Sermon Series Overview
The book of Jonah appears in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The theme of this short 4 chapter book is that God’s sovereign grace pursues rebellious sinners, transforms repentant hearts, and calls His people to share His compassion for the nations. One of the key verses is:
“I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love …”
— Jonah 4:2
The main thought is that Jonah is not the hero of the story – God is. We will find out what the mercy and grace of God looks like. We will explore the following themes and questions.
| Themes | Questions |
| Some of the themes we will encounter in this book are crucial for understanding and living out our Christian faith. God’s sovereignty over creation, nations, and history. God’s compassion for all peoples The seriousness of rebellion The necessity of repentance God’s discipline as an expression of fatherly love The danger of religious pride and self-righteousness The power of God’s Word to bring repentance God’s missionary heart for the nations The supremacy of divine grace | What is grace? What does it mean for God to be sovereign? Why is it important that we understand grace? What happens when we run from God? How does God deal with his people who are rebellious? Why is rebelliousness toward the Lord so serious? What kinds of things can cause us to run from God? How does God pursue his rebellious people? What is repentance? What does it look like and why is it impotant for Christian faith? What does God’s compassion on lost sinners look like? Why should we have compassion for lost sinners? What can block us from having such compassion on the lost? |
We will see that Jonah ultimately points us to Christ, the greater Prophet who willingly obeyed the Father to accomplish salvation.