineveh?
The sailors?
What were the consequences for Jonah and the sailors?
In what ways does this mirror how we sometimes feel about God and the people around us and what can we learn from God’s gracious response to this?
Practical ‘stuff’
What’s your experience of God asking you to do things? Feel free to share your experiences.
What are the things that have helped you hear His voice more clearly and to be confident in following His calling?
What can you do differently to develop your sensitivity to hearing God’s calling and stepping out in faith with Him?
(Clues: Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 31:34; John 14:15,26; John 16:13)
Spend time praying together.
