
Jonah 1:4-6 (New International Version)
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
I. The storms of life (v. 4)
• A present crisis can
• Biblical preaching doesn’t make “
• Love pursues people to the point of
• God
• Every sin will bring a “
II. The redeeming quality of storms (v. 5)
• Fear is natural but a phobia is an irrational
• Faith in God is a reasoned choice to influence with hope by accounting for both the
• God uses “the storms” of life to
• Secularists can demonstrate more responsibility and compassion than Christians due to the universal
• For Christians our difficulties are never
III. The proper interpretation of storms (v. 6)
• Our sin unfairly draws
• When God is calling or chasing us there will be a sense of being
• If there is a sovereign God then there are no
• Secular people have a God-given right to
• The storms of life reveal if our trust in God is
TAKE OFF
What’s the worst storm or inclement weather you’ve ever experienced?
TEXT
1. What thoughts or feelings did you have during this week’s sermon?
2. How does God pursue Jonah in verse 4? Read Psalms 139:1-10. What do these verses teach us about God’s omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience?
3. How do you feel about Jonah sleeping during the storm? How did Jonah’s decisions impact the sailors? Discuss the impact that our sins have on other people’s lives.
4. Have you ever experienced a “storm” of your own making? Have you ever experienced a storm that led you to “call on” God? How can storms be redemptive in nature?
TAKE AWAY
What is one thing that you can do when adversity occurs that will help draw you closer to God?