Jonah 3 & 4

Lesson Aim

That we should be happy when people repent.

Hook 1 : Pictures

Have some pictures from last week’s story to help your recap.

Hook 2: Objects

Have these objects to use during the story telling:- a crown; some torn and dirty old clothes; a branch and a worm (in a jar).

Hook 3: Questions

Can you remember where we left Jonah in last week’s Bible story? How would Jonah have felt when he was inside the fish’s stomach? What emotions would he have felt?

Hook 4: Artist

If you have a good artist, use their skills. I have told the story of Jonah while an artist sketched different scenes. They had to be quick and they need to practise with you beforehand so that you know exactly what they are depicting , however, it was a very successful way of illustrating the story. Be prepared, though, if you do this, the children will be watching the artist throughout the story rather than giving you their attention: this can be disconcerting.

Story tips

The children will not know the second half of the story in the same detail, so the story will need to be told.

The last part of this story needs to be carefully explained to the children.

Tell the children that Jonah sat under a bush for shelter from the hot sun but he went into a real mood because the people of Nineveh had repented to God.

Jonah was wrong because we should be happy when anyone repents. Jonah got extremely annoyed when a worm began to eat the bush and the bush died so he had no more shade from the sun. God was showing him that he was wrong because he cared more about the bush and his shade than he did about people repenting.

Application

The application should be based upon two points

1. That people everywhere need to repent to God.

2. That we should be happy whenever anyone repents.

Language

Sackcloth and ashes means he tore his clothes to show that he was sorry for his sins.