Every sermon series has a “theme message”, the message that is the basis of the series title. This series is no exception. The theme we have been developing each week is “the God with a plan”. Jeremiah states in 29:11-14 that God says, “I know the plans I have for you….” Some think the scripture has nothing to do with us today in 2017. I think it has everything to do with the character of God! The God who creates can certainly have a plan. That’s what we talk about every day this week! (This message was given in September of this year in Stone Mountain, Georgia.)

You may have never heard someone describe a passage of scripture as the “most depressing passage in the Bible”. And yet the passage we study this week, it might be an apt description for you after you read it. Jeremiah laments the fact that he was even born! He rues the day that someone came to his father with the news of his birth. That’s a depressing thought and where we begin. This message just may be what you need to hear!

Many scholars say that Jeremiah 18:1-12 is the most famous of all the passages in this book of the Bible. Others would say it is one of the top three! Regardless, it’s an important statement for your life and mine. Simply put, God is the “potter” of my life; I’m simply the clay or material formed! That’s a scary thought for some; it means God is in charge of my life from start to finish. To some that is comforting; to others it is downright offensive.

Most people have heart trouble, but not necessarily physically. The Bible says more about our hearts than anything else! It really does. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah speaks of the deceptive nature of your heart and mine. Your heart, Biblically speaking, is the part of you that thinks, feels, decides, and desires. It’s also the part of you that the Holy Spirit of God connects with in spiritual matters. That just may happen this week!

What do you remember about your parents from your childhood? Some people have warm and loving memories; others have horrible and disturbing memories. Most have something in between. The prophet Jeremiah says in our passage that we study this week that even the children of God’s people “remember the idolatry of their parents”. If you’re a parent, what spiritual memories do your children have?

Have you ever used the phrase, “cause and effect”? It refers to the consequences of what we do, say, or set in motion. Everything we do or say has consequences. The prophet Jeremiah says, “Our sins testify against us!” Does that make you think or give you pause? It does me. That’s what we talk about this week on CrossHope.

Life Isn’t Fair!

If you haven’t asked the question recently, you will! “Why do people who reject the Lord and His word seem to succeed, and have health and wealth?” Your second question is this. “Why do the people who try to follow the Lord and His word seem to face illness, struggle, and defeat?” That’s one of the oldest questions in the Bible, including the 7th message in our series from Jeremiah. This message will deal with this issue in your life and mine.

Whose Life Is It?

Do you use a “Day-Timer” or calendar to schedule things in the life? Many people do. After years of using them, the temptation for all of us is to think of our time on this earth as “ours”. But is it really? What we study this week in Jeremiah just may change your thinking. It has for me! What perhaps we used to think of as ours and ours alone is something that belongs to the Lord God Almighty! It’s called your life and mine.

Boasting in What?

Everyone boasts about something, some more than others.  But did you know that God’s word says that everything we boast about can fall under one of three headings?  The prophet of God known as Jeremiah says that men and women can boast in “what and whom they know”, they can boast in “what they do or have done”, and thirdly in “what they have or possess.”  Jeremiah gives us an alternative for boasting in your life and mine!

The God Who Speaks

Some people are deaf or hard of hearing. Others are deaf by choice. They choose not to hear or listen. You may be married to such a person! According to Jeremiah, God’s people had “ears that were closed so they cannot hear.” God’s people refused to listen to the word of the Lord because they found it offensive. Has the Bible ever offended you?