SERMON NOTES

JEREMIAH 10:23-25 (NLT)
(23) I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. (24) So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. (25) Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—on the peoples that do not call upon your name. For they have devoured your people Israel; they have devoured and consumed them, making the land a desolate wilderness.

DIRECT ME

• Jeremiah doesn’t start this prayer with a request. He starts with a confession.
• You can map out your next steps, but you can’t control the outcome.
• Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
• Trusting God’s sovereignty means believing he is not confused by what confuses us.
• My life is not my own. I can’t plan my own course…. God… DIRECT ME.

CORRECT ME

• He didn't ask to escape correction. He knew it's what he needed. He asked God to correct him with mercy instead of consuming him in wrath.
• Hebrews 12:5-6 (NLT)
• This means when God corrects you, he’s coming to you as your Father. His correction is an expression of love, not the end of it!

AVENGE ME

• Imprecatory Prayer: An invocation of divine justice against evil.
• “For the followers of the crucified Messiah, the main message of the imprecatory Psalms is this: rage belongs before God…By placing unattended rage before God, we place both our unjust enemy and our own vengeful self face to face with a God who loves and does justice." –Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. Have you ever experienced God directing your life? 
2. When things fall apart, where do your feelings of guilt or shame usually go — toward yourself, toward others, or stuffed down? How could you start bringing those feelings to God instead?
3. Jeremiah asks God to correct him “but please be gentle.” How does that idea of God correcting you with gentleness change the way you think about His role in your struggles right now?
4. Have you ever prayed an imprecatory prayer, expressing your anger over injustice and evil? How did God respond? 

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

JEREMIAH 9:23-24 (NLT)
(23) This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. (24) But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

WE’RE BOASTING IN THE WRONG THINGS

• Boasting isn't simply about bragging. It's about what gets our attention, our affection, and our praise.
• The problem isn't the gifts. The problem is when the gifts receive the glory that only belongs to God.
• Magis: For the greater glory of God and the well-being of his people.

BOAST IN UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWING GOD

• • 1 Corinthians 1:31 (NLT)
  • We can understand God mentally, but we can know God intimately. 
  • Knowing God happens when our understanding of him moves from our head to our heart.
  • The Hebrew word for "to know" in Jeremiah 9:24 is יָדַע (yāḏaʿ)
  • We don't want to just be educated about God; we want to experience him for ourselves. 
  • Attributes of God Resources:

• • • Daily Grace Study

• • • Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

BOAST IN WHAT GOD HAS DONE

• I wonder what would happen if people walked away from conversations with us, thinking more about God than about us?
• This is what Jeremiah is inviting us into. A life that boasts less in ourselves…and more in our God.

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. Jeremiah says not to boast in wisdom, power, or riches, but to boast in knowing God. What are the things you're most tempted to find your identity or value in? Why do you think those things are so attractive?
2. Kori talked about the difference between understanding God mentally and knowing God intimately. Have there been moments in your life where something you knew about God became something you personally experienced? Share that story with the group.
3. This week, how can you intentionally "boast in the Lord"? What's one story of God's faithfulness, provision, healing, or love that you could share with someone this week instead of drawing attention to yourself?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

JEREMIAH 6:16 (NIV)
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

STEP ONE: STOP

• Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
  Stand at the crossroads and look….

STEP TWO: ASK

• Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
  …ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is.
• John 14:6 (NIV)
  I am the way….

STEP THREE: WALK

• Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
  …walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

MATTHEW 11:28-29 (NLT)
(28) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

MATTHEW 11:28-29 (MSG)
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What are the Crossroads you are facing in your life right now and how might the Lord be inviting you to Stop, Ask, and Walk in a different direction?
2. Why do you often resist turning back to God, even when you know His way leads to greater rest and peace in your life?
3. There is a deep surrender to Jesus that can bring a deeper rest and peace to your life. What are the areas in your life that are easy to surrender to Him, and what are the areas that are more difficult for you to surrender?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

JEREMIAH 4:1-4 (NLT)
(1) “O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. (2) Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.” (3) This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. (4) O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.

IDOLATRY & INJUSTICE GO TOGETHER

• “The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols.” - John Calvin
• An idol is anything that you functionally rely upon or trust in more than Jesus.
• The essence and concept behind idolatry is about what’s at the center of your heart; what do you worship, and where do you place your faith?
• Disordered Attachments

REPENTANCE & MISSION GO TOGETHER

• Once your heart turns to God, you can join His mission of transforming all things once again.
• It’s an if/then kind of moment.
• The promise of God to bless the world through His people is seen throughout scripture.

SURRENDER & NEW BEGINNINGS GO TOGETHER

• It’s never too late to do some work, to till up the land of your life, so to speak, and to surrender another part of your heart to Jesus.
• Putting together a counterattack to your struggles.
• Worship, volunteering, and service, or really any kind of self-sacrifice, is a powerful weapon because it forces the attention off yourself and places it on another and ideally upon God.
• Surrender is essential to the Christian walk…It requires faith, trust, and reliance — all the things your idols demand — but only God deserves.
• 600 years after Jeremiah wrote this passage and delivered this prophetic poem, Jesus Christ came to earth, sacrificed His life on the cross, and rose from the dead to offer you a new life and new purpose with Him forever.

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What ‘disordered attachments’ have you/do you struggle with?
2. How can you join God’s work of being a blessing to the nations? 
3. Where is God inviting surrender in your life today?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

JEREMIAH 3:12b-15 (NLT)
(12)...This is what the Lord says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. (13) Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken! (14) “Return home, you wayward children,” says the Lord, “for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel— one from this town and two from that family— from wherever you are scattered. (15) And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

YOUR JOB VS. GOD’S JOB

YOUR JOB: CONFESS & COME HOME

• Our job is to confess and if we’ve turned away, our job is to come home.
• When the Bible talks about sin, it talks about how sin separates us from God.
• Confession is good for your soul, it’s good for your relationship with others, and most importantly, it’s good for your relationship with God!

GOD’S JOB: EVERYTHING ELSE

• Everything you read about this in this passage outside of confession is God’s job to do. 
• Mercy is related to forgiveness, but mercy also means the withholding of judgment, and the compassion of God towards those who are afflicted. 
• We’re called to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God because when we do, we’re acting like Him.
• God is not like us humans…His love is unfailing, His mercy unending, and His desire to restore and reconcile goes beyond anything we have to offer.
• God promises restoration and guidance.

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. Share how the spiritual practice of confession works in your life?
2. When it comes to ‘God’s job’ (mercy, restoration, or good shepherds) what are you seeking most right now?
3. Is there anyone in your life who needs to ‘come home’ spiritually and how can you join God’s work in their life?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

JEREMIAH 1:1-9 (NLT)
(1) These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. (2) The Lord first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. (3) The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives. (4) The Lord gave me this message: (5) “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (6) “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” (7) The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. (8) And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (9) Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!

GOD DESIGNED YOUR PURPOSE

• To have a life with God and to be a follower of Jesus, it means we give up leadership and we give up authorship of our own lives and we place our trust in Jesus because He knows best.
• Being a spiritual adult means we talk about uncomfortable things in loving ways.
• God has designed you.
• When you give your life to Jesus, you get set apart and consecrated to live differently than the world around you.
• Part of our job as followers of Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of discovering how and why God made us, and He doesn’t seem to be hurried by our own impatience.
• God has a divine plan and purpose for your life but it takes trust and reliance on God.

IT’S COMMON TO OBJECT

• It’s great to hear from God, but we don’t always like the answer!
• Don’t trust in your disqualifying traits more than you trust in the power of God. 
• God is the master at taking broken things and making them whole.
• Don’t let your objections get in the way of what God wants to do

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. How has God spoken identity & calling into your life?
2. What are some of your major objections to God’s purpose in your life?
3. How do you actively rely on and pursue God’s plan in your everyday life?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

PSALM 69:1-3, 13-17, 29-33 (NLT)
(1) Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. (2) Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. (3) I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me…(13) But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. (14) Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters. (15) Don’t let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me. (16) Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. (17) Don’t hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble…(29) I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power. (30) Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. (31) For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves. (32) The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. (33) For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.

***New Testament References: Matthew 27:34, Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, John 2:17, John 15:25, John 19:28-29, Acts 1:20, Romans 11:9-10, Romans 15:3

GET HONEST ABOUT YOUR PAIN

• We can endure a lot of pain when it's happening around us. But when the storm reaches our heart…That's when it becomes really difficult.
• “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” -  C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

CRY OUT TO GOD

• David never asks God to take the storm away.
• Sometimes God's answer isn't to remove us from the storm, but to meet us in it and carry us through.
• We can't forget that Jesus suffered too.
• God isn't distant from suffering or removed from it… He's lived it. He's felt it. He knows what it's like.
• Matthew 27:46b (NLT)
  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
• In Jesus’ suffering, he stayed close to the Father.
• Suffering is not always the result of sin.
• “No sin is necessarily connected with sorrow of heart, for Jesus Christ our Lord once said, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.’ There was no sin in Him, and consequently none in His deep depression.” - Charles Spurgeon

GOD HEARS OUR CRIES

• God isn’t distant from us in our pain.
• In Jesus’ suffering, God delivers us from ours.
• Throughout Scripture, we see men and women bringing their pain, grief, and questions to God, and over and over again we find a God who meets them there.

Revelation 21:3-7 (NLT)
(3) I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. (4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (5) And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (6) And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. (7) All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What keeps you from being fully honest with God and others about the storms you’re facing?
2. When have you experienced a season where life changed suddenly and left you feeling overwhelmed or exhausted?
3. How does the promise of Revelation 21 give you hope in the middle of present pain or hardship?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

ACTS 2:1-13, 15-21 (NLT)
(1) On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. (2) Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. (3) Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. (4) And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (5) At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. (6) When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. (7) They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, (8) and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! (9) Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, (10) Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (11) (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” (12) They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. (13) But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”...(15) These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. (16) No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: (17) ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. (18) In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. (19) And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. (20) The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. (21) But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

YOU CAN BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD

• At Pentecost, everything changed. Now we know that as a follower of Christ you can be filled with the Spirit of God.
• After the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus you can personally experience the presence & power of God; He will fill you, go with you, and never leave you.

GOD DESIRES TO UNITE HIS PEOPLE

• Christ died to set you free and Christ died to bring us together.
• The global and international church was born.  People weren’t segregated based on the color of their skin or the language of their land — but they were united together, under Christ, and empowered by His Spirit. 

YOU CAN EXPERIENCE GOD’S POWER

• It’s not about your strength, your effort, your good behavior or whatever power you can muster up. It’s about learning to build a life with God, embracing the storm of Pentecost, and being filled with His Spirit so you can follow God as best as you can.

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. How have you experienced the power of God?
2. How have you seen the church seek the power of God in good ways/bad ways?
3. Can I pray for you right now?

 

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

MATTHEW 7:24-29 (NLT)
(24) “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. (25) Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. (26) But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. (27) When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (28) When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, (29) for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

BUILDING A LIFE WITH GOD MEANS LISTENING AND FOLLOWING

• (24) “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
• If you want to build a life with God it means we need to listen AND follow.
• When it comes to facing storms and building a life with God, don’t be afraid to play the long game

STORMS ARE COMING YOUR WAY

• Storms hit us all. Scripture implies that they are a part of life. We are broken and beat up humans living in a broken and beat up world — that’s why Jesus came, He came to transform all things.
• Though the storms come, if you will listen and follow, you will survive.

WITHOUT WISDOM, YOU RISK HAVING FAIR-WEATHER FAITH

• You don’t want a faith that collapses under pressure, you want a faith that stands strong.  
• We don’t have to wait with fearful anticipation for what might come our way because we can start living in wisdom today!
• It's wisdom that prepares you and helps you through the storm, not just faith.
• Biblical wisdom doesn’t always feel right.
• Wisdom proves itself over time and without these bedrock disciplines of hearing and following Jesus we are at risk of having fair-weather faith. 

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What teachings of Christ are easiest for you to hear & follow vs what teachings are most difficult to hear & follow?
2. What was one of the hardest ‘storms’ you’ve ever been through and how did God help you through it all?
3. What’s one area of your life where God is asking you to ‘hear & follow’ to build a wise life with God?

 

SERMON AUDIO