Week of September 29
Jonah 4
Opener
- What’s the last movie that made you cry? (If you’re a guy, what’s the last movie that should have made you cry, but you fought down the tears?)
Discussion
God has amazing compassion toward our neighbors, coworkers, and family members. We might cry in movies, but why is it so hard for us to feel compassion for real people, especially people who aren’t like us?
- Read Jonah 4:1-2. Jonah is misusing God’s word, by using God’s word in Exodus 34 against himself. How does the misuse of God’s word sidetrack us from God’s mission? Have any examples?
- Jonah is failing to appreciate God’s compassion on Ninevah because he fails to appreciate God’s compassion on him. What’s a time when God showed his compassion on you, and you didn’t realize it until later?
- Read Jonah 4:3. Jonah’s idols of identity and security are threatened by the Ninevites, so if they live, he wants to die. What’s one thing you have that would make life meaningless if you lost?
- How might that thing be distracting you from God’s mission for your life?
- Read Jonah 4:4-6. God is showering Jonah with his compassion and provision. How can God’s compassion on us empower our mission to the world?
- Read Jonah 4:7-11. God has amazing compassion on people who are “in that kind of spiritual fog, that spiritual stupidity” (as Tim Keller put it). Which type of person do you struggle most to have compassion on?
- Someone who’s made terrible life choices
- Someone who believes really dumb things
- Someone who supports a candidate you despise
- Jonah cares more about a plant than the fate of thousands of people. What’s one thing you’re tempted to care more about than God and his mission?
Action Step
- Memorize this verse as a group: In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)