Big Fish, part 4 — Unexpected Repentance
Welcome to part 4 of our series Big Fish, where we will unpack the book of Jonah, experiencing this familiar Sunday school story in a fresh, new way. This week, we explore Jonah 3.
1. Talk about a time when you have given someone a second chance. When have you received a second chance that was largely unexpected?
2. Read Jonah 3:1-2. In what ways do the words “a second time” carry much of the theme of Jonah?
3. In his sermon, Jarm outlined the following traps that keep us from taking advantage of or recognizing the second chances we are given:
1. The Fatal Failure Trap – where we think we have strayed too far or our sins, and our failures are too great that God will never use us or maybe even forgive us.
2. The Finish Line Trap – when you feel like you have reached the end of the road, and there is not much left that God wants to do in you and through you.
Have either of these “traps” hindered you in taking God up on a second chance? How does the lesson in Jonah chapter 3 help you see through these traps?
4. Read Jonah 3:3-6. In these verses, both Jonah and the Ninevites obey God. Which of these two parties would you expect to demonstrate true repentance? Why?
5. Read Jonah 3:7-9. Repentance is displayed first in a posture of the heart but there are also behaviors or actions that come with it. Where do you see those elements of repentance in this story? What does this look like today?
6. Read Jonah 3:10. Is God’s response to the Ninevites surprising to you? Does God delight in mercy or in judgment?
7. Talk about how this chapter of Jonah challenges the notion that the God of the Old Testament and the God revealed through Jesus Christ in the New Testament are somehow different in character (with the “OT God” being vengeful and the “NT God” being merciful).
8. Jarm makes the case that Ninevites’ repentance may be a bigger miracle that Jonah’s encounter with the big fish. Discuss the miraculous nature of this unexpected repentance, and any experiences you may have personally of such repentance.
(*Video available after Sunday services)
