📖

God's Surprising Command

Jonah Runs from God

Day 111of 180
Week 23of 36
25Minutes
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🖨️ Download Worksheet (PDF)
🎯 What You'll Learn

Learning Objectives

1

Understand that God calls people to do difficult tasks

2

Recognize that God's plans are sometimes unexpected

3

Learn about obedience and trusting God's guidance

📖 Scripture Connection

Jonah 1:2

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”

— Jonah 1:2 (WEB)

God's direct call to Jonah demonstrates His desire to reach all people

📦 Materials Needed

  • World English Bible
  • Boat picture
  • Map of ancient Near East
  • Colored pencils
  • BibleMouse Jonah activity sheet
📚 Step-by-Step

Lesson Plan

1Opening (3 min)

Welcome to today's BibleMouse adventure! Last time we learned about God's care for small things. Today we'll discover how God calls people to do big, sometimes scary tasks.

💭 Review Question: Can you remember a time when you felt scared to do something?
2Teaching (8 min)

In today's BibleMouse lesson, we'll explore how God spoke to Jonah with a surprising command.

📌 Key Talking Points:
  • God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, a city far away
  • Nineveh was known for being a difficult place
  • Jonah was afraid and didn't want to go
💬 Discussion Questions:
  • What do you think Jonah felt when God asked him to go?
  • Have you ever been asked to do something that seemed scary?
3Activity: Jonah's Journey Map (10 min)
interactive mapping

Trace Jonah's potential route on a map, discussing the distance and challenges

📝 Instructions:
  1. Use BibleMouse map from Resource Guide
  2. Draw Jonah's intended path to Nineveh
  3. Mark places Jonah might have been scared
  4. Color the map with different colors
🔄 Variations:

Simpler: Parent helps trace route

Challenge: Child calculates estimated walking distance

4Closing (3 min)

Review key lesson points about trusting God

📝 Review Questions:
  • What did God ask Jonah to do?
  • How might Jonah have felt?
🙏 Prayer:

Dear God, help us be brave and trust You, even when things seem scary.

Coming up: Tomorrow we'll see what happens when Jonah tries to run away!

💎 Memory Verse

Jonah 2:9

“Salvation comes from the LORD.”

— Jonah 2:9 (WEB)

🎯 Activity: Sailboat Memory Verse Game - Write each word of the verse on a paper sailboat. Have child arrange boats in correct order while saying the verse

👨‍👩‍👧 For Parents

Teaching Notes

📚 Background:

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, known for being hostile to Israel

💡 Teaching Tips:
  • Use gentle, age-appropriate language about fear
  • Validate child's feelings about challenging tasks
  • Emphasize God's love and guidance
🤔 Common Struggles:

Children might find it hard to understand why Jonah was afraid

👀 Signs of Understanding:

Child's ability to empathize with Jonah's emotions

🚀 Want More?

Extension Activities

  • Create a 'Brave for God' journal page
  • Act out the story using BibleMouse puppets
  • Sing memory verse song from BibleMouse Song Collection

Ready for Tomorrow?

Great job completing today's lesson!

Continue to Day 112 →Back to Bible