Jonah Comic

Pam C posted this

There was a fun comic book written by Phillip William on Jonah.

(Note: This comic book forms the basis of Sunday Software's interactive Jonah CD. That CD also has a story ordering game built into it.)

"God Says/Jonah Does "

What happened when God told Jonah to go to Ninevah? He went in the opposite direction. We’re playing God Says/Jonah does. It’s just like Simon Says, except you need to do the opposite of what God says, just like Jonah did.

I’ll be God first.
God says “Stand Up” (the kids should all be seated or lying down)
God says “Sit down” (the kids should stand up)
God says “Take a step forward” (the kids should take a step backward)
God says “Take a step backward”
God says “Walk towards the door”
God says “yell”
God says “whisper”
Etc.

If the kids are enjoying the game, let them take turns being God.

Reflection:

1. How did it feel to do the opposite of what you were told to do?
2. Do ever feel just contrary or stubborn and not want to do what people say?
3. Why did Jonah not want to do what God told him? (the people in Nineveh were Israel’s enemies)

Second Chance Tag

In this game of freeze tag, one person is IT and the another person goes around unfreezing people, giving them another chance to play, just like Jonah got a second chance to do God’s will and the people of Nineveh got a second chance to do things right.
Pick an IT and a second-chance granter and let the fun begin!
Swap roles after a minute or so.

Reflection:

1. Why do you think God gave the people in Nineveh a second chance?
2. Do you get do-overs at home, school, or in sports?
3. Does anyone play piano or sports? Do you have to practice to get things right? Sometimes we need a chance to do things again and again to learn the right way to do them.
4. God forgave the people of Nineveh. How many times will God forgive us? (as many as it takes)

List of possible "Jonah Questions" for a Quiz Game

1. Jonah was a Judge. True or False? (False)
2. What is a prophet? (someone who is close to God, is God’s messenger)
3. The story of Jonah is found where in the Bible? (Old Testament)
4. The book of Jonah is a book of Law. True or False? (False)
5. A minor prophet is a prophet who is less important than a major prophet. True or False? (False)
6. Jonah was a prophet to which kingdom, north or south? (north)
7. What was the northern kingdom called? (Israel)
8. Israel’s kings were all wonderful, godly men. True or False? (false)
9. The main sin the people of Israel had was ____? (idol worship)
10. God called Jonah to go and preach to whom? (the people of Ninevah)
11. Where is Ninevah? Show on the map. (capital of Assyria)
12. What did Jonah do? (ran the opposite direction)
13. Why did Jonah run away? (he didn’t like the people of Assyria, they were enemies)
14. Where did Jonah try to run? (Tarshish – in Spain)
15. What happened while Jonah was on the boat? (storm blew up)
16. What did the sailors do? (they were afraid, they wanted Jonah to pray to his God, they threw him overboard)
17. How did God save Jonah? (he was swallowed by a giant fish)
18. What did Jonah do inside the fish? (he prayed, he thanked God for saving him from drowning)
19. What is our memory verse? (When I was in trouble I called out to you and your answered me. Jonah 2:2)
20. How long was Jonah inside the fish? (three days and nights)
21. What happened then? (the fish spit Jonah out onto dry land)
22. What message did God give Jonah? (go to Ninevah and preach to them about God)
23. What did Jonah do? (he went)
24. The people of Ninevah didn’t listen to Jonah. True or False. (False)
25. What did the people do to show they were truly sorry? (they fasted, they put on sackcloth and ashes, they asked God’s forgiveness)
26. What does repentance mean? (to be truly sorry, to turn away from your sin)
27. Did God destroy Ninevah? (no)
28. Why didn’t God destroy Ninevah? (God loved them, they were sorry for what they had done)
29. How did Jonah feel when God forgave the people of Ninevah? (he was mad because God forgave his enemies, he wanted God to destroy them)
30. What did God do to shade Jonah from the sun? (grew a plant)
31. What happened to the plant the next day? (a worm ate it)
32. What lesson did Jonah learn about God? (God loves everyone, not just the people of Israel, God is merciful and forgiving, God wants us to forgive others too)