Jonah and Jesus

Josh Trice
Sunday, May 25, 2025
This is Us
Sunday Morning

Jonah & Jesus

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Locations & Times

First Baptist Church Seminole Tx

202 SW Ave B, Seminole, TX 79360, USA

Sunday 5:00 AM

Jonah and the God of Second Chances

Jonah and the God of Second Chances

Read Plan

Welcome to First Baptist. This page is where you will find the sermon notes and more information about what is happening at FBC.

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www.fbcseminole.org
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We meet Sundays:
9:00 am Worship
10:30 am Worship
Connect Groups throughout the week.

hey

The Bible Project is a wonderful organization that has helped me (Josh) gain a deeper and more appreciative view of the Bible!

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Jonah was headed in the OPPOSITE Direction he was supposed to be! Like heading to Maine when you are meant for California!

Jonah 1:4-17 NIV

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.”Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

While he is still alive, being swallowed by a fish is a death experience for Jonah. He has entered death.
hey

Jonah probably felt like a cave diver. Cramped and claustrophobic!

The fish is Jonah's coffin. And the sea is his grave.
Jonah 2:1-9 NIV

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit.“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’ ”

Jonah calls out to God from the grave (the belly of a fish). Then something miraculous happens...
Jonah experienced death (swallowed), burial (in the stomach of a fish) and found resurrection through regurgitation!
hey
VeggieTales features Pirates who don't do anything. The real story of Jonah doesn't have pirates who don’t do anything, but an experience that doesn’t do anything.
Jonah 4:1-11 NIV

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.He prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”But the LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Despite Jonah’s lack of transformation, there is still a God who moves.
A God who uses death and burial to bring about resurrected life.

God put Jonah through it to change him and save the Ninevites.

God went through it himself to change all things and to save the world.

Here’s the central question this morning: Has resurrection changed you?
3 Ways to know if resurrection has changed you:
1) You Lean Into Your Story
2) You Share Your Story
3) You Live Your Story
1) You Lean Into Your Story
God can take the worst of circumstances and turn them into something beautiful, something wonderful, something that gives new life.
hey
Like In "Thunderbolts, " a lot of us have a void in our lives. A place that feels too deep and too dark to escape.
We try to run from it. We try to avoid it.
But, maybe that’s not what we’re meant to do. Maybe God wants you to face it. Maybe God wants to take you through.
2) Share Your Story
Many of us were dead. We were held captive in the belly of sin, deep in darkness. But God gave us new life. And that experience of salvation, saving us from what used to hold us in its belly, cannot help but be shared with those who are in a similar place!
3) Live Your Story
In order to live out in the new, resurrected life, we need to see what we’ve gained. As well, we need to see that resurrection is not exclusively personal. There are others around us desperately in need.
Our story of resurrection is lived, shared and owned. Each story is as unique as our personalities. And yet, the truth remains the same.
John 3:1-8 NIV

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

hey

Only God can turn a tomb into a womb. Only God can turn a place of death into something that brings life!

Generosity Through Giving

We want to thank those of you who give faithfully and systematically to our church. We hope you know how important your giving is to what God is doing at FBC Seminole, in our community, and across the planet through the different ministries we are able to partner with through your financial generosity. We've fixed plumbing, remodeled kitchens, replaced shingles, celebrated our teachers, and made  a difference in a host of other opportunities. Your generosity matters. We offer Financial Peace University on a consistent basis for those who need financial help.  It's a financial management system that allows multitudes to eliminate debt and live in freedom. Text the amount you want to give to 84321.

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Discussion Questions:
1) We all experience death, literally (loss of a loved one) or metaphorically (loss of job, stability, etc.). In your own life, how have you experienced death?

2) How has God turned your tomb (place of hardship) into a womb (place of newness and life)?

3) Reflecting on your previous answers, how does the reality of resurrection speak into those situations?

4) Think about the story of Jonah. Who is your Nineveh? Who in your life are you reluctant to share the Good News with? Why?

5) How has Jesus’ metaphor of rebirth speak to your experience? How have you been born again? How do you continue to walk in resurrection life?

6) Who do you feel inclined to share resurrection life with? How and when will you do it?

Scripture: Jonah 1: 1-3