OT 68 Jonah and the Big Fish

Reference: Jonah 1-4

Story Summary: 
     God told the prophet to go to the people of Nineveh. But because the people there were so evil, Jonah decided to sail on a boat the other way.
     God was not pleased what Jonah had done. He sent a great windstorm as Jonah's boat sailed. All the men on the ship called to their gods to rescue them. They finally woke Jonah, who was sleeping in the boat, to ask him to pray to his God. Jonah told them about how he was disobeying God. He told them to throw him over the side of the boat and the storm would stop.
     The men struggled to control the boat, but nothing they tried worked. So, they tossed Jonah over the side of the boat. Immediately, the storm was over.
     God provided a great big fish to swallow Jonah, where he spent three days and nights. From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to God to save him. And God caused the fish to spit Jonah out on dry land.
     Jonah then went to Nineveh. He told them that God was going to destroy their city. But the people of Nineveh felt sorry for their sins, so God decided to save the city from destruction.

Big Idea and Motions: Just like Jonah was in a big fish for three days, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
Big fish - press your palms together and wiggle them like a fish
Three days - hold up three fingers
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
Rose from the dead - gesture down towards the ground, then lift your hands above your head
Third day - hold up three fingers

Verse and Motions: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV - that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day...
Christ died  - cross your forearms in an “X’ over your chest
Sins - two thumbs down
Scriptures - pretend to open a book
Buried - pretend to dig with a shovel
Rose - gesture upward with both palms
Third - hold up three fingers

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Where did God tell Jonah to go? // Nineveh.
What were the people of Nineveh like? // Very mean
What did Jonah do instead of going to Nineveh? // He went the other way, on a boat
What happened on Jonah’s boat trip? // God sent a terrible windstorm
What did Jonah tell the soldiers to do to stop the windstorm? // Throw him overboard
When they threw Jonah into the water, what two things happened? // Storm stopped, fish swallowed Jonah
How many days was Jonah in the big fish? // Three days and nights.
After Jonah prayed from the fish, what did God do? // Made the fish spit him out onto dry land.
When Jonah told the people of Nineveh God was going to destroy their city, what did they do? // Became sad about their sin and called to God for help
Did God destroy Nineveh? Why or why not? // No, because they turned from their sin and trusted God to save them

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - https://goo.gl/H4d06b
Resources - https://goo.gl/eP0BQ2