Jonah Learns a Lesson

Bible Point:
Following God’s direction is always the right choice.

Key Verse:
"The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in
them, but the rebellious stumble in them”
(Hosea 14:9b).

Bible Exploration: Jonah 1:1-3:10

Many of us are familiar with the story of Jonah. Jonah knew specifically what God
wanted him to do and made a very conscious choice to rebel against God and go the
other way. Sound familiar? Adults so often say, “If only I knew what God wanted me to
do…” But in reality, we often do know, and we often choose our own path rather than
God’s. Rebelling against God’s good plans for us is never a good idea! Today’s lesson
will help adults realize that following God’s direction is always the right choice, and it’s
also always the best choice for us.

To think about and answer:
• According to Jonah 1:1-10, what did God tell Jonah to do? How did Jonah respond?

• According to Jonah 3, how did the Ninevites respond to what Jonah said? How did God then respond to the Ninevites?

• Why do you think God gave Jonah another chance?

• What did these verses reveal about what happens when we don’t obey God?

Family Worship Challenge:
• Play Follow the Leader with your children. Have family members participate in lots of fun activities, such as sliding down the stairs and eating ice cream. Then talk about what it
was like to follow a leader in this game. Use this time to begin a discussion about what it means to follow God’s direction. Talk about the things we do that God doesn’t want us to
do. Then talk about God’s willingness to forgive us after we sin, and draw pictures of happy people who have asked for—and received—God’s forgiveness.