community group notes
INTRODUCTION
We've all tried to run from something. A conversation. A calling. A nudge from God we didn't want to hear. Three thousand years ago Jonah ran too —and he ran hard in the opposite direction. But God's mercy is relentless. You can run from God, but you can't outrun Him.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. When have you tried to run away — as a kid or as an adult? What were you running from?
2. Is there something God is nudging you toward right now that you keep avoiding? What makes it hard to say yes?
3. Read Jonah 1:1-4 and Proverbs 3:12. Jonah didn't just run FROMGod — he ran TO Tarshish. Where do you tend to run TO? What if the hard thing in your life is God's pursuit, not His punishment?
4. Reluctant to obey. Reluctant to follow Jesus. Which one is you right now? What's one step you can take this week to stop running?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. PROVERBS 3:12 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
We've all hit rock bottom. The moment options run out. The moment hope runs out. Three thousand years ago Jonah hit bottom in the belly of a fish. And he prayed. His prayer wasn't perfect. But one word turned everything around — "yet." Running ends where repentance begins.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. When have you hit rock bottom — or a mini rock bottom? What did it feel like when the options ran out?
2. When you were there, what did you reach for (a prayer, a person, a drink, a distraction)? Where did you actually turn?
3. Read Jonah 2:1-4. Jonah's prayer starts in distress and pivots on one word: "yet." What in your life right now needs a "yet"?
4. The sermon named three grace truths: I don't deserve it. I can't earn it. God saved us anyway. Which one is hardest for you to fully believe? What changes this week when you do?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
"But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, 'Salvation comes from the Lord.'" Jonah 2:9 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Most of us are trying to be good, not perfect (we gave up on that), just good. Nineveh got “good” down. Fasting, sackcloth, the king in the dust. And two generations later they were right back where they started. They turned from their violence, but they never turned to God. Jonah chapter three teaches us this valuable lesson: Turning “from” isn't the same as turning “to”.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What's something you've quit, and then quit again? What made it stick or not stick?
2. Where has willpower run out on you? What were you relying on to change?
3. Read Jonah 3:1-10. What stands out to you in these verses?
4. Read Jonah 3:5. Nineveh believed Elohim (the generic word for God), not Yahweh, His personal name. They changed their behavior without ever turning to Him. Where have you done the same thing?
5. What have you turned from but never turned to God about? Name it. What's one thing you bring to Him this week instead of just managing?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 CORINTHIANS 7:10 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
It’s easy to become frustrated when God shows someone else the kindness, blessing, mercy, or breakthrough we wanted for ourselves. Jonah became so angry over God’s compassion toward Nineveh that he completely missed what God wanted to do in his own heart. This week, we’ll look at how jealousy, comparison, and misplaced anger can turn us from participants into spectators—and how God invites us to examine our own hearts before focusing on everyone else’s.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What is something someone else has received or experienced that you secretly wished you had?
2. Read Jonah 4:1-4. Why do you think Jonah was so angry that God showed compassion to Nineveh? What does his response reveal about what was happening in his heart?
3. Read Jonah 4:5-8. Jonah sat outside the city waiting to see what would happen, while God was doing something incredible inside the city. What are some ways jealousy, anger, or comparison can cause us to become spectators instead of participants in what God is doing around us?
4. Read Jonah 4:9-11. God asks Jonah twice, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Why do you think God asked Jonah questions instead of simply telling him he was wrong? What might God be trying to reveal when He asks us questions about our own hearts?
5. Read Matthew 7:3-5. What makes it easier for us to recognize the problems in other people than the problems in ourselves? How can we become more willing to let God examine our own hearts?
6. Where might God be inviting you to move from comparison, jealousy, or anger toward repentance and trust? Take a few moments to quietly consider: What am I angry about? Who am I comparing myself to? What might I be missing because I’m focused on someone else? Where do I need to repent? (If appropriate, give the group a few moments of silence before allowing anyone who feels comfortable to share.)
CHANGING YOUR MIND
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in
your own eye?” MATTHEW 7:3 (NIV)