JONAH 3
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Application Guide
READ THE TEXT
JONAH 3
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you.” 3 Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.
Now Nineveh was an extremely great city, a three-day walk. 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished!” 5 Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.
6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he issued a decree in Nineveh:
By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. 8 Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent; he may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.
10 God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In general, was there anything that stood out to you from the sermon or the reading of the text? Was there anything you were encouraged or confused by?
In spite of trying to run from God, Jonah ended up in the right place to make a difference. How does this encourage us to be faithful in the place that God has us?
“First God changes the person. Then He changes the community.” Why is this order important for us to remember as we engage on mission in the world?
As the people of God, our primary message should be one of redemption through faith in the good news of Jesus. What are some other competing messages we might be tempted to share instead of this?
How was the gospel and the work of Jesus magnified through the text or sermon?
Is there anything the Spirit is calling you to obey as an individual or as a group?