Before We Get Started

For our discussion today we will be using the sermon series discussion guides. If you would like to follow along you can access this discussion guide on the website at mosaicchurchaustin.com and then select “community group resources” in the menu options.

Prayer

Because the main goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for, or  anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together.

This Week’s Topic

Today, we begin a series looking at the book of Jonah that will then take us into a study of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. But, before we get to them, we’re going to spend a few weeks hearing what God might want to say to us through the life and ministry of one of the worst prophets in the Old Testament. Jonah ran from God, argued with God, complained to God, but eventually accomplished the purposes of God, even when he didn’t want to. Like Jonah, God is inviting us to be part of His sovereign plan of redemption, and a look at Jonah’s story can help us better understand how to find joy in our participation.

Today’s Topic

Jonah and Mercy

Discussion Questions

Why do you think we tend to judge others based on their actions, but judge ourselves based on our intentions?

‭‭Jonah‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.”

If you can put yourself in Jonah’s position, how do you think you might feel if God had called you to go preach against the Ninevites? Why?

How would you define the Biblical idea of mercy?

Why might Jonah not want God to show mercy to the Ninevites?

Is there anyone, individual or group, in your life that you struggle to love and be merciful to?

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:14-15‬

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;”

How does our inability, or resistance, to show mercy to others tend to affect our own lives? 

What do you think the writer of Hebrews means by this?

How can being a merciful person impact our lives in the other direction?

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:6-8‬ ‬‬

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

When you consider the love and mercy God has extended to you, how does that impact the way you extend love and mercy to others?

Closing Thought

Is there anyone in your life to whom God might be calling you to show His mercy?