This week in SC Kids we took a closer look at the story of Jonah. Often times we can read these stories from the Old Testament and turn them into a moralistic lesson by turning the characters into heroes and then trying to imitate them. But if you read through the Old Testament then you will see that these characters that we have turned into heroes are actually pretty miserable heroes after all.

King David was a man after God's own heart, yet he still was filled with lust and jealousy which led to his fall. Abraham is the father of our faith, but he found himself doubting God's power and it led him to being a bad husband. And Jonah was a successful prophet of God, but here he is running away from God and his call. When we look at these stories it is important for us to understand that these people point toward someone better, they point toward Jesus! That is why Jesus said, "these are the very scriptures that testify about me." (John 5:39)

So this week we learned about Jonah's sacrifice that calmed the storm and how it points to Jesus' sacrifice that calms the storm that is created by our sin. We had a lot of fun pretending to be in a big boat like Jonah in the midst of a storm. We drew straws to see who was responsible for the storm (Jonah 1:7) and when we drew we found that we all had the 'short straw' and that we were all responsible for the storm of sin.

When we talk about the storm of sin we mean the chaos and disfunction that is created when we ignore God's ways and live our own way. Some examples of this sin are selfishness that makes us think of ourselves more than others. Pride that causes us to think of ourselves as better than others. Greed that makes us want to take things from others. These are the things that cause disfunction between us and others (mom and dad, siblings, classmates & friends) as well disfunction between us and God.

The only way to stop this storm of sin is for us to throw ourselves outside of the boat and take the punishment. The problem is that if we did that we would drown and our lives would be destroyed.

But the gospel is that Jesus took our place and willing "threw himself off the boat" for us. He was the one who sacrificed himself so that we could live. But Jesus didn't literally throw himself overboard, he was nailed to a cross and on that cross he took the punishment for the sins that created the storm. And with that sacrifice, the storm has been stopped once and for all for those who put their faith in Jesus!

This is one way that the story of Jonah points us to Jesus. It is important for us (parents and SC Kids volunteers) to communicate this good news to our children because it is this message that will save them and it is this message that will lead them to obedience because they will learn that God wants what is best for them. And when they know when God wants whats best they will joyfully submit to his ways!

Click here for the family worship guide that includes scripture memory verses for the week, discussion questions and this week's catechism question.