Preaching – Assoc. Pastor Vern Giesbrecht – Scripture passages: Jonah 1 & 2
Outline:
Act 1 – Jonah’s Disobedience (Chapters 1 & 2)
Scene 1 – Why Jonah disobeyed God’s direct command (1: 1-3)
- A difficult and dangerous mission
- To escape from the presence of God
- Result: Any direction away from God is downhill
Scene 2 – Why God sent a great storm (1: 4-16)
- To awaken Jonah from his sleep of denial
- To contrast Jonah with the pagan sailors
Scene 3 – Why God provided the great fish (1:17)
- To show His mercy and give Jonah a second chance
- To fulfill His purposes for Nineveh
Scene 4 – Jonah’s great prayer (2: 1-9)
- “God’s Severe Mercies” – Taken down before being lifted up
- God’s Grace – Deserving of divine justice
- God’s Grace – Unable to cleanse or redeem ourselves
- God’s Grace – It costs the death of another