Jonah 4 | When Life Doesn't Go How You Planned It

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Sunday Morning | February 2, 2026 | John C. Majors | Louisville, KY

Jonah 4 shows what happens when life doesn’t go the way we planned and our hearts react poorly to God’s grace. After Nineveh repents and God spares the city, Jonah’s own plans “fail,” and he responds with what the sermon called the three Ps. First, Jonah becomes perturbed—angry and offended that God would show mercy, reminding us that human anger does not produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20). Second, Jonah turns to prayer, but his prayer is more complaint than repentance, revealing how easily we can justify ourselves instead of humbling our hearts before the Lord (Joel 2:12–14). Third, Jonah pouts, sitting outside the city, hoping for judgment, while God uses a plant as an object lesson to expose Jonah’s misplaced compassion and selfish priorities, much like Nathan’s story to David or Elijah’s despair in the wilderness. Through Jonah’s stubbornness, God patiently pursues His prophet, teaching that His mercy is wider than our comfort. The chapter leaves us with lasting lessons: to have ears to hear God’s correction, to trust that God lovingly pursues His people, to take Jonah’s story as a warning against hard-heartedness, and to remember we cannot fix our hearts on our own. Jonah sat outside the city longing for condemnation, but Jesus went outside the city to die for salvation, showing that only the gospel of grace can make sinful people fully accepted and joyfully secure in God’s love.

*Unfortunately part of the sermon was not recorded at the beginning. We apologize for the error.

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