GOD CALLS US TO LISTEN
JONAH AND THE WHALE

Life Application
God’s calls us to tell others about His love, but we have to first listen

Key Concepts
God’s love is universal

Goals and Objectives
The children will learn that God’s love is universal.
The children will learn that God loves even those who do not deserve it.
The children will learn to retell the story of Jonah

Theme and Verse
God calls us to listen
“You are a kind an merciful God, and you are always patient” Jonah 4:2

Scripture Reference
Jonah 1 - 4

Biblical Story Background
From the CEV Bible:
The book of Jonah is different from the other prophetic books, because it gives only one sentence of what the prophet Jonah preached.  Instead, this book tells how Jonah disobeyed the Lord and refused to warn Nineveh that it was going to be destroyed. Jonah even wanted the city to be destroyed, because it was the capital city of Assyria, a hated enemy of Israel.  But the Lord corrected Jonah; then Jonah went to Nineveh and preached the Lord’s message.  When many people think about the book of Jonah, they think only of Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish.  However, the message of this book is that the Lord wants to have mercy on everyone.