{"id":3261,"date":"2025-06-01T05:33:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T05:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/?p=3261"},"modified":"2025-06-01T05:35:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T05:35:20","slug":"worshipping-and-praising-god-for-who-god-is-and-does-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/06\/01\/worshipping-and-praising-god-for-who-god-is-and-does-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","title":{"rendered":"Worshipping and Praising God for who God is and Does, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg, Bible Study Material on Jonah 4:2<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Einleitung<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our previous lesson, we learnt that Jonah had no right to be angry with God. We understood that the root problem of his anger with God was not that he had wrong perspective about God but it was a submission problem. This was supported by Jonah\u2019s confession about God\u2019s character in Jonah 4:2. This lesson further reflects on Jonah\u2019s affirmations and thus confessions about who God as a basis for our worship and praises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Affirmations of Who God is<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Jonah\u2019s anger, he made some important affirmations concerning God\u2019s character in Jonah 4:2:<em> \u201cI know you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness, one who relents from doing harm.\u201d <\/em>Worthy of note is the fact that these affirmations have become a creed or a confession of faith among the Hebrew people. Jonah\u2019s statement about God appears to be a reflection of an ancient formula first seen in Exodus 34:6-7 and it occurs 10 times in the Old Testament. It is referred too in other places as well (Joel 2:13; Num. 14:18; Neh. 9:17; Psalms. 86:15, 103:8, 145:8; Nah. 1:3; 2 Chr. 39; and also Psalms 111:4, 112:4, and 116:8). Most importantly, these affirmations form the basis of our worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>God is gracious (Jonah 4:2)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The gracious nature of God means that God is kind in God\u2019s attitudes towards us and all that God does especially towards the undeserving. It implies that God does for sinners which they do not deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>God is Merciful (Jonah 4:2)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God\u2019s mercifulness reveals God\u2019s compassionate and loving nature. God\u2019s compassionate and merciful nature is likened to the kind of love that mothers have towards their children. Thus, just as mothers love their children, so is God\u2019s love to those who are made in God\u2019s image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>God is Longsuffering (Jonah 4:2)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The longsuffering nature of God means that God is slow to anger. God does not have a quick temper. God is patient and long suffering. It is not within God\u2019s nature to immediately bring judgment upon those who God has made and thus loves. God\u2019s first response is to be slow in getting angry, even in the face of sin and rebellion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>God is Loving &nbsp;(Jonah 4:2)<\/em><\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God is abounding in love and reflects God\u2019s loving-kindness (ESV, \u201csteadfast love\u201d). The word used pictures the covenant faithfulness and love of God, and it is a rich word in Hebrew thought. \u00a0It is variously understood and translated to mean \u201cloving-kindness; steadfast love; covenant loyalty; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Agape is the closest New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew thought. Both terms accurately and beautifully speak of God\u2019s covenant love and faithfulness to those who are recipients of His grace. \u2212 Kindness, loyalty and unfailing love are all terms that depict the beauty of this Hebrew thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>God is Forgiving (Jonah 4:2)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God is one who desists (relents) from doing harm or \u201cdisaster.\u201d The word is the same that has previously been translated \u201cevil\u201d or \u201ctrouble\u201d in the book of Jonah. There is no sin that God cannot forgive us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>God is Patient (Jonah 4:3-4)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That God was patient with the people of Nineveh and Jonah in his depressing state as well is an indication that God refuses to place a limit on His grace. God is a patient God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conclusion and Application<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This lesson on Jonah 4:2 is an invitation to move beyond our proper understanding of who God is to relating with God as such. Who God is and what God does are both inseparable. As a gracious God, God\u2019s grace upon us are limitless. As a merciful God, God is compassionate towards us and loves us unconditionally. As a long-suffering God, God is patient with us and prepares us to be more like Christ. This God deserves our appreciation. God deserves our worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg, Bible Study Material on Jonah 4:2 Introduction In our previous lesson, we learnt that Jonah [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62474923,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25826],"tags":[10051,401,7816,85759,469274],"class_list":["post-3261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-studies","tag-bible","tag-faith","tag-god","tag-jonah","tag-nineveh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4q0JC-QB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3252,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/05\/25\/is-your-anger-justifiable-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":3261,"position":0},"title":"Is your Anger justifiable? By Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Mai 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on Jonah 4:1-4 Introduction In our previous lesson on Jonah 3:3-10, we learnt about God\u2019s nature as being a merciful God. This lesson focusses on the last chapter of the book, Jonah 4. Rather than reflecting on the compassionate nature of God,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bible Studies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3080,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/03\/06\/seeking-divine-help-in-difficult-times-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":3261,"position":1},"title":"Seeking Divine Help in Difficult Times, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"M\u00e4rz 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on Jonah 1:4-9 IntroductionIn our previous lesson on Jonah 1:1-3, we learnt that Jonah became reluctant to obey God\u2019s call on him to go and preach to the people of Nineveh by running away from God. It was discovered that running away\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bible Studies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3019,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/02\/09\/the-book-of-jonah-introduced-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":3261,"position":2},"title":"THE BOOK OF JONAH INTRODUCED, BY REV DR JOHN KWASI FOSU","author":"revfosu","date":"Februar 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on The Book of Jonah Introduction This lesson begins our studies on the book of Jonah. It forms our attempt to understand God\u2019s mission and heart for all people and thus aims at inviting us to join in God\u2019s ministry of reconciliation.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bible Studies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3050,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/02\/23\/theological-themes-of-the-book-of-jonah-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":3261,"position":3},"title":"Theological themes of the Book of Jonah, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Februar 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on the Book of Jonah IntroductionFrom our previous studies, we have been looking at the theological themes in the book of Jonah. As a beginning point, we have studied the themes of sovereignty of God and divine retribution and divine compassion natures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bible Studies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3297,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/06\/22\/called-to-show-compassion-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":3261,"position":4},"title":"Called to Show Compassion, By Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Juni 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on Jonah 4:5-8 Introduction Jonah 4:5-8 is about Jonah\u2019s distress and anger over God\u2019s mercy towards Nineveh. It portrays our struggles to accept God\u2019s forgiveness and compassion for all people including our perceived enemies and those that we think are unworthy. Jonah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bible Studies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3061,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/02\/28\/running-away-from-god-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":3261,"position":5},"title":"Running away from God, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Februar 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on Jonah 1:1-3 IntroductionIn our previous lessons, we have been looking at an introductory study of the book of Jonah with a focus on the authorship and theological themes. This material begins the verse-by-verse study of Jonah 1:1-3. The main aim of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bible Studies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62474923"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3261"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3265,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261\/revisions\/3265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}