When you’re living in exile, when your kings are getting hauled off to exile and executed before your eyes, when your city is destroyed and you are forcibly relocated, it’s hard to imagine a hopeful future. What are the odds that things will turn out well? God wants his people to have hope and a future, a certain expectation. The future belongs to the exiles. Jeremiah 52:31-34.
Life in Babylon #8 - Songs of Deliverance
Today we celebrate the Festival of Reformation. And it will be more than a celebration. It will be a call to war, a call to sing, a call to celebrate even before the final victory. Yes, it’s true. We’re in the middle, between the not yet and the already of our salvation. Yet, we sing as those who are confident of the victory. God taught his people to sing and even gave them songs to sing even before they came home from exile. Jeremiah 51:54-64.
Life in Babylon #7 - The Paper Shredder
The king didn’t care much for Jeremiah or the word from God that Jeremiah presented to him. In fact, he showed so much disdain for this word that after reading a page, he cut it out of the scroll and used it to keep his fire burning. How offensive can you be? How could he? Yet are we so different in our handling of God’s Word. Picking and choosing the verses we want to apply, use, listen, and accept. Do we take it all to heart? Or do we cut corners off the Word of God? Either way, God will not let his Word be silenced or destroyed. The cry rings out: The Word of the Lord endures forever. May we ever read, learn, and take it to heart. Jeremiah 36:1-7, 20-24, 32.
Life in Babylon #6 - An Unbreakable Covenant
The question is: how can we be so sure? Surely, Israel was asking that question. How can we be so sure that we’ll build houses back home again? How can we be so sure that the temple will be rebuilt? That’s the question we often ask. How can we be so sure about forgiveness? About God’s care and guiding of our lives? About any of God’s promises? Consider this. If you can break God’s covenant with the day and night, then you can break this one. How’s that for certainty? Jeremiah 33:14-26.
Life in Babylon #5 - The Testimony of a Lived Faith
All the time we say, “We live by faith, not by sight.” But what exactly do we mean? What does it mean to look like to live by faith? It means that we’ll buy property when Nebuchadnezzar is coming to take over our homeland. It means that we’ll make our life in this world even though it is not our home. Next week, Jeremiah shows us through what it means to live by faith. Jeremiah 32:6-15.
Life in Babylon #4 - God's Firm Resolve
What do you do when your girl cheats on you with another guy? What do you do when she breaks your heart? There are two dominant metaphors in these chapters of hope within Jeremiah. The metaphor of a father/son relationship. The metaphor of a husband/wife relationship. Last week, we considered the father/son relationship. This week, we see God’s husband heart. He does not discard his bride, whom he draws with cords of kindness. Again, he makes their relationship/covenant new. Jeremiah 31:2-6, 31-34
Life in Babylon #3 - Fatherly Attention
Israel has been given a deep wound because of their own rebellion. That’s why they were in Babylon. But Jeremiah wants them to know that the Lord was not trying to get his pound of flesh out of him. This was discipline, discipling, not punishment. He was calling out to them as a father through the exile. Can we start to see our own waywardness as we live in the fallen world? Can we start to see how we have lived farther and farther from God’s way? Can we sense the Lord’s discipling hand in our life? “Our wound is incurable” (Jeremiah 30:12), but the LORD “will restore you to health” (Jeremiah 30:17). A look at Jeremiah 30:10-17.
Life in Babylon #2 - That Babylonian Life
As we make our way through Jeremiah, we’re moving into the counsel and advice that Jeremiah has for the exiles. Last week, the simple message of God was, “Surrender.” Surrender to the government that God has put over you. Surrender and submit to the people God has put over you in your life. Surrender to the circumstances in your life. At the end of the day, surrender your life to the God who has done so much for you. But the question is: What does that look like? What does a surrendered life look like? Today, Jeremiah tells us. He sends a letter to the exiles in Babylon and tells them all about that Babylonian life. This is an important message for all of us, and especially for you, young people. You’re on your way in this world. That Christian life here and now is yours to live. Jeremiah has something to say to you today. We’re looking at Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14.
Life in Babylon #1 - The Easy Yoke
We live in exile. We’re away from our home. Our home is in heaven. On top of that, it becomes increasingly clear that we are the outsiders here in our own homeland. Less and less do the laws of our country reflect what God’s Word says is good and right. More and more, there is a growing hostility toward those who faithfully hold to the Christian faith. We’re in exile. Away from home. In Babylon. But Jeremiah has a word. A word about faith. A word about submission and surrender. A word about living faithfully Christian lives. A word about hope. A word about our return home. It’s a powerful and important word that he has for us. The future belongs to us. Today, we get started in Jeremiah 27:1-15. It’s a difficult word, but an important one for us to consider - surrender! Or maybe the yoke is easy and the burden light. We'll see.
In the Garden #7 - Kingdom Politics
Israel had bad kings. These kings abused their people and oppressed them. They fed their fat bellies and failed to care for the people. Instead of shepherding the people, they were wolves. Instead of ruling for the people, they ruled over the people for their own benefit. In Jeremiah 23, God has something to say to these kings. He has a word of “woe” for these fat kings. And his oppressed people were in the background, hearing what God said to the kings and what he promised to do for them, the scattered and oppressed sheep. Yes, there is a word for the oppressed people here too. Hear his Word from Jeremiah 23:1-8.
In the Garden #6 - This is the Way.
God set before his people a way of life and death. Babylon had laid siege to their city, and the walls were about to fall. How would they survive? To these threatened people, God laid out the way of life and death: Surrender. Surrender, and you will live. This week, we consider this way for our own lives and see how “surrender” is God’s way to life. Jeremiah 21:1-10.
In the Garden #5 - Smashing Jars
There is a side of God that we don’t often see. There is a side of God that troubles us when we see it. It’s the image of God smashing pots in the kitchen. We’re not sure what to do when we see this in God. We’re making a turn in this series as we see God smashing pots. A sermon on Jeremiah 18:18-23, 19:1-2, 10-11.
In the Garden #4 - Stupid Scarecrows
There is no one like our God. He made the heavens and the earth and everything else in it. There is none who compares with him. So why did Israel take a stick of wood that God made and then worship it? Why do we turn to things or people whom he created and lean on them? It’s foolish! This week, Jeremiah uproots idolatry from our hearts, teaches us to mock the idols, and to lean on our incomparable God. A sermon on Jeremiah 10:1-16.
In the Garden #3 - The Sanctuary
Israel’s worship had become meaningless movements through rites and rituals. It was false and fake. They had fallen into false security. God keep us from such worship. A sermon on Jeremiah 7:1-15
In the Garden #2 - The Great Divorce
Imagine this. A husband or a wife walks into a courtroom, a divorce courtroom. They have charges to bring and multiple exhibits of their right to sue for a divorce. Their spouse has turned away from them to others. They are broken, saddened, spurned and even upset. Should they take their spouse back, even if they’re sorry?
Though the story above is all too common, we’re not going to be talking about marriage and divorce, not this week. This week, as we get back into Jeremiah, it is God who is bringing the suit and we who are being charged with unfaithfulness. It is God who is broken, saddened, spurned and even upset. Should he - will he - take us back, even if we’re sorry? Would he do that for Israel? We’ll be looking at selections from Jeremiah 2 and 3.
NEW SERIES In the Garden: God's Lenten Work
In the Garden: God’s Lenten Work
We’re back at Jeremiah again. Last time, we learned from Jeremiah, the model survivor. This time, we’re listening to him. Get out your hardhats and your life-preservers. Jeremiah has some demolition work to do on us. Listen up but be ready; his message is not for the faint of heart. But he only means to re-make and resurrect us through it.
In the Garden #1 - God's Lenten Work
We're back to Jeremiah again. This time we get to see God at work. He works on us like a Gardener, uprooting and planting. He works on us like a Demolition Man, tearing down walls and rebuilding. He works on us even like an enemy. His only goal is to see that his Word is carried out and accomplished in our lives. A sermon on Jeremiah 1:9-12. (We apologies that there is not video of the speaker. We pray that the audio will be a blessing to you).
Shaped for Survival - #6 - The Power in Persistence
God is serious about our salvation. As obstinate and stiff-necked as his people were, God was even more so. He would not give up on his people - for twenty-three years! It’s good for us in preparation for him to hear him now. At the same time, it is also good for us to join the prophet in our own persistence with the word of the Lord. Shoulder the load - repeatedly. Persistently. - that’s what he did. God help us! A sermon on Jeremiah 25:1-7
Shaped for Survival - #5 - A Mighty Word
The Word that God speaks is a mighty word. It does not compare at all the words and ideas of men. This word sets sinners free. This word calls things into being. This word kills. This word justifies. This word condemns. This word forgives. It builds up and tears down. It uproots and it plants. It is a mighty word. A sermon on Jeremiah 23:33-40.
Shaped to Survive #1 - The Potter's House
Shaped for Survival - #1 – The Hands of the Potter Our life is, at times, a mess, but God has his hands on it. We are a big mess, but God has his hands on it. Whether we are walking with him or wandering from him, God has his hands on us to call us to repentance and to turn us back to himself. This is a central truth in Jeremiah’s life and in ours. God’s hands are on us for good and not for harm. A sermon on Jeremiah 18:1-10.