Sermon-Based Small Group Lessons

When God Gets Personal with My Rebellion

Dr. Les Hughes

February 15, 2009

 

 

Summary: Life-Changing Lessons

 

1.  The effects of sin may not be apparent until it’s too late.

        1b.  When God gets personal, my disobedience impacts others.

2.  Repentance is not based on feelings or intentions, but on intentional actions.

3.  God goes to extreme measures to reveal himself to people who rebel against Him.

4.  Sometimes the message of a storm is not for me, it’s for somebody else.

 

 

Scripture

 

Jonah 1

 

 1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."

 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

 4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
      But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

6 The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."

 7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

 8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"

 9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

 10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"

 12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."

 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

 17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

 

 

Opening Question

 

Tell of a time in “someone else’s life” (wink) that God dealt with someone’s rebellion. 

 

 

Digging for Truth

 

1.  Read the Scripture above.  Why do you think God chose Jonah for this task?

 

2.  God is more interested in getting us on His agenda than he is making us happy. What percent of believers do you think have a misconception about this.  How does this misconception affect our joy in the Christian life?

 

3.  The sailors cried out to their own gods (little “g”).  Where do most Americans turn when times get bad.

 

4.  The first life-changing lesson is this:  “The effects of sin may not be apparent until it’s too late.”  Can you think of any examples of this?

 

5.  Another truth is that “When God gets personal, my disobedience impacts others.”  Has there ever been some negative things in your life as a result of someone else’s sin?  Please don’t share info about your spouse!

 

6.  Is it healthy or harmful to ask why bad things are happening in our lives?  (It’s probably always a good first question.)
Are difficult times always a result of sin?  (no, not always)

 

7.  Lesson Two states this:  “Repentance is not based on feelings or intentions, but on intentional actions.”  Why does it not count unless we take action?

 

8.  Read 1 John 1:9.  Why do so many believers have difficulty accepting the truth of this verse?

 

9.  Lesson Three states this:  “God goes to extreme measures to reveal himself to people who rebel against Him.”  Can anyone share a personal story about what God has done to reach you?

 

10.  Read Isaiah 55:9.   In what ways can the truth of this verse impact our lives?

 

11.  Les shared that God sometimes sends storms because we haven’t been listening.  How can we practice listening to God and avoid the storm?  How can we give Him our full attention?

 

12.  Lesson Four states this:  “Sometimes the message of a storm is not for me, it’s for somebody else.”  What can we do when the lesson is for someone else?  (Challenge them to be obedient.)

 

 

Closing Thought

 

What is God calling you to do as a result of today’s study?  Which Life-Changing Truth most impacts your life at this time?  (Review these as listed above.)