June 4 - Prepares - Jeremiah 1:4-19
OVERVIEW OF JEREMIAH
VIDEO LESSON
Listen to the Audio of the Lesson
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Intro - Focus Attention
- Q. How important is preparation and why?
- Discuss.
- Preparation (or the lack of it) affects whether we will be successful in an endeavor. The more important the task, the more we will prepare for it.
- Q. How does God prepare believers for His service?
- Give time to respond.
- His word, the church, godly parents and friends, accountability, etc.
- Today we are going to see how God called and prepared the prophet Jeremiah to take His word to the people.
- Context:
- The first 3 verses of the book gives us some background information regarding Jeremiah. We learn that he was one of the priests and that God spoke through him all the way from the reign of Josiah to the destruction of Jerusalem. He had roughly 47 years of ministry.
- Jeremiah served in Judah after the fall of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria in 721 BC and before/during the fall of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.
- It is in this context that God called and prepared Jeremiah to be His representative to the people.
Truth - Explore the Text
Q. What does this passage tell me about God?
- Jeremiah 1:4-10
- God speaks (Jer 1:4).
- God is sovereign. He knows everything and works His will in the world (Jer 1:5).
- God isn’t concerned with age. He desires obedience (Jer 1:7).
- God tells His people where to go and what to say (Jer 1:7).
- God promises to be with His people as they obey (Jer 1:8).
- God equips and encourages believers for their mission (Jer 1:9).
- God is over nations and kingdoms (Jer 1:10).
- Jeremiah 1:11-16
- God watches over His word and accomplishes it (Jer 1:11-12).
- The almond tree was the first to bloom in that region and signaled to the people that spring was on its way. God’s promise was even more certain than spring following the blossoming of the almond tree.
- God brings judgement for sin (Jer 1:13-15).
- God doesn’t ignore sin, even for Judah (Jer. 1:16).
- God watches over His word and accomplishes it (Jer 1:11-12).
- Jeremiah 1:17-19
- God calls believers to obedience and boldness (Jer 1:17).
- God provides the strength for believers to stand firm in the face of opposition (Jer 1:18-19).
Q. What does this passage tell me about man?
- Jeremiah 1:4-10
- All of humanity has value as a creation of God. He is our creator (Jer 1:5).
- Man makes excuses (Jer 1:6).
- Man has a tendency to be afraid (Jer 1:8).
- Jeremiah 1:11-16
- Man can trust the word of God. He is faithful to keep His word (Jer 1:11-12).
- Man cannot escape the judgement of God (Jer 1:13-15).
- Man’s rebellion and evil idolatry leads to judgement. There are consequences for our actions (Jer 1:16).
- Jeremiah 1:17-19
- Believers must rely on God’s strength in order to stand firm (Jer 1:17-19).
- Man will try to fight against believers who are proclaiming God’s word, but they will not prevail (Jer 1:18-19).
ETB Summary Statements
- Before we get to the third question I want to read the Explore the Bible Summary Statements for this lesson:
- God prepares His people to represent Him in this world.
- God creates people with a purpose to be fulfilled.
- Through His Word, God declares the promise of judgement on those who ignore Him.
- God promises His presence when believers faithfully deliver His message.
Q. What does this passage mean FOR my life?
- I need to seek God’s purpose and will for my life. I need to follow His direction in my life.
- I need to stop making excuses for not following His will. I just need to trust that He will equip me for the mission.
- I need to trust that God will bring judgement on sin. I need to stop lying to myself that God doesn’t see my sin.
- I need to be bold in my stance for the gospel. The only way I can do that is by relying on His strength and not my own.
LIFEWAY RESOURCES
Quicksource
Lifeway’s Quicksource is a quick and simple tool that dives directly into the biblical text. Furthermore, it provides a simple outline of the lesson with “Talking Points” and discussion questions for each section. This resource is extremely helpful for facilitating a discussion.
Explore The Bible Podcast
Lifeway provides a podcast for teachers as they prepare to teach each lesson. These podcasts are available on the Leaders Helps webpage (look below), Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Leader Helps
Lifeway has a blog where they post Leader Helps for teachers. These range from articles on leading online groups to Extra Ideas for introducing and concluding the lesson with a current news story. You can check it out using the link below
QUOTES / ARTICLES / MEDIA
In Philippians 2:6-11 Paul quoted an early Christian hymn that testified of the work of Christ. The following article was produced by Lifeway and discusses how early believers used songs.