Wildside 02.23.20

Wildside February 23, 2020

Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God showed mercy to the Ninevites.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

Small Group opening

(10–15 minutes)

Large Group Bible study

(25–30 minutes)

Small Group activities

(25–30 minutes)

Leader BIBLE STUDY

The Book of Jonah is not primarily about Jonah and a big fish. While those elements are important, Jonah’s account centers around the compassion of God, not only for the people of Israel, but for people throughout the earth—even Israel’s worst enemies!

God spoke to Jonah: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me” (). God is the judge of all the earth () and He is sovereign over all the nations. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, and the rulers of Nineveh were notoriously evil and cruel. No wonder Jonah ran the other way!

No one can flee from God’s presence. () Through a storm and some time in the belly of a fish, God got Jonah’s attention. Jonah went to Nineveh. For three days, Jonah walked around the city. His message to the Ninevites was brief: “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!”

The people of Nineveh immediately repented, and God withheld His judgment. He passed over their sins and did not demolish the city. How did Jonah react? “Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious” ().

God rebuked Jonah and prompted him to examine his heart. He left Jonah—and the reader—with a question to consider: “Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh?” ().

Jesus is greater than Jonah. () Jesus came calling all sinners, Jews and Gentiles, to repentance. He didn’t only bring a message, He truly loved us. He submitted to God’s will with joy and laid down His own life for our sins. God shows His mercy in the gospel, forgiving those who trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. God sends us out, like Jonah, to share the good news of salvation.

The BIBLE Story

Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh

God told the prophet Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh. Tell them to stop doing evil things.” Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The people there were enemies of God’s people. Jonah did not go to Nineveh. He got on a boat heading the other way!

God sent a terrible storm, and the sailors were afraid! They cast lots, like flipping coins or tossing dice, to figure out who caused this trouble. The lot fell on Jonah. They asked Jonah, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew. I worship the one true God who made everything.”

What had Jonah done to make God angry? The sailors did not know what to do, so Jonah told them to throw him into the sea. When they did, the storm stopped. From that moment on, the sailors worshiped the one true God.

God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah prayed and thanked God for sending the fish to save him. Then the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land.

God said to Jonah, “Go to Nineveh and preach My message.” So Jonah went. He walked around the city shouting God’s message: “In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!”

The people turned from their evil ways. Everyone put on sackcloth and did not eat. Even the king repented. God decided not to destroy Nineveh.

“I knew it!” Jonah said. “I know You are a gracious God. You show mercy to people. You are slow to anger, and You are loving. I knew You would decide to not destroy Nineveh. I am so mad!”

“Is it right for you to be angry?” God asked. Jonah left Nineveh and made a shelter where he could still see the city.

God taught Jonah a lesson. He provided a plant to shade Jonah from the sun. Jonah was glad to have the plant. But the next day, God sent a worm. The worm attacked the plant, and the plant died. Then God sent a dry east wind. Jonah was so hot, he almost fainted. “I want to die,” Jonah said.

God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“Yes!” Jonah said. “It is right. I’m so angry, I could die.”

God said, “You cared about the plant, but you did not take care of it or make it grow. It only lasted one day. But Nineveh is a big city with thousands of people. I created them and care about them. Aren’t they more important than a plant?”

Christ Connection: God called Jonah to go to his enemies and call them to turn away from their sin, but Jonah refused. Instead, he ran away. Later, God sent Jesus to His enemies to call us to repentance. Jesus willingly obeyed. Jesus died on the cross to rescue us from sin.

Small Group Opening

Session Title: Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God showed mercy to the Ninevites.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

Welcome time

Greet each kid as he or she arrives. Use this time to connect to your group and make sure each student is checked in.

Encourage kids to tell about their favorite place to hide when they play hide-and-seek.

Say • Have you ever tried to run and hide from God? Do you think you could run away to somewhere God couldn’t find you? Today we are going to hear a story about someone who tried to run from God, but he discovered that no one can hide from God. Let’s find out what happened.

Activity page

Invite kids to complete the “Jonah’s Journey” maze on the activity page.

Say • Do any of you know about the story of Jonah? [Allow kids to raise their hands.] You might remember that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish. Do you know why? Do you know where he was going and what God had asked him to do? That’s what we are going to hear about in today’s Bible story!

Transition to large group

Table Wars

Large Group LEADER

Session Title: Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God showed mercy to the Ninevites.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

It’s been a busy news weekend. Remember last week, we looked at the bad news in the world, but also the great news we heard from God’s word about Hosea and Gomer. Today we get to talk about Jonah.

Maybe you have heard this story before, but do you know how it fits into the big story of the Bible—the story of God’s plan to rescue people from sin through His Son, Jesus? If you don’t know, that’s OK because we are going to find out!

Big picture question

Leader • Remember, last week we learned about Hosea. Hosea was a prophet too. His story taught us what God is like. That’s our big picture question: What is God like? Do you know the answer?

Allow kids to answer. Then guide them to say the answer together: God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

Leader • Let’s hear Jonah’s story and see what it teaches us about God.

Tell the Bible story

Open your Bible to the Book of Jonah. Now let’s watch the Bible story video “Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh.”

Leader • Raise your hand if you have heard that story before. Maybe you have heard of Jonah being swallowed by a big fish. It sounds like a unbelievable tale, but it’s true! Everything in God’s Word is true.

Now, let’s see how well you listened. Open your Bibles to the Book of Jonah. [Assist kids as needed. Show them how to use the table of contents.]

I am going to ask a question and we are going to see who can answer first. To answer, you have to turn in your Bible to Jonah and tell me the chapter and verse where the answer is found.

Ask the following review questions. If needed, give kids a hint by revealing which chapter of Jonah the answer is in.

Where did God tell Jonah to go? (to Nineveh, )

How did God stop Jonah from running away? (He sent a terrible storm, )

What did Jonah tell the sailors do with him? (Throw him into the sea, )

What happened to Jonah when he was thrown into the sea? (A big fish swallowed him, )

How long was Jonah in the fish? (three days and three nights, )

What happened after Jonah prayed to God from inside the fish? (The fish vomited Jonah onto dry land, )

What message did Jonah tell the people in Nineveh? (In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed; )

What did the Ninevites do when they heard Jonah’s message from God? (They turned from their evil ways and repented, )

When God saw the actions of the Ninevites, what did He do? (God decided not to destroy Nineveh, )

How did Jonah feel when God showed mercy to the Ninevites? (Jonah was angry, )

God used a plant to teach Jonah a lesson. What happened to the plant? (A worm attacked the plant, and the plant died; )

What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

Leader • Jonah was angry when God showed mercy to the Ninevites because they were enemies of Israel. But God taught Jonah that He made people and He cares about them. We are all sinners who need God’s mercy. God loves to be merciful! He showed mercy to us by sending Jesus to call us—His enemies!—to repent. Jesus willingly obeyed the Father, and He died on the cross to rescue us from sin.

Key passage

Show the key passage poster. Lead the boys and girls to read together .

Leader • How does this verse describe God? (gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love)

Talk about ways God shows grace, compassion, patience, and love in our lives.

Discussion starter video

Leader • Think about a time someone has treated you badly. How did you feel about that person? Is it easy or hard to show mercy to others? Check this out.

Show the “Unit 14, Session 2” discussion starter video.

Leader • Have you ever ignored helping someone because that person wasn’t your friend? Do you think that person deserves your help? Should you help him or her? Why or why not? [Invite kids to discuss.]

Jonah did not want to take God’s message to his enemies, and he was angry when God showed mercy to the Ninevites. God explained that He cares about all people. God showed mercy to sinners when He sent Jesus to die for us when we were His enemies. Because God has shown mercy to us, we can show mercy to others.

Pray

Invite kids to pray before dismissing to small groups.

Leader • God, Your Word tells us that You are compassionate, slow to anger, and full of love. We see these truths in the story of Jonah and the Ninevites. Father, help us to return to You and make You first in our lives. Show us Your mercy as we give our hearts and our lives to You. Amen.

Dismiss to small groups

Small Group LEADER

Session Title: Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God showed mercy to the Ninevites.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

Key passage activity

Divide your group into pairs. Each pair should practice saying the key passage, saying every other word. Give them a couple minutes to practice it and then time each group…seeing who can do it the fastest.

Say • Does anyone want to try to say our key passage from memory? [Allow volunteers to recite .]

Let’s work on memorizing this verse so we will remember what God is like. What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.

Bible story review

Display a large piece of paper on the table. Label the left side of the paper Jonah and the right side Ninevites.

Distribute Bibles and guide kids to open them to the Book of Jonah. Explain that Jonah is in the Old Testament, in the division of the Minor Prophets. Show kids how to use the table of contents if they struggle to find Jonah.

Say • In today’s Bible story, we learned that God showed mercy to the Ninevites. The Ninevites were not just sort-of-bad people; they were very bad! Other nations were afraid of the Ninevites. God would have been right to destroy them, but He showed them mercy by sending Jonah to warn them.

Now, God did not only show mercy to the Ninevites; He showed mercy to Jonah too. Let’s list ways God showed mercy to Jonah and to the people of Nineveh.

Guide kids to look through the Book of Jonah and give examples of ways God showed mercy to Jonah and to the people of Nineveh. Sample answers include the following:

Jonah

 God provided a big fish to swallow Jonah.

 God gave Jonah another chance to go to Nineveh.

 God provided shade for Jonah.

Ninevites

 God sent Jonah to warn the Ninevites to turn back to God.

 God decided not to destroy the city of Nineveh.

List the ways on the piece of paper.

Say • God taught Jonah a lesson. God is loving and patient, and believers should show God’s love to everyone.

Journal and prayer

Distribute journal pages and pencils. Instruct the kids to write about a time they didn’t receive what they deserved, but instead received mercy.

Say • The greatest gift of mercy was given through Jesus when He gave His life for us. May we be grateful every day for such a gift from God.

Encourage kids to write one-sentence thank-you prayers to God for His mercy.

As time allows, lead kids to complete “True or False?” on the activity page.

Guide kids to determine if each statement is true or false. Provide Bibles for kids to check their answers. (Answers: 1. true; 2. false, Jonah got on a boat; 3. true; 4. false, 40 days; 5. false, the people listened to Jonah; 6. true; 7. false, Jonah was angry; 8. false, God provided a plant)