Sermon Outline Archive 2008:

Sermon Outline Mar 2, 2008 Evening Service

Topic: I Ran Away But I Couldn’t Stay

Text: Jonah 1:1-3

Introduction

I. The Book of Jonah presents one man in a variety of ways.

II. I’m sure we all know the story of Jonah.

A. The reluctant prophet who reached his appointed destination only after a detour in the belly of a great fish.

B. But the story of Jonah is a message about the character of God.

Text

I. Jesus saw Jonah as being like Himself.

A. The book of Jonah reads like a tall-tale.

B. The Jews regarded Jonah as a historical figure (2 Kings 14:25).

C. Jesus saw Jonah as historical (Matthew 12:39-41).

II. The Jews see Jonah as being like themselves.

III. We need to see that this book is about us.

A. The Book of Jonah is like a mirror.

B. What makes the story bearable is that we also see God.

C. Running away from responsibility is one of the easiest things we can do.

D. We have enemies today.

E. Other Bible people have been hesitant to obey God.

F. Ultimately, Jonah is about obeying God.

Conclusion

I. Jonah is an anti-hero, not a role model.

A. He reminds us of our narrow-minded, biased attitudes.

B. He flees God’s presence because that is the one place where he is sure to be exposed as a hypocrite.

II. In the process of studying this book, I hope we’ll have the integrity to admit that, in many ways, “we are Jonah.”

A. While he ran away from God Jonah couldn’t stay away from God.

1. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t desire to.

2. It was that God wouldn’t let him.

3. God went to great lengths to get Jonah back.

B. As we admit, “we are Jonah”, perhaps we can also see the great effort God has put forth to see to it that we cannot stay away.

Some years ago at the opening of a disarmament conference, in the midst of a speech of King George of England, someone tripped over the wires of the Columbia Broadcasting Company, tearing them loose and interrupting service. The chief operator quickly grasped the loose wires in his bare hands, holding them in contact, and for 20 minutes the current passed through him while repairs were being made. His hands were slightly burned, but through them the words of the king passed on to millions of listeners, and were heard distinctly. Without his courage and endurance, the king's message would have failed to reach its destination.

Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, has chosen to send His message of salvation to a lost and dying world through human means. Whatever the cost, the message must reach those who have never heard. Every faithful Christian who is willing is a human instrument through whom the King's voice is reaching the lost with a message of deliverance, freedom and peace (vastly more important than the message from London).