Jonah and the Whale

The point of this lesson is 'listen and obey' with an emphasis on having a second chance to obey.

Start by singing a couple of songs (this is more for the little ones). Then read Jonah 1 letting the older kids take turns reading what Jonah says. Then ask a few questions:

1. Why did Jonah run away?
2. Was God ok with this? Why not?
3. What happened to Jonah because he ran away?
4. What did he do when God asked him the second time (after he got out of the whale)?

Then act it out. For a ship, use a chair or bed, for the whale, use a large blanket. One kid plays Jonah and one parent plays God. When Jonah rebels, let the kid act as crazy or silly as he wants... but he should end up on the boat. Then all the other kids and parents should create the storm... throw pillows, blankets, stuffed animals (make sure to control the energy level here). Jonah should jump off the boat. Then all the other kids and parents throw the whale blanket over Jonah. This means that the whale swallowed Jonah.

While Jonah is in the whale, he should act scared and sorry and pray real loud about what he has done. Then the other kids should remove the whale blanket and the God parent should talk to Jonah again. This time, Joanh should act very calm and obedient.

End the night with the moral: When we disobey, everything can go wrong. Other people could be scared or even hurt. (What do you think the people on the boat with Jonah were feeling?) But God lets us change our ways and do what we are supposed to do. Finally, pray as a family.