The Surprising Grace of God | Jonah 2-4

Phillip Bates
Nov 25, 2025
3 min read

Sermon Guide for November 30, 2025

How to Use This Guide:

These guides are designed to help you engage more deeply with my weekly sermon, regardless of your life stage. Use this guide to prepare your heart to receive God's Word before worship, or to reflect on God's Word the week following worship.

Parents, use the information in this guide (especially in the "Family Discussion Guide" section) to have meaningful conversations with your kids that nurture their faith and help them grow in God’s love.

The Core Idea

We often assume we know who deserves God’s favor—and who doesn’t. Jonah shows us how easy it is to get it wrong. God’s grace is deeper, wider, and more surprising than we imagine. Jonah reminds us that our response to God’s grace, both when it comes to us and others, reveals the state of our hearts.

This sermon explores three central questions:

How do we recognize our dependence on God’s grace?
How do we respond when God’s grace surprises us in others?
How can we learn to value people the way God does?

Sermon Outline

1. We Are Utterly Dependent on God’s Grace (Jonah 2)

Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish: a vivid reminder that salvation and rescue are God’s work, not ours.
Grace isn’t just a ticket to heaven; it sustains us daily (Ephesians 2:8–9; Jude 24–25).
Key Takeaway: Humility flows from remembering our constant need for God’s grace.

2. God’s Grace is Often Surprising & Wider Than Our Comfort Zones (Jonah 3)

Jonah begrudgingly preaches to Nineveh; the city repents, and God spares them.
Jonah’s resentment exposes sectarianism: limiting God’s mercy to our “circle.”
Key Takeaway: God often works where we least expect. He values people we might overlook or dismiss.

3. Let God’s Surprising Grace Teach You to Value People the Way He Does (Jonah 4)

Jonah loves a plant more than people; God shows him how absurd it is to care more for a plant than for a city.
Grace calls us to celebrate others’ repentance, even when it surprises or challenges us.
Key Takeaway: Let God reshape your heart so you value people the way he does.

Key Insights for Deeper Understanding

Grace is never earned—even Jonah, a reluctant prophet, receives it.
God’s mercy breaks boundaries—we’re called to rejoice, not resent, when it touches unexpected people.
Our hearts reveal our true priorities—who or what we love most shows what we truly value.

This Week’s Reflections & Practices

Notice Your “Nineveh”

Who in your life is an unexpected recipient of God’s grace?
Where might God be calling you to extend mercy?

Check Your Heart

When grace surprises you in someone else, do you rejoice or resent?
Ask God to soften your heart where it’s hard, jealous, or dismissive.

Practice Grace in Action

Reach out to someone you’ve ignored, judged, or avoided.
Celebrate God’s work in someone else’s life, even if it surprises you.

Family Discussion Guide

Step 1: Read Together

Jonah 2–4. Option: act out Jonah’s frustration with Nineveh, or read aloud with dramatic expression.

Step 2: Talk About It

Dependence: Jonah survived because of God. When have you needed God’s help in a surprising way?
Surprising Grace: Jonah resented Nineveh’s repentance. Who has God surprised you by blessing?
Value People: Jonah cared more for a plant than a city. Who do you need to start valuing more like God does?

Step 3: Take Action Together

Identify one act of mercy your family can do this week—help a neighbor, pray for someone hard to love, or reach out in forgiveness.

Step 4: Wrap Up in Prayer

Thank God for his surprising grace in your life.
Ask God to show you where he’s working in others and to help you celebrate, not resent.
Pray for hearts shaped to love as God loves.