You’ve maybe heard by now that we’re starting the first of three series in the book of Jeremiah, and if you haven’t heard that by now - surprise! Over the next year, we’ve blocked out about twenty-one weeks for the book of Jeremiah. At the same time, we will also be working in the Gospel of Mark. We will largely be in the Gospel of Mark for the rest of the year. Maybe you’re wondering why.
There are a number of reasons. The first reason has nothing to do with either the gospel of Mark or the prophecy of Jeremiah. It has everything to do with who we are as a church. We love God’s Word, and we take it seriously. We want to take its message to heart and really get to know it. We can’t do that deeply with a week here or a week there in a book. We’ve really got to get into it. We’ve got to spend time there. We need to hear it, study it, meditate on it, and turn it over in our hearts and mind so that the message really seeps into our souls. We love God’s Word, every bit of it. That’s reason number one.
Other reasons have to do with the book itself. For instance, Jeremiah is such a book that it comprises 5+% of the entire Bible, more space than nearly any other book in all of the Holy Scriptures. (Genesis is second; Psalms is third if you count the number of words). Its prominence and the simple space it takes up in the Word of God handed down to us by the Spirit calls us to give it our attention.
But that alone does not convince us. It has to mean something to us today. And it does. Let me share three key things that Jeremiah does to us today:
1) It forms and shapes us to be survivors. In a day and age when we are hard-pressed on every side, we need a word from God that will shape us to survive. God did that for Jeremiah. This prophecy has more narrative and biographical information about Jeremiah than any other prophecy. In it, we learn from Jeremiah how to survive. He is, in many ways, the model survivor; he outlasted four kings and even the walls of Jerusalem. We can learn from him. God strengthened him and made him an iron wall and a bronze pillar. He will do the same for us and shape us to survive. (Series 1: Shaped for Survival: Jeremiah, the Model Survivor.)
2) Jeremiah’s ministry was largely one of deconstruction and rototilling, of building and of planting. Read Jeremiah 1:10, and you’ll see what I mean. If we are to be and remain the people of God, his chosen people, then we need this work in our hearts and lives. We need Jeremiah to do his work in our hearts. We need him to tear us up and then rebuild us. We need to hear what Jeremiah has to say. (Series 2: In the Garden: The Message of the Prophet for our Ears).
3) We often read the prophets and hear words of rebuke (deconstruction and rototilling). And that’s there; there is a word for the rebellious, the unbelieving, and the wandering. But that’s not all there is. There is also a word for the faithful and believing people of God who were taken into exile. God has a word for them too. In many ways, we are living in exile. More and more books are being written for the Christian church living in a post-Christian America (I’ve got a list going.). Jeremiah has something to say to us who continue to be living far from home. We need a word of hope. For to us, to the exiles, belongs the future. Hope is not snuffed out; there is life as if from the dead. Jeremiah will awaken hope in our hearts, and we need it! (Series 3: Far from Home: A Word to the Exiles)
I hope by now you’re beginning to see what Jeremiah might have to say to us over the next year. I hope you’re beginning to see that Jeremiah is worth our time for the sake of our survival, for the sake of our faith, and for the sake of our hope.
We’ll see you Sunday as we begin in the middle. We’ll be starting our first series in Jeremiah 18.
We are his! Pastor Nate
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