Jonah & The Offensive Grace of God

Jonah 3 - Overturned!

September 22, 2024

Trish Haq

With a friend, your family or in your small group, discuss the following questions:

1. Have you ever witnessed or experienced a turn around? A moment where you, or someone you know, was going the wrong way, and needed to make a turn? Be as literal  (ie: making a u-turn in traffic) or spiritual (a come to Jesus moment) as you like.
2. Read Jonah chapter 3 together. What happens in this chapter? What details do you notice? Does anything stand out to you? What questions does this stir for you? Does anything inspire or encourage you?
3. God gave Jonah a second chance, despite his disobedience. Have you ever been given a second chance? How did it feel? Is there anywhere in your life right now where you are longing for a second chance? Is there anyone in your life who you think might need a second chance from you?
4. Read through the message Jonah gave to the Ninevites (Jonah 3:4). Share your thoughts about this message. The last word in Jonah’s sermon is “overthrown”. The Hebrew word being translated here can also be translated to mean “turn around” or “overturned”. In what ways does this leave room for hope?
5. Now read through the response of the Ninevites (Jonah 3:5). Does this response surprise you? Why, or why not? What do you think prompted them to respond in this way?
6. The Ninevites repented through fasting and wearing sackcloth. What do you think repentance looks like in the lives of God’s people today? How can repentance be shown?
7. In Jonah 3:6 we read that the king came off his throne. In what ways is this significant? As you think about the picture offered in this chapter of Nineveh’s repentance, what parallels do you see here to the Kingdom of God?
8. In what ways do you see in Jonah, a foreshadowing that points to Jesus? What is significant about the use of the number 3, found in both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3?
9. Reflect on your own life. In what areas do you think God might be inviting you to turn?

Pray for one another out of the points discussed. Ask for God’s Spirit to work in your hearts to reveal areas in need of overturning. Ask God to lead you in praying for others who need God’s work of overturning in their lives.