Introduction to Jonah

It’s always been a little disturbing to me how most churches decorate their children’s area: Noah and the ark and the animals, Daniel with his hand gently resting on the head of a lion, and of course, the Great Fish of Jonah. I’d love to know who first had the idea to use these stories as themes of nurseries and children’s ministry areas. I’m thinking we ought to paint an ark in the kid’s room to remind them that the whole world drowned because of their sin except for one family. Whadda ya’ think? Truth is, Jonah is a deep, problematic, and convicting book, particularly for our time. There are so many themes than run through the story – the depth of sin, the awesomeness of God’s grace, the hardness of a hurt heart, true repentance, entitlement of the chosen. It’s all there in unfiltered, raw detail. It’s problematic because some of the same issues Jonah dealt with are ones we still deal with today. Nationalism, the scandal of God’s grace, racism, and being obedient in a predominantly disobedient world. Jonah leaves us with no easy answers. In fact, some have argued that it is the most frustrating story every told – one with no ending. We have a lot to talk about during this series, The Book of Daniel! Please join us!