Jonah - When God Calls

June 8, 2008 - Rev. Rurel Ausley, Rev. Kevin Kelly

Outside the Coverage Area - Jonah 1:4-17

This week's sermon "outside the coverage area" reveals the struggle Jonah incurred once he ran from God, and tried to avoid God's plan for his life. I want you to use these questions to spur your thinking about your life, and how you have struggled to stay inside of God's will and plan for your life—i.e. staying in the coverage area.

1. Have you heard God, or sensed God calling you to do something in your life that you were uncomfortable with or resistant to? What made you so uncomfortable? How was your situation and subsequent response similar to or different from Jonah's? How did God respond to your leaving his plan and purpose to pursue your own interests? What storms did he send your way to get your attention?

2. If you ran from God, or simply ignored his call, how did this affect your relationship with Him? Jonah's relationship with God became distant. Even in the terrifying storm Jonah refused to pray and barely acknowledged God. Have you experienced something similar when you have created distance between you and God? How did this "distance" that began to show up because of your avoidance to God's plan manifest itself in your life? How did it affect others—close friends, family, spouse, children, etc.?

Sermon note: Fugitives from God are the most miserable people you'll meet. They have walked close with God before, so they know what it is like, and that memory haunts their waking hours. Running away from God doesn't just affect our relationship with God. It affects us deep within our own hearts.

3. Read Jonah 1:7-12. What happens when Jonah finds himself outside of God's plan and aboard a ship heading, in what Jonah believed to be, away from God and the Ninevites? Where did his despair reach a climax? When have you experienced similar despair because of a constant struggle against God and his plan for you? How did you respond to the despair you were feeling?

4. We read in verses 13-16 that even when we run from God — leave the coverage area — God still works through us. How is this evident in these verses? What did God do through Jonah even though he was unaware of this while on the boat? How did the sailors respond to Jonah's God as a result of these events? What does this event in the story reveal about God's love and grace towards people of all backgrounds?

Sermon note: God does indeed have a life purpose for you, and he will show it to you if you have ears to hear and eyes to see. Often we stubbornly do things our own way, we run away, and when we do, we reap the consequences of our actions. But these are gracious consequences, sent from the hand of a loving God to draw us back to him.

5. Embracing your life's purpose is essential. What have you learned from Jonah's story thus far that has caused you to contemplate where God wants to use you? Are you battling God or submitting to his plan and purpose for your life? Why? What consequences of running from God's plan might you be experiencing at this time? How can you use these to get back on track and off the boat leading away from God's plan for you?