In this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, I talk with one of my favorite Scottish preachers, Colin Smith, about how the book of Jonah reveals the steadfast love and mercy of God. Smith is senior pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and teacher on Unlocking the Bible. Topics in this episode include:
- ways the book of Jonah is taught inadequately
- reasons Jonah would not have wanted to go to Nineveh
- the pagan sailors’ response to the offer of a sacrifice that saves
- Jonah in the fish—a picture of being in Christ
- the heart of the book: “Salvation belongs to the Lord”
- Jonah’s fearless message of judgment and grace
- what to do with “God relented”
- how grace either makes a person worship or makes a person angry
Here are some additional resources you may find helpful in preparing to teach Jonah:
- Sermons on Jonah by Colin Smith
- Sermons on Jonah by Alistair Begg
- Sermons on Jonah by Tim Keller
- “The Sign of Jonah,” a sermon by Christopher Ash
For further study, here are some books you may find helpful, including titles from Crossway, the sponsor of Help Me Teach the Bible:
- Jonah: Navigating a God-Centered Life by Colin Smith
- Man on the Run!, a children’s book on the Jonah story
- Man Overboard by Sinclair Ferguson
- The Gospel Transformation Bible (with notes on Jonah by Colin Smith)
Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or on other devices to get this and subsequent interviews in the Help Me Teach the Bible series with Nancy Guthrie. Help Me Teach the Bible is also available on Stitcher.