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RELENTLESS
Part 4 | The God Who Won’t Give Up On People
Senior Pastor Keith Stewart
August 09, 2026

Have you ever been offended by God's grace? Not because He showed it to you, but because He showed it to someone else. The book of Jonah doesn't end with a whale. It ends with a question. A question about God's heart. A question about our enemies. A question about whether we've become more interested in justice than mercy.

This Sunday we conclude RELENTLESS: The God Who Won't Give Up on People with a message entitled: WHEN GOD'S GRACE OFFENDS YOU

It may be the most uncomfortable—and most important—chapter in the entire book. Come discover why Jonah ends without a happy ending... and why that may be exactly the point.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The book of Jonah ends without telling us whether Jonah ever changed. Why do you think God inspired the book to end that way? What effect does that unfinished ending have on you personally?

2. Jonah wasn't angry because God was unjust—he was angry because God was exactly Who He said He was: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Why do you think God's mercy can sometimes be difficult for religious people to accept?

3. Read Exodus 34:6–7 and Jonah 4:2. Jonah quotes God's own self-description as an accusation rather than an act of worship. What does that reveal about Jonah's heart? Have you ever struggled with one of God's attributes because of how it affected someone else?

4. The message described anger as a "warning light on the dashboard" that often reveals something deeper beneath the surface. What tends to lie underneath your own anger—fear, disappointment, hurt, pride, frustration, or something else?

5. Discuss the illustration of the three circles: I – You – They. Who is easiest for you to understand? Who is easiest to stereotype or judge? Why do you think that happens?

6. The statement was made, "The book of Jonah is God's attempt to redraw those circles." What would it look like for God to redraw those circles in your own life?

7. Peter eventually learned that "God does not show favoritism" (Acts 10:34). What prejudices, assumptions, or categories might God still be challenging His Church to abandon today?

8. Jonah cared more about the plant than the people because the plant served his own comfort. Where are we tempted to value our comfort more than God's mission?


9. Throughout the book, God patiently pursued: the sailors, Jonah, Nineveh, and even Jonah again. What does that repeated pursuit teach us about God's character? Which example in the book speaks most powerfully to you?

10. The series concluded by saying:

God refuses to abandon pagans.
God refuses to abandon prophets.
God refuses to abandon cities.
God refuses to abandon bitter people.
God refuses to abandon us.

Which of those statements do you most need to hear today? Why?

Closing Challenge

This week, ask God to reveal one person you've quietly placed in the "they" category. Pray each day that God would help you see that person through His eyes rather than your own. Then look for one practical way to move them closer—from they, to you, through an intentional act of kindness, conversation, or prayer.

Where does the spirit of Jonah still live in me—and what would it look like for the relentless grace of God to change my heart?