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Stones Hill Community Church
Life Verses & Catchphrases
Welcome to the Life Verse and Catchphrases Series! The Words We Carry. The Truth That Carries Us. A Life Verse Is... A truth from God’s Word that becomes a personal compass, a source of courage, a reminder of identity, or a declaration against the lies of the world. A life verse is a verse out of the Bible that especially resonates with you and that has inspired you in some meaningful way. It has become a kind of focus point for you, a life mantra, or a kind of statement or even a counter-culture protest of sorts to battle some erroneous worldview assumption. What verse do you keep coming back to—and why? How did you come to settle on this verse? How has God used this verse in your life?
Locations & Times
Ligonier, IN
151 W Stones Hill Rd, Ligonier, IN 46767, USA
Saturday 5:00 PM
Lamentations 3:21-24
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OPENING
Tragedy… Crisis… Catastrophe… Ground Zero is different for all of us. “Dr. Brown would like to discuss your x-rays right away.” “I’m calling from the bank regarding your account.” “The boss wants to see you; don’t take your coat-off.” “This is Officer Smith. I need to tell you that…” “Mom, dad, I need to tell you something.”
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CONTEXTUALIZATION
Jeremiah was standing in his own Ground Zero. Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians for two years. People were starving. Children were dying. And all the people felt like God had let them down. Talk about trauma. The walls were eventually breached. The temple was destroyed. The holy vessels of the temple have been confiscated. The treasury in Israel has been plundered and is now in the hands of the pagans.
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Jeremiah’s people were suffering. Everywhere he looked, there was rubble. I can see him walking around the smoldering city after the Babylonians swept in upon them and destroyed Jerusalem. The city is in rubble and ruin, the holy place is now a holy ash pile. The city is left in desolation. Kicking the rubble and shaking the soot off his cloths, words of hope from God begin to form in his mind in all this chaos, despite his anger, frustration, and isolation.
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In five funeral dirges of death for the city of Jerusalem (which is the book of Lamentations), Jeremiah dramatically expresses the horror of seeing Jerusalem reduced to rubble in the book of Lamentations. It’s a mournful postscript to the Book of Jeremiah where he faithfully warned the nation for 40 years to either change or be destroyed. these verses are the only bright spot in all of the five lamentations. Jeremiah stammers through stuff and fights for the words, but here, it’s a masterpiece. Jeremiah expresses the grief of the people and refleced how they felt God was against them. But in chapter 3, the focus is on a single mourner who struggles to find hope.
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PROPOSITION
The faithfulness of God means we have THREE REASONS why this hope is justified… THREE ANSWERS to despair. Because God is faithful, we can face tragedy with a hope that never dies, a love that never changes, and a plan that never fails.
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OUTLINE
Lamentations 3:21-24 (NIV)
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A Hope That Never Dies (3:21,24) –
So Stop Staring at the Rubble
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A Love That Never Changes (3:22) –
So Call to Mind What is True About God
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A Plan that Never Fails (3:23) –
So Wait instead of Forcing an Answer
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CONCLUSION
Is your heart broken? Like Jeremiah the prophet, you’ve grown accustomed to the flow of tears; mourning and grief and regret have become your life song. Maybe you’ve watched your baby girl go off to college. It might be a disappointing family relationship. It could be displacement and disappointment with your job. With God, you have a hope that never dies; a love that never changes; a plan that never fails.