1. Running From God Into the Storm April 29 th, 2012

2. The Runaway I.The Lord sends a violent storm to Jonah and the sailors. II.The sailors fear for their lives and pray to their gods. III.Jonah sleeps through the storm and is rebuked by the pagan ship captain.

3. The Runaway IV.The sailors realize this storm is supernatural so they seek to find who is to blame and the blame falls to Jonah. V. The sailors angrily interrogate Jonah, Jonah responds honestly and the sailors are terrified. VI. The sailors appeal to Jonah as to their next step and Jonah responds with confession and great courage.

4. 1 st Perspective – Sailors What do the sailors teach us about the storms of life? 1) The sailors teach us that without faith in God there is only fear – not peace. 2) The sailors teach us that it is futile to depend on anything other than the one true God to calm the storms of life. 3) The sailors teach us that human solutions to our problems fail us every time.

5. 2 nd Perspective – Jonah What does this account of Jonah teach us about disobedience? 1) Our disobedience to God impacts other people. 2) Our disobedience to God makes things hard on us, not God. 3) Our disobedience leads to sleep-like spiritual apathy and complacency. 4) Our disobedience must be confessed and we must surrender ourselves totally to God’s will – no matter what that is.

6. 3 rd Perspective – God What does God reveal to us about himself? 1)God will pursue us even as we run. 2)God in his mercy and providence will use extraordinary circumstances to redirect us. 3)God brings storms into our lives as an act of mercy and for our own good. 4) God shows us his great mercy and grace in finding us useful – even when we fail him.