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THE SUNDAY SCHOOL OVERVIEW WILL FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LESSON EACH WEEK. BIBLICAL TRANSLATIONS WILL VARY, BUT THE MAIN RESOURCE WILL BE THE TOWNSEND PRESS SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMENTARY, 96th EDITION. THIS FEATURE IS DESIGNED TO BE OF HELP TO THOSE WHO CANNOT ATTEND THEIR LOCAL CHURCH AND/OR SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson Title: GOD’S SUSTAINING LOVE
Adult/Young Adult Topic: WHEN CALAMITY COMES
Printed Text: Jonah 1:7-17 (NIV)
Key Verse: Jonah 1:10a (NIV)
This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?”
Source: Townsend Press Sunday School Commentary – 96th Edition, 2016-2017
UNIFYING LESSON PRINCIPLE:
When calamity comes, people ask, “Why?” Can human behavior cause bad things to happen? In Jonah’s case, human behavior did lead to calamity; however, Jonah discovered that God’s love still surrounded him.
CONCLUDING REFLECTION:
When the call of God comes, we are quick to ask God, “Why me?!” As we grow in our faith, we respond, “Why not me?” What is amazing is that when God calls us to go through life’s storms, He is always there with us, even when we are the cause of the storm. Another underlying lesson from Jonah’s mission to Nineveh is the revelation that God’s love extends to those who are different, and even to perceived enemies. Unlike the beliefs of the days of slavery, there will not be a “white” heaven and a “black” heaven; we are all one, both in this world and the next. God’s mercy showed that Nineveh was a foretaste of how God would extend the salvation to us Gentiles, too.
PRAYER:
Merciful God, we thank you for how you have brought us through calamities throughout our lives. You have even delivered us when the circumstance was of our own doing. You have always been our strong shelter in the times of life’s storms. Thank you! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Sunday School Review “God’s Love Sustains Us” was originally published on 955thelou.com
