Hope is a Verb
September 5, 2020
Is hope a practical way to live? Does walking by faith mean we don’t need to have a plan? For many people, there is a distinct difference between hope and practicality – faith and reason, but not for the Prophet Jeremiah! As he sat in prison and the Babylonian army was invading the city of Jerusalem, he made what seemed to be one of the most irrational decisions of his life to show us that hope is more than wishful thinking – hope is a verb! Join us for the final message in the Jeremiah: A Prophet For the City series as we attempt to answer the question, “Is obedience to God always the most practical way to live?”
And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales.
I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’
“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘Ah, Lord God! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for You.
Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. Yet You, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me?
Jeremiah 32
Principles (KNOW THEM):
Obedience to God is always the MOST practical choice.
Hope is a verb.
Hope only grows out of hopeless circumstances.
Hope requires patience.
Practices (DO THEM):
Identify a “hopeless” situation and ask yourself, “What would hope require here?”
Daily Readings:
Day 1: Jeremiah 32
Day 2: Jeremiah 43-44
Day 3: Jeremiah 45-46
Day 4: Jeremiah 47-48
Day 5: Jeremiah 49-50
Day 6: Jeremiah 51
Day 7: Jeremiah 52
Suggested Resources:
Books:
Run with the Horses, by Eugene Peterson
Surprised by Hope, by Tom Wright
Other sermon series (visit the sermon page):
For the City (2019)
U R the Church (2014)
Built to Last (2015)
RightNow Media (visit the Family Resources page):
Precepts for Life: Jeremiah part 1 and 2, by Kay Arthur
Worldview: Thinking and Living Biblically, by Greg Laurie & others
Intro to the Major Prophets, by J. B. Nicholson