Jonah
Sermon Series from August 2021 on God's Boundless Mercy
God's Scandalous Mercy
August 22, 2021 • Brett Wendle • Jonah 4
Sermon Application Questions: 1. Read Exodus 34:5-7. Why is it important be continually reminded of both the mercy and justice of God? What happens if we neglect one or the other of these truths? 2. Do you find it easy or difficult to trust that God’s heart towards you is characterized by mercy, even when you fail to live for him? How does the book of Jonah help in this? 3. One sign of trouble in Jonah’s heart was that he was more concerned about the plant that made his booth more comfortable than he was the people in Nineveh who needed God’s mercy. How is this an expression of pride? Are there ways this self-focus shows up in your life? 4. Do you regularly pray to share God’s heart towards unbelievers and opportunities to speak with them about Jesus? Is there a particular relationship in which you want to increasingly have both compassion and opportunities to share? 5. Think of people, groups, or political movements in our culture that you perceive as threatening to the freedoms of Christians. Does it help your posture of heart towards them to remember that “they don’t know their right hand from their left”? What do you think it looks like to speak and to act towards them out of a heart of compassion rather than contempt? __________________________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI# 1595532
God's Inclusive Mercy
August 15, 2021 • Josh Mathews • Jonah 3
Sermon Application Questions: 1. Who would you consider your enemy today? Think of people/groups that stand on the opposite side of the spectrum socially/politically/culturally/spiritually. What is your primary posture towards these "enemies"? 2. Share a time you've experienced the inclusive mercy of God giving you a second chance. 3. Share a time you've experienced God calling you to something that was hard. 4. Do you feel called to be a part of God's mission to make disciples? Why or why not? 5. The inclusive mercy of God is brutally honest and abundantly compassionate. Which of these realities comes easier for you? Why? Why is the other side hard? How can you pursue embodying both in your relationships? __________________________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI# 1595532
God’s Severe and Saving Mercy:
August 8, 2021 • Justin Denney • Jonah 2
Sermon Application Questions: 1. God’s severe mercy landed Jonah in the belly of a fish. Why is it important that we have this category of severe mercy—where God in his mercy brings hurt and pain— for our own lives? 2. When have you experienced God’s saving mercy in your own life? 3. What happened to Jonah when he minimized his own sin and looked on the sins of other people and groups? Why is it so important to think often about your own sin? Why is it important to look less on the sins of other people and other groups? __________________________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI# 1595532
God's Sovereign Commitment to Showing Mercy
August 1, 2021 • Brett Wendle • Jonah 1
Sermon Application Questions: 1. Jonah chapter 1 paints a picture of God as sovereign: in control of everything from a great storm to the casting of lots. Do you find the sovereignty of God more comforting or troubling? Why? 2. Jonah’s disobedience started when he elevated his nation above God in his priorities—he made his people an idol. Is there anything in your life that you find to be regularly challenging your obedience to God or your commitment to spending time with him? Do you have any relationships in which you are displeasing God in order to please another person? What do you think God wants you to do about these things? 3. God sent a storm after Jonah in order to turn him around and restore him to right relationship with God—the storm was a severe mercy. How does this inform how we think about suffering that comes into our lives? 4. Think of people who feel like enemies to you—maybe people who have wronged you, or are wronging you, or whose opinions you think are dangerous or harmful. How should knowing that God has mercy for his enemies shape the way you think about, pray for, and relate to them? __________________________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI# 1595532