BBCC Bible Study Notes - Clover Sites

BBCC Bible Study Notes

From the series on Jonah: People Matter to God
“Failing Forward”
September 21, 2014

Jonah gets a second chance
1 “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh
and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to
Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4 On the first
day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be
overturned.’ 5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the
greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes,
covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in
Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock,
taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who
knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not
perish.’ 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had
compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” Jonah 3:1-10
New International Version

What does the story of Jonah teach us about God?

1. God is __________ with people who have __________.

 How patient are you with people who have failed?

 How do you handle your own failure?

2. God is ___________ about ______.

3. God has great _______________ for those who _______ to him.

4. God wants us to tell people that they can have ___________________.

 I will pray for the following people to believe God’s message:

BBCC Verse of the Week: “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of
unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” Psalm 86:5 NLT

BBCC Devotional Guide for September 21-27, 2014

Sunday: Read Jonah 3:1-2. At this point in the story Jonah has failed miserably as a
prophet and yet notice the message he receives from God. God does not remind Jonah
of his disobedience or “throw his failure in his face”. Instead, God simply repeats his
original instructions to Jonah. What does this teach us about God and His response to
our failure?

Monday: Read Jonah 3:3. How does Jonah respond this time to God’s instructions?
Jonah is a man who is learning from his failure and this is very important. Failure can
play one of two roles in your life: if can be a teacher or it can be a tyrant. If you choose
to let failure be your teacher you can learn a great deal from it. If you choose to let
failure be a tyrant, it will drastically limit or even destroy your hopes of success in the
future. How do you typically respond to failure in your life? How could you learn to
respond in way that will move you forward?

Tuesday: Read 2 Corinthians 7:10. According to this verse, what is the result of “godly
sorrow”? What is the result of “worldly sorrow”? What is the difference between the
two? What does this verse teach us about how to handle failure?

Wednesday: Read Jonah 3:4. Jonah delivers a message from God that in 40 days the
greatest city in the world will be completely destroyed. Why is God going to destroy
the city? (see Jonah 1:2) What does this teach us about God? Why does God take our sin
so seriously?

Thursday: Read Jonah 3:5-9. How do the people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s
message? Verse five says that the people of Nineveh “believed God”. What needs to
happen in their lives to prove that they believed God? True faith always expresses itself
in a changed life. How does this principle apply in your life?

Friday: Read Jonah 3:10. What did God see as he looked at the people of Nineveh? How
did God respond to what He observed? Think about the things that are happening in our
nation that grieve God’s heart. As you consider the great revival that took place in
Nineveh, would you say that it came from the “top down” or the “bottom up? What
implications does this have for America and the other nations of the world?

Saturday: God gives Jonah the privilege and responsibility of being his messenger and
that is true for every Christian. Read 1 Peter 3:15. Who are the people in your life with
whom you could share your hope? Pray that God will give you opportunities to share the
hope you have in Christ today.

BBCC Bible Study Notes

From the series on Jonah: People Matter to God
“Failing Forward”
September 21, 2014

Jonah gets a second chance
1 “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh
and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to
Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4 On the first
day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be
overturned.’ 5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the
greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes,
covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in
Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock,
taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who
knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not
perish.’ 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had
compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” Jonah 3:1-10
New International Version

What does the story of Jonah teach us about God?

1. God is patient with people who have failed.

 How patient are you with people who have failed?

 How do you handle your own failure?

2. God is serious about sin.

3. God has great compassion for those who turn to him.

4. God wants us to tell people that they can have a second chance.

 I will pray for the following people to believe God’s message:

BBCC Verse of the Week: “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of
unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” Psalm 86:5 NLT