Fri Nov 7

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words Jonah and LORD.

Reading

Jonah 1:7–17—Not a Fairy Tale!

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Jonah seems like a fairy tale.
Instead, it is completely true account.
God can do unbelievable things.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

What can God do?
Why does it matter if we believe the book of Jonah is true?
What has God done for you?

Notes

(See last day for authors.)

Once upon a time there was a man named Jonah. He was made out of wood and after spending 3 days in the belly of a whale he became a real boy. Jonah is just a mixed-up fairy tale—right? Wrong! It is a true historical account in all its particulars.

We acknowledge that Jonah is in many ways simply unbelievable to our human minds. If you have any trouble believing that Jonah is a true account written for our instruction, then you need to remember the LORD. The LORD, not Jonah is the real star of the book. Jonah occurs 17 times by name in the book. The LORD occurs 22 times, and always with the covenant name of God—noted in most English Bible translations with small capital letters for “ORD.” And, for the true God, the LORD, nothing is impossible.

God the LORD can (and did) make the sea and the dry land. God the LORD can call a man to preach. God the LORD can throw a storm at the sea. God the LORD can appoint a fish to swallow a man. God the LORD can keep that man alive for three days in the belly of the fish (or raise him from the dead after three days). God the LORD can command that same fish to vomit the man onto dry land. God the LORD can call dead men to repent and believe. And God the LORD can grant such dead men life and faith so that they do believe.

Do you, one who was once dead, believe this? If not, you are still dead in your sins. Believe that God the LORD can do all these things and that God the Lord has done all these things.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 22e, 88a

Prayer

Thank God that He can and does do the impossible.
Pray for the hearing of God’s word preached this Sunday.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.