Read: Jonah 3. 

We get so used to going to church every Sunday that sometimes we don't pay a lot of attention to the preaching. We just go with the rest of the family. But listening to the preaching is very important.

Jonah also preached a message. “People of Nineveh, listen carefully. In forty days you are going to be destroyed. Repent, or you will be overthrown.” If they didn't turn to the Lord, they would be destroyed. For a whole day, Jonah walked around preaching this warning to the people. He walked, stopped, called out the message, and then continued a bit further before doing the same again.

When the people heard this message, they responded. Verse 5 tells us that they believed God and put on sackcloth. The sackcloth showed that they were sorry and repented. When the king heard this message, he also responded. He said, “Who knows if the Lord will relent?” There was time, forty days, for the people to repent. He sent messengers out to all the people telling them to put on sackcloth and cry out to God. And the king did the same himself. He repented of his sins, and he told all the people to do the same: “Turn away from your evil ways.”

And the people believed God, and they turned to him in repentance. They listened to the preaching of God and believed. We too are called to listen to the preaching every Sunday again. We too must believe the Word of God.

When God saw that the people repented and believed him, he relented. He decided not to destroy Nineveh anymore. God has mercy on the people who repented. And today also the Lord had mercy on all who come to him in repentance and true faith. And that's why we need to hear the preaching every Sunday again. God calls us to believe in him, repent from our sins, and turn to him for forgiveness. And God will hear us. He will forgive us for the sake of Jesus Christ!

Reflection with your child:

Why is it important to listen to the preaching in church?

Source: Sermon by Rev. S. ’t Hart