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 continue our 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 Repentance

Discussion Questions

Where does violence come from? 

Proverbs 24:1-2

“Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.”

Gary Webster, Author

“Assyrian (the land of Nineveh) national history, as preserved for us in its cuneiform inscriptions and images on walls and floors of palaces and temples, and on clay and alabaster tablets, consists mainly of military campaigns and battles. It is perhaps the most gory and bloodthirsty of history known. And from its beginning, Assyria was a strong military power bent on conquest.”

Why do you think humanity has celebrated violence throughout history?

How has violence impacted our current culture?

Is there a righteous way to use strength/power/force? If so, explain what that is. 

What is the difference in motivations between righteous force and unrighteous violence?

Jonah 4:1-3

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord , is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord , please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Why was Jonah so upset about Nineveh’s repentance?

What does this tell us about what was going on in Jonah’s heart?

Is there a person, or people group, that you get frustrated about when they don’t get what you think they deserve?

What might that reveal about what’s going on in your heart?

Luke 18:9-13

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’”  

How can a self-righteous morality lead to a different form of oppression and violence?

What is the common denominator between the relativist’s pursuit of violence and the moralist’s pursuit of judgment?

What is the only thing powerful enough to transform both the relativist and the moralist? 

How does the Gospel enable us to love justice and mercy, righteousness and forgiveness, Truth and Grace?

Closing Thought

In what way might God be calling you to repent today when it comes to the state of our culture? Violence or self-righteousness? Anger? Hate? Selfishness?