Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Hello, everyone! Today, we’re going to watch the Superbook story, “Jonah.” He was an Old Testament prophet who God sent to bring a message to a city called Nineveh. God wanted the people of that city to turn from their sinful ways. Raise your hand if you think Jonah obeyed God and left for Nineveh right away. [Children respond.]

Who thinks Jonah tried to run away from what God wanted him to do? [Children respond.]

Let’s watch the first part of the video now and see what happens to Joy at school.

Play Video 2: Chris and Joy’s Dilemma (3.5 minutes)

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

When Joy sees a bully steal a bike at school, she is upset that the principal offers mercy to the thief.

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Did Joy believe that the girl who stole the bike deserved mercy? No.

What did Joy want to happen to the girl? Punishment, be taught a lesson.

Today’s SuperTruth says, “God wants to show mercy to all people.” What exactly is mercy, anyway?

Mercy is showing love, kindness and compassion to someone who doesn’t deserve it.

We all need God’s loving mercy, and His mercy will never run out! Let’s watch the rest of today’s Superbook video and see if Joy changes her mind.

Play Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution (18.5 minutes)

Bible Story and Resolution

Superbook takes Joy, Chris and Gizmo to meet Jonah, who is swallowed by a great fish as he resists God’s plans to show mercy to wicked people. The children learn to show God’s forgiveness even to those who don’t deserve it.

Play Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic 1

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 1

SuperVerse (1 minute)

Let’s say our SuperVerse, Jonah 4:2b, together:

“I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.”

How would you like people to say this about you? Fill in some names of children in the room: “I know that _____, or ______, or _____ is merciful and compassionate.” That would be quite a compliment and bring glory to God! Yes, God is full of mercy, and as followers of Jesus, we should be, too!

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Dear God, Thank You for being a merciful and loving God. Help us to show Your love and mercy to all people. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Today in Small Group, we will play a game that shows how God wants to show mercy to all people! Are you ready to play? Have fun!

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Game

In our story today, why did Jonah run from God?

What do you think God was trying to show Jonah by choosing him to bring God’s message of mercy to the Ninevites?

How did Joy’s attitude change about punishing the girl who stole the bike after seeing how God dealt with Nineveh?

God’s mercy is for all people—no matter who they are or what they have done—if they will only turn to Him and repent of their sins. God’s mercy is for each one of us in this room and all over the world. Nineveh was a wicked nation that sinned against God, yet when they repented, God chose to show them mercy, not punishment. Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God wants to show mercy to all people.” Now, let’s play a game about God’s mercy!      

Give a sheet of paper and a pencil or marker to each child. Have each child write “Mercy” on the top of the paper, with his/her first and last name in large letters underneath. Divide the class into two equal teams. Children should crumple their papers into balls and place them in their team’s container. Mix the balls up in each container and have each team stand single-file behind the starting line.

Our game is based on Hebrews 4:16:

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Isn’t that exciting? When we come to God, we will receive mercy, grace and help!

Now, here is how we play this game. These containers represent God. He is merciful, and as you can see, the containers are full of mercy! When I say “Go,” the first player from each team walks quickly to their team’s container and opens up the crumpled balls until they find the “mercy balls” with their names! You then must re-crumple all the balls you removed trying to find yours and put them back in the container. Then, walk quickly back to the line with the “mercy” you received and the next player takes a turn. The first team that receives mercy for all their players wins, but both teams need to finish the game.

Conclusion: When you were looking through the papers, did anybody see the words punishment or judgment?

Did you ever doubt that there was mercy in the container for you?

What did each of you find when you went to the box representing God? Mercy!

Yes, mercy—with your name on it! God is loving, compassionate, and full of mercy. Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God wants to show mercy to all people.” Now, let’s learn more about God’s mercy that we receive through Jesus Christ.

Teaching

Were you amazed by the patience and mercy that God showed to Jonah and the wicked city of Nineveh?

God truly does show mercy to all people. Was Jonah happy and eager to follow God’s instructions? No!

What did He do? He went the opposite way!

When God told Jonah to go to Ninevah, Jonah headed in the opposite direction! Jonah tried to run from God, but he quickly found out that you can’t do that. God is everywhere, and nothing escapes His eyes.

Optional: Read Jeremiah 23:23–24:

“Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.

Jonah disliked the Ninevites so much that he did not want them to receive mercy and forgiveness. Jonah believed they deserved to be judged and punished for their wickedness. Jonah would have been very pleased if God destroyed the entire city! In fact, he was so filled with bitterness and hatred toward the Ninevites that he told God he would rather die than see the city spared! See Jonah 4:3. We are often quick to judge others and point out their faults but make excuses for our own shortcomings and disobedience. This is the case with Jonah. He sinned by disobeying God’s instructions. He turned his back on God and went the opposite direction.

Yet God was not done with Jonah—and miraculously sent a big fish to save him from drowning. Jonah prayed inside the fish—he desperately needed mercy! Did he receive it? Yes.

But after God answered his prayer, did Jonah understand that Nineveh needing mercy, too? No.

He was still so filled with anger that he wanted God to punish them, not to give them another chance.

Optional: Read Psalm 103:10–11:

He does not punish us for all our sins; He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

Choose a volunteer to stand with you as you take out the money.

Let’s say this is someone I hired to work for me. At the end of the week, he/she deserves to be paid, or given a wage, for all the work done.

Hand the money to the volunteer.

The worker expected pay for the work done and got what was deserved. What do we earn when we sin?

Read Romans 6:23a:

For the wages of sin is death ...

Oh no, that’s not good! Do we really want what we deserve? The Bible says that we have all sinned. So, what is the wage we earn for our sins—what do we deserve to receive? Death.

But wait; there is more to the verse!

Read Romans 6:23b:

… but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wow, God’s love and mercy gives us a free gift of life through Jesus instead of the punishment and death that we deserve!

Raise one hand high as you speak.

Raise your hand if you are thankful that we don’t get what we deserve!

You know, I am so thankful to God for His mercy that I am going to raise both hands! Raise both hands. On the count of three, let’s all jump up, raise our hands, and shout, “Thank You, God, for mercy!” Are you ready? One, two, three! All jump up and shout.

In Large Group, we said mercy is showing love, kindness and compassion to someone who doesn’t deserve it. No one deserves God’s mercy, but we all need it! He freely gives it to us, so let’s freely share it with others.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Pass out the craft patterns, scissors, and string to the children.

What does the fish remind us of? Jonah.

Did you know that the fish is also an ancient Christian symbol? Hold up one of the fish cards. Have you ever seen this fish-shape with Greek letters inside?

The Greek letters stand for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” Christians would make the sign of the fish to let others know they were followers of Jesus.

Cut the three fish apart, one for each lesson on Jonah. Your challenge this time is to look at the back of the fish for Lesson 1, read the Bible passage about mercy, and answer the questions on card. It also has a challenge for you to show mercy to someone. Next time, I’ll ask you to share with us what happened. 

Have the children use the hole punch to put a hole in each fish card, then thread the three cards onto the string to make a necklace.

Optional: Read Proverbs 3:3:

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

Our craft is based on that scripture. The idea of loyalty in this verse means that just because someone does something wrong, we are not to abandon or forsake that person, but to show mercy. We should always be thinking of ways to show mercy instead of judging someone. Kindness is another word associated with mercy. Jesus pours out His mercy and kindness upon us, so use these necklaces as a reminder that we should share it with others.

SuperVerse

Let’s look at the board and say the SuperVerse, Jonah 4:2b, together:

“I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.”

Quickly erase the words “merciful,” “compassionate,” “slow,” “angry,” “unfailing,” and “love.”

Jonah was one of God’s prophets. This means that God sent Jonah to speak God’s message to others. When the people of Ninevah repented, was Jonah happy or angry?

Jonah spoke the words of our SuperVerse to God in anger and bitterness when he saw God was going to spare the people from judgment. He told God that this was why he disobeyed God to begin with! Jonah was very familiar with God and knew God’s ways.  

Have you ever been so angry or bitter toward someone that you wanted God to punish them immediately?

Our SuperVerse tells us that God is very slow to anger and is filled with love, compassion and mercy. Compassion means to show care and concern for others who are in a bad situation. God wanted Jonah to know that we must see others through God’s eyes and not our own.

Let’s see if we can fill in the missing words of the SuperVerse.

Point to the first blank space—merciful—and alternate asking for the girls or the boys to shout the missing word. If children are stumped, offer clues or ask the other group—girls/boys—if they know the answer. When the verse is completed, have the girls and then the boys shout it aloud.     

Prayer

Jonah did not want to take God’s message of mercy and forgiveness to the Ninevite people, yet he wanted God’s mercy for himself. How do you feel about that—is that the attitude we should have as followers of Christ?

Matthew 5:7 says,

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

As followers of Christ, we are to imitate what He did on Earth. Jesus was merciful to unbelievers and believers alike. Jesus showed mercy to those who were rejected and judged. We are to show that kind of mercy to all people, too! When we do this, we are blessed with God’s mercy.

Our SuperTruth says: “God wants to show mercy to all people.”

Have everyone sit quietly on the floor and close their eyes. Ask children to pray silently and ask the Holy Spirit to show them someone who needs God’s mercy. It could be at school, church or home. It may be someone they don’t like or who has mistreated them. Jonah did not like the Ninevites, yet God sent him to bring them a message of mercy and repentance. Tell the children to pray silently and ask to be filled with God’s mercy and love for any people the Holy Spirit reveals to them. As part of the challenge, have them continue to pray and show God’s mercy to that person and others until our next lesson. 

Close in prayer. Dear God, thank You for showing us mercy by sending Your Son, Jesus, to Earth. Through Him, we can come boldly to Your throne and receive mercy and help in time of need. Help us to show that same love and mercy to those around us. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Dodge Ball Game

Let’s all say the SuperTruth together again: “God wants to show mercy to all people.” We have been discussing how God sent Jonah to bring a message of God’s mercy to the city of Nineveh. We also have learned that when you give mercy to others, you will, in turn, be blessed with mercy from God. 

We are going to play a game of giving and getting mercy. This is played like the game of dodge ball with one very important difference. Hold up a ball. You DO want to be hit with the mercy ball—in fact, you want to be hit as often as possible!

Divide the class into teams of four or six children, depending on the size of the class. One team will play at a time. Each team will divide in half and SIT on opposite sides of the lines—Side A and Side B on illustration. Give each child a foam “mercy” ball.

The area between the lines is the Mediterranean Sea, where Jonah was tossed overboard. You cannot go into it or you will sink; unless of course, God sends another big fish to save you! If balls land in the sea, teams that are not playing may retrieve them. Give the balls to the teams, say “Go,” and start the time. Play for one minute per round. Both sides will throw the mercy balls at each other at the same time. When a player is hit, one point is scored. The goal is to get hit with mercy as many times as possible. Players may stand up only to retrieve a ball but must sit down again before throwing it. After one minute, record the points and have the next team play. Play until all teams have played. The team with the most mercy points wins.

Conclusion: What did it feel like to hit someone with mercy and then to get hit with it in return?

God wants each of us not only to receive mercy, but to give it to others. 

Bible Study

Have children look up and read each passage, then lead a discussion using the questions below.

1. Zechariah 7:8–10: 

Then this message came to Zechariah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.”

Like Jonah, Zechariah was an Old Testament prophet. He brought this message to God’s people about how they should treat others.   

• Who do you think is the Lord of Heaven’s armies? Jesus.
• Why is it important to judge someone fairly, and how can we do that? To not make a quick decision and to understand a situation and know all the facts. Not to act on rumors or opinions. Ask the Holy Spirit to give wisdom and knowledge.
• How does this verse apply to Joy’s initial reaction to the girl who stole the bicycle in the Superbookadventure? Joy judged Sharon unfairly; it seemed that the principal knew some background and more details about Sharon that caused her to show kindness and mercy instead of punishing her.
• What do widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor have in common? They all might be looked down upon, overlooked, or seen as not important. They may be taken advantage of or treated unfairly.
• Do you think God values any person over another? No!
• What are we to show one another? Mercy and kindness.

2. Titus 3:5:

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

Ask:

• Do we earn or deserve salvation based on anything we do? No.
• Why did God choose to save us? Because of His mercy and loving kindness.
• Is it right, based on what God did for us, to not show mercy or kindness to someone who has wronged us in some way? No — we must show mercy as we have received it — freely. We are to be imitators of God and reflect His character to draw others to Him. We have been washed and given a fresh start spiritually by the Holy Spirit. Because He lives in us, we can show mercy as God does.
• How does this verse apply to the Ninevites? They were wicked and cruel; they did not receive God’s mercy because of anything they did.
• Do you think Jonah ever changed his attitude toward the Ninevites? He felt he was right and justified to be angry with God’s decision not to punish them.

3. James 2:13:

There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you.

Ask:

• Does this verse surprise you? Why or why not? 
• Can you think of something God has done for us and expects us to do for others? Forgive.
• Why do you think people like Jonah ask mercy from God but don’t want to show mercy to others?
• Is it always easy to show mercy — especially when you don’t particularly care for someone’s ways or attitude?
• How can we show mercy to difficult people; do we have help? Yes, the Holy Spirit in us, God’s fruit is produced in us so we can love and show mercy to others.

Pray: God, Your mercy is for all people. Thank You for showing us mercy even when we don’t deserve it. Help us to freely give mercy and show kindness to others, even when it is difficult. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen. 

Craft

Let’s say our SuperVerse, Jonah 4:2b, together:

“I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.”

Optional craft activity: give each child scissors and a Mercy Cup Pattern. Show the sample you made and have the children follow the assembly directions on the pattern.

If you are not using the craft, give each child a small paper cup for the discussion and have one on the table.

Have children sit on the floor so you can easily walk among them. As you speak, point to the item you are referencing.

Let’s say that this cup on the table represents Jonah. This pitcher represents God, and the water represents His mercy toward all people. Notice that it is filled to the top because God is full of mercy. You might say He is mercy-FULL! Jonah needed God’s mercy, didn’t he? 

God responded when He heard Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the big fish and gave Jonah a second chance.

Pick up the pitcher and purposefully tip it a bit so some water spills out.Do you see how easily the water flowed out of the pitcher? God is ready and waiting to respond to all people with mercy. He doesn’t hold back—He isn’t stingy with it. God poured His mercy into Jonah though he didn’t deserve it. Fill up Jonah’s cup with water. Jonah wanted it to end there. He was satisfied to receive God’s mercy, but he wasn’t eager to share it with the Ninevites! What does God want us to do with His mercy that flows to us? 

Yes, He wants us to share it with others.

Walk around the room and pour a little bit of water into the children’s cups as you talk. He wants us to share it at school. Take a few steps and pour out a bit more. He wants us to share it wherever we go, with all people! Take a few steps and pour out a bit more. God pours His mercy into us, but He doesn’t want us to keep His mercy just for ourselves!

Now, you can all drink from your cup! 

When we receive mercy from God and then turn around and pour out that same mercy to others, we will always have God’s goodness and mercy in our lives.

Read Psalm 23:5b–6a (nkjv):

“My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."

In another verse in the Bible we find out that God blesses us with mercy when we show mercy!

Read Matthew 5:7:

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Object Lesson

Read Lamentations 3:22–23:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

Hold up the suitcase.Raise your hand if you have ever been on a trip or vacation that you didn’t want to end?

Hold up the soccer ball. Raise your hand if you were ever having so much fun with your friends playing ball outside that you didn’t want the sun to go down.

Hold up the apple. Raise your hand if you ever ate an apple that was so crisp and sweet that you were disappointed when it was all eaten.

There is an old saying that says, “All good things must come to an end.” This is true for natural things—they are temporary. But, it is not true with the things of God.  

Remember that Lamentations 3:22–23 says:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

Isn’t that wonderful to know? Every new day, we can be sure that we can experience God’s unconditional love, faithfulness, and mercy. There will never be a shortage of the things of God. His mercies are new and fresh each morning!