Community Group Questions
We are 4 weeks into our sermon series “For God so Loved Nineveh” where we have been getting a glimpse into God’s heart for those who don’t know Him, and what our response should be when He calls us to reach out. So far, we have seen God’s clear call to Jonah, telling him to go to Nineveh and call out against their sin as it has come before Him.
We saw Jonah’s hardened heart cause him to run in disobedience not wanting his enemies to receive God’s grace. We have seen God chase him, catch him, and finally, safely deliver him to shore.
This week we see God speak to Jonah a second time calling him to “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” This time things go quite a bit differently.
Read: Jonah 3
Discuss:
1. After Jonah spent 3 days being tossed around inside a fish, God called him a second time to go to Nineveh and call them to repentance. This time he obeyed. What change had taken place in Jonah leading up to this? (Chapter 2:6-9)
2. God said to Jonah, “go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” God did not expect Jonah to have the words to say, or to do the work within them to change their hearts. Why do we often think He expects us to?
3. After Jonah called out against the people of Nineveh, what was their response? How did word travel and what was the ultimate result?
4. When Jonah looked at Nineveh, he didn’t see them as unreachable or beyond hope, in fact he knew God was able to show mercy and feared they would repent (4:1-3). What does this say of Jonah’s faith, and what does it say of his heart for those he considers his enemy?
5. As a church and as individuals, what reasons do we give as to our own hesitation in bringing the gospel to those around us?
6. How does the message God gave Jonah compare with the message we often bring ourselves?
