God often would require strange activities from his prophets in order to teach the people to whom the prophets served. When we studied Ezekiel, we saw that he had to lay on his side for a year to get the people’s attention and to teach them what God’s word was. We already have seen Jeremiah have a spoiled undergarment to show the people how their relationship with God has been spoiled because of their sins. But now Jeremiah is going to be commanded to make social sacrifices to show the people the severity of the coming judgment and the future grace that God has in store for his people…

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The teacher of Ecclesiastes has been giving his instructions so that we will not waste the time of our lives that God has given to us. The teacher has been trying to find out what gain we get from all of our effort and work on earth. So he is exploring different areas of life, helping us see through the noise and the foolishness, so that we can make wise decisions. The teacher now turns his attention to contentment and examines the problems in life that come from not being content with our lives and what we have. Why are we not satisfied with life? Why do we lack contentment? What is going on in us and what is going on in the world that keeps us from being satisfied? Open your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 5-6…

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Please open your copies of God’s word to Jeremiah 15 and I want to begin our lesson by listening to the startling words of Jeremiah 15:1.

Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! (Jeremiah 15:1 ESV)

The Lord proclaims that even if Moses and Samuel were standing before him, he would not be able to turn his heart back toward this people. You are supposed to hear those words and be totally shocked. Moses was one of the great intercessors on behalf of the people. There were many times where God was ready to rightly bring his wrath on the people but Moses intervenes and intercedes for the people. One of the most notable times where we see Moses interceding is in Exodus 32-33 where we see the sin of the golden calf. Moses intercedes with this terrible sin but then continues to intercede when God says that he would no longer go with the people to the promised land…

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We have been spending our time in a series called Don’t Waste Your Life where we are paying attention to the teacher of Ecclesiastes. He is looking at life and determining what is the gain or benefit for all the work that we do while on this earth. The point of each of these messages has been to give us a right lens for how to look at life and valuing the things that matter most in this world. As we come to Ecclesiastes 5, the teacher is going to give us some instructions about being thoughtful in our worship and thoughtful in our words. So we are going to think about being watchful in our words to God and watchful in our words to each other. Please turn in your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 5 and we are going to consider the first seven verses in this chapter…

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We are starting a new series that is found in the midst of Jeremiah called Flourish. This comes from Jeremiah 13-19 where God is talking to his people about why they are unable to flourish as he people. Rather than enjoying God’s blessings, they are going to be put through judgment because they have failed to understand their relationship with God. God is going to explain this to his people and these things were written for our instruction so that we might have hope (cf. Romans 15:4). Before we take a careful look at God’s words in Jeremiah, I want us to begin with an important New Testament teaching. It is so important that two different authors proclaim the message…

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We have been looking at the teachings of Ecclesiastes to learn how to not waste the time of our lives that God has given to us. As we have noted sometimes the book of Ecclesiastes is misunderstood to be saying that everything is meaningless. But as we carefully look at Ecclesiastes 4 we will see that this is not at all the case. In chapter 4 the teacher is going to explain to us that there are some things that matter. There are some things that have meaning and importance. The problem is that we forfeit these things for the things in life that are futile. Open your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 4:4-16 and we are going to learn about relationships…

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God has given his answer to the prophet Habakkuk. Habakkuk has been praying to God about how he does not understand what God is doing in the world. It did not make sense to him. He has been crying out to God asking, “Why?” and “How long?” God did not give specific answers to these questions. Rather, God tells Habakkuk that he is going to act in unbelievable ways. Since God will act in his time in unbelievable ways, God tells Habakkuk that the righteous will not trust in themselves but will live by their faith. Further, God tells Habakkuk that he is in his holy temple and all the earth must keep silence before him. Let God be God. Now God’s part of this discussion has concluded. Habakkuk is given the final word in the third chapter of Habakkuk. What will Habakkuk say to this definitive response from the Lord? What will be Habakkuk’s answer? What should the faithful say when we recognize that the Lord is in his holy temple? Open your copies of God’s word to Habakkuk 3 and we will learn from Habakkuk how to respond to God when we do not understand what God is doing in the world and doing in our lives…

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We are in a series called Don’t Waste Your Life. The teacher of Ecclesiastes is examining a variety of areas in life to consider what is the profit or the gain in pursuing what the world says is valuable or important. What benefit do you have if you pursue what the world says will give you happiness? Not only this, but the teacher of Ecclesiastes is also looking at what happens under the sun and considers if it gives lasting joy or satisfaction. In our last lesson we learned that life is a series of seasons that God is ordering together so that our life seasons are beautiful in his time. The challenge is that we cannot see what the next season of life will be nor can we know what God is working in that season. There is nothing we can do to stay in one season of life and there is nothing we can do to change the season of life given to us. At the end of the day, the teacher is showing that putting our hope in this world is foolish and the only sure place to put our hope is in God. As you turn your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 3 we are going to look even deeper as to why putting your hope in this world are futility and vanity. Turn to Ecclesiastes 3:16-22…

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We have looking at the book of Habakkuk as a means of trying to understand what is going on in our lives and in the world when we do not understand what God is doing. Habakkuk has prayed to God about how he does not understand what God is doing and God has given some hard answers about what he is doing in the world. In Habakkuk 2 God is in the midst of delivering his second answer to Habakkuk’s questions. The first part of God’s answer was looked at in the last lesson in verses 2-4. The proud and self-sufficient live by their own understanding. The righteous will live by their faith. Now God is going to show the observable fruit of those who are proud and who harbor a spirit of self-sufficiency. These pictures are going to help us understand what it means and does not mean to live by faith. Then God is going to give us a final word that is to give hope to all of the faithful…

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There is something that humans tend to appreciate about seasons. Many people like moving to the autumn season and watching the leaves change and fall. People often will question how I can live in Florida because they say I do not get to experience the seasons. I tell them that we have seasons down here. We have hurricane season. We have snowbird season. But seriously, we do enjoy seasons down here. We can feel the difference when autumn comes. We enjoy winters, not as a time of bone-stinging cold and shoveling driveways, but as a time to stand outside and feel a cool breeze contrasting the warmth of the sun on your face. But the idea of seasons also speaks to inevitability. We understand that one season must give way to the next season. It is never summer forever. Eventually summer breaks and autumn comes. It is never winter forever. Eventually even winter breaks and spring arrives. In fact, we are approaching a season of Thanksgiving right now, a wonderful holiday season that turns our eyes upward with grateful hearts. But whether we love a season or dislike a season, no season ever lasts. This is the picture we are to have in our minds as we come to Ecclesiastes 3. The third chapter of Ecclesiastes turns our attention to the idea of the seasons of life…

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