DISCUSSION GUIDE
© 2016 by Paul Tripp Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. 7214 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19135 www.paultripp.com/plus 215-338-4000 plus@paultripp.com If you are a Plus Member on PaulTripp.com, you are permitted to make an unlimited number of copies of this PDF Discussion Guide for yourself, your family and/or your Bible Study or small group. Any reproduction, distribution or sharing of the Jonah video files outside of your small group gathering without written permission is strictly prohibited. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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GREETINGS, Thank you for signing up for Paul Tripp Plus and downloading this bible study. As I read through the book of Jonah for what seemed like the one millionth time, God opened my eyes to new spiritual realities while reminding me of old spiritual truths that I had been neglecting. I pray he will do the same in your heart and life!
HOW TO USE THIS STUDY You can employ the eight (8) video sessions and this accompanying Discussion Guide in any way you see fit, but, I designed it with two purposes in mind: Individual: This material makes for a great personal devotional. Each video is brief - less than 10 minutes - so you can watch the lesson and spend the following minutes working through the content provided in this Discussion Guide. Small Group: If you’re going to use this material in a group, I suggest scheduling four gatherings to complete this curriculum. I also strongly believe that the group discussion time is more important than the video lesson, so spend at least twice as many minutes discussing each lesson after you watched the video. For example:
GATHERING 1 7:00pm - 7:05pm: Discuss Opening Question for Lesson 1 7:05pm - 7:15pm: Watch Lesson 1 7:15pm - 7:45pm: Discuss Lesson 1 7:45pm - 7:50pm: Discuss Opening Question for Lesson 2 7:50pm - 8:00pm: Watch Lesson 2 8:00pm - 8:30pm: Discuss Lesson 2 Leaders: on the following page, I have more instructions on how to facilitate a gathering. God bless, Paul David Tripp
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LEADERS, Thank you for being willing to facilitate this study on Jonah. I believe that these 48 Old Testament verses summarize a biblical worldview, and God has chosen for you to help your brothers and sisters develop more accurate vision. How exciting! As the facilitator, your role is both similar and different to those participating. You should pay close attention to the material and listen with a humble heart, because God wants to teach you things. At the same time, it’s your role to lead others and be available to give counsel, advice and wisdom. Here are some recommendations for you to keep in mind as you lead: • Watch all eight video lessons and follow along with the Discussion Guide in advance of your first group gathering; having a full understanding of Jonah before this study begins will allow you to facilitate more effectively. • Agree on a start and end time and honor it; four 60 to 90-minute gatherings should provide ample time to finish this study. • Facilitate each gathering, asking questions and encouraging participation. Solicit answers from multiple participants; don’t let the same person answer every question. For some questions, it might be appropriate to ask everyone, but don’t force anyone to answer. • Allow time for participants to answer, rephrasing the question when necessary. Avoid answering questions yourself; contribute, but don’t dominate. • Affirm everyone’s participation and allow “questionable” responses to remain uncorrected. Rejecting answers, or allowing others to reject answers, can result in an environment of timidity and reduce honesty among participants. Often, a “questionable” or “faulty” answer will be corrected over the course of time. • Lead with transparency and vulnerability, and others will follow. Remember, there’s nothing that could ever be exposed about us that Jesus hasn’t already covered. We have confidence to admit moral failure and cry out for help. • Adjust as necessary. If you believe that skipping certain questions or spending an entire lesson on one question in particular will benefit your gathering, do so. There are multiple discussion questions for each lesson, and my assumption is that you won’t be able to ask all of them in each lesson without rushing. This guide is merely a template, so select questions you believe are most relevant. -4-
LESSON ONE DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING Why did God choose for the book of Jonah to be included in the Biblical canon? What purpose do you think it serves for Christians today?
WATCH LESSON ONE The Worldview of the God of Grace
8 minutes, 21 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. Apart from the Bible, what else contributes to your worldview? 2. In what ways did you forget or ignore the existence of the God this week? How would you have acted differently if you weren’t a God-amnesiac? 3. In what ways are you experiencing the brokenness of your culture and the sin of others? How are you responding when that brokenness splashes into your life? 4. Where is God calling you to live for something bigger than your life? How are you responding to His invitation?
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LESSON TWO DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING Share a moment from your past when you felt God calling you to do something difficult, but instead of responding in faithful obedience, you chose another course of action.
WATCH LESSON TWO Running from the God of Grace
8 minutes, 30 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. How is your culture living under the deceit by sin? In what ways are you more like them than unlike them? 2. Reflect on your conversations from last week. What words did you speak under the delusion that your life belonged to you? Do you need to seek forgiveness from the person who heard those words? 3. In what ways have you closed your eyes to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the people around you? How can you be used by God to meet these needs later this month? Be specific. 4. What is God calling you to do today that you are resisting? Why do you think this call is such a struggle for you?
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LESSON THREE DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING Share a moment from your week when you experienced anger. What happened, why did you become angry, and how did you respond?
WATCH LESSON THREE The Anger of the God of Grace
8 minutes, 52 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. Why are we embarrassed or ashamed about the anger of our God? How can we share the truth about God’s anger in a way that is hopeful and comforting? 2. How has God given you a second chance like He did with Jonah? How should God’s mercy to you impact the way you treat others? 3. Reflect on your moment of anger that you shared before watching the lesson. How did this moment expose the selfishness of your heart? 4. What are some things in life that should anger us as Christians? How should we respond in these moments of righteous anger?
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LESSON FOUR DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING Share honestly with the group about your recent prayer life. Answering some of these questions may help: What are you praying for these days? What have you given up praying for? When are you prompted to pray, or what prompts you to pray? How frequently or infrequently are you praying?
WATCH LESSON FOUR Responding to the God of Grace
9 minutes, 50 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. What distressing circumstances have you been experiencing lately? Did you bring these upon yourself - in part or as a whole - through selfish actions? 2. How do you typically respond when you experience God’s uncomfortable grace in your life? What does that reveal about your heart? 3. How has God used previous tests and trials to expose idols, transform your heart and bring about a harvest of spiritual fruit? 4. Besides your own, whose heart have you seen God transform in the past? How should these acts of grace shape the way you interact with other sinners?
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LESSON FIVE DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING What difficult “task” do you have looming in the near future? This could be a job interview, an awkward conversation you feel you need to have, a major project that needs to be completed, or anything else that could be causing stress in your life. Why are you are responding to this impending task in the way that you are?
WATCH LESSON FIVE Potential and the God of Grace
8 minutes, 37 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. Review the opening discussion again. Now considering the theme of “potential” from this lesson, would you answer that first question any differently? 2. Who has failed you, disappointed you, or sinned against you? How can you give them a second chance, like God gave you and Jonah a second chance? 3. What are some of your strengths? Where do you naturally excel? Have you taken, or are you currently taking, credit for the gifts that God alone has given you? 4. What are some of your weaknesses, and how have these weaknesses held you back from taking steps of faith? How has God used other biblical characters with similar weaknesses to do extraordinary things for his name?
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LESSON SIX DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING What are some apparent theological contradictions that have confused you, or caused debate with others, about the character and nature of God? Don’t spend any time in theological debate; just list some examples and find some references from Scripture that support the specific characteristic of God.
WATCH LESSON SIX The Repentance of the God of Grace
8 minutes, 13 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. Reflect on two times when someone criticized or corrected: find one instance when they approached you with humility and gave you a second chance at improving, and find another instance when they approached you with arrogance and left you feeling hopeless. How did you respond to both of those instances? 2. Where has God recently “announced judgment” in your life and given you an opportunity to repent? This could be the conviction of the Holy Spirit during a personal devotion, a confrontation from another, a challenge from the pulpit, etc. Be specific: where is God calling you to turn from a particular sin? 3. Where is God be calling you to “announce judgment” on another person? In other words, do you need to confront the sin of another in truthful love? Are you hesitating to confront, like Jonah did, and if so, why? 4. How can you confront someone in a way that isn’t self-righteous, and provides hope for change? Reflect back on this first question and remember how you felt in both instances of correction and criticism.
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LESSON SEVEN DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING Share honestly with the group about your disappointments in life. What are some things you wish you had done differently in the past? What are some things that have happened to you that you wished never happened? What is happening to you right now that you would change if you had the power to change it?
WATCH LESSON SEVEN Disappointment with the God of Grace
8 minutes, 55 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING 1. Where can you sense a disconnect between your heart and the heart of God? Get specific with this answer. What is one thing that makes God’s heart respond with joy, yet your heart is unmoved? What is something else that grieves God’s heart, yet your heart isn’t burdened with the same type of sadness? 2. As far as you are able to discern, what plan does God currently have for your life? What are some elements of that plan life that you’re opposed to, and how do you express your opposition? 3. Reflect on the highs and the lows of your past week. Why were your highs high, and why were your lows low? Do these highs and lows correlate with biblical priorities? 4. Who in your life would you want to see judged rather than given grace? Perhaps not judged eternally, but at least temporarily “get what they deserve” right now. What are some truths that you’re ignoring that allow you to think this way?
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LESSON EIGHT DISCUSS BEFORE WATCHING Where are you experiencing conflict in your life right now? You can define conflict however you wish. Who or what are you blaming for the conflict?
WATCH LESSON EIGHT The Vision of the God of Grace
9 minutes, 38 seconds
DISCUSS AFTER WATCHING Instead of just focusing on the final seven verses of Jonah, step back and reflect on the entire study to answer these final three discussion questions: 1. Where do you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit most heavily on your heart? 2. In what ways are you feeling guilty, ashamed, and filled with regret after this study? Why should the narrative of Jonah replace those feelings with hope and courage? 3. What are two or three practical steps you can take to respond to the convicting grace of the Holy Spirit? How are you going stay focused and accountable with these steps?
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