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Sermon

The Quagmire of Jonah's Booth

by Rev. Kirby Williams

Learning valuable missiological lessons from the story of Jonah.

Text: Jonah 4:5-11
Date: 03/04/2018, the Contemporary service.

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Description:

In this missions-oriented meditation we will recount the very familiar story of the prophet Jonah's commission to preach repentance to the great Assyrian city of Nineveh. We will find that it is a story of God's sovereignty, His Providence, and especially His amazing grace-- both to Jonah and the Ninevites. A grace that Jonah was "none-too-pleased" to be a part of, hoping rather that God would destroy the evil city. We will focus on this attitude and the booth Jonah built for himself as he waited for God's destruction. We will note how God first blessed it with a covering, and then inexplicably (at least as far as Jonah was concerned) took it away. We will find valuable missiological lessons for ourselves in what that booth represents to the people of God and how it is properly and improperly used. Ultimately we will strengthen our commitment as a mission-oriented church, by learning how to avoid the quagmire of Jonah's booth!


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I. Introduction, 1Cor. 9:16.
II. Exposition of the text, Jonah 4:5-11.
A. Context
1. Jonah's missionary calling, Jonah 1:1-3.
a. The historical perspective, Nah. 3:19.
b. A modern perspective.
2. A story of God's grace.
a. Grace to the sailors, Jonah 1:16.
b. Grace to Jonah, Jonah 3:1.
c. Grace to the Ninevites.
3. The root of Jonah's anger, Jonah 3:4, 4:1-4.
B. Jonah's lesson in missiology, Jonah 1:17.
1. Jonah builds a booth, vs. 5.
2. God sends a "gourd", vs. 6.
a. Basking in God's "covering", Deut. 7:6, Gen. 12:2-3, 1Chr. 16:23-24, Matt. 23:15.
b. Jonah's delight.
3. God sends a worm, vs. 7.
a. Jonah's short-lived comfort.
b. Powerful symbolism.
i. God's Providence.
ii. God's command over the great and the small.
iii. God as the author of creation and destruction.
iv. The coming destruction of Israel.
v. A warning for God's people.
4. God sends a wind, vs. 8a.
5. Jonah wishes for death, vs. 8b-9.
6. Jonah's misdirected values, vs. 10-11.
a. The dangers of entitlement, vs. 10, Deut. 7:7-8.
b. God's pity on the Ninevites, vs. 11.
C. Interpretation, Isa. 49:6, Matt. 23:15.
III. Application
A. The man in the booth.
B. The proper use of the booth, Matt. 4:17.
C. A message to the church, Ezek. 16:48-49.
IV. Conclusion, Matt. 9:35-38.

The Preaching Ministry of Kirby Williams
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