Jonah 1:1–3 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a

ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the

Lord.

I don’t want to!

Jonah 1:17 17 Now the Lord provided a

huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the

fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:9–10 9 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.’ ”

10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Example 1: Tithing

Malachi 3:8–12 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring

the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord

Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing

that there will not be room enough to store it.

Malachi 3:8–12 11 I will prevent pests from devouring

your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says

the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a

delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Matthew 23:23 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and

Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.

You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Example 2: Sex Outside of Marriage

Hebrews 13:4 4 Marriage should be honored by

all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the

adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Jonah 3:1–3 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a

second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh

was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.

Jonah 3:6–10 6 When Jonah’s warning reached the

king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes,

covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the

proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

Jonah 3:6–10 “By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let

people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows?

God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

Jonah 3:6–10 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their

evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he

had threatened.

Jonah 4:1–3 4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he

became angry. 2 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. 3 Now, Lord, take away my

life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Example 3: Pray for Politicians

Romans 13:1–7 1 Let everyone be subject to the governing

authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that

exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring

judgment on themselves.

Romans 13:1–7 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from

fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in

authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath

to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Romans 13:1–7 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the

authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to

governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if

respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

1 Timothy 2:1–4 2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all

godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to

be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

What is your Nineveh?