Jeremiah's Mournful Swan Song
From the final notes in Jeremiah's mournful song of woe, a refrain of hope emerges. God still sits on His throne and rules the world's affairs. He will restore His people's joy and turn mourning to dancing.
Our world desperately needs models worth following. Authentic heroes. People of integrity whose lives inspire us to take God seriously, to follow His Word obediently, to pursue Christ passionately.
Thankfully, the Bible places before us a spiritual "hall of fame"—raw, uncensored, gritty stories of men and women sometimes soaring, often stumbling, through the incredible life of faith. They wrestled with sin, experienced God's grace, struggled with weakness, and overcame by faith. Their inspiring biographies have been memorialized in Scripture, not simply because of their faith in God but because of God's faithfulness to them.
These great lives from God's Word not only provide realistic portraits for appreciation but also relevant principles for application.
From the final notes in Jeremiah's mournful song of woe, a refrain of hope emerges. God still sits on His throne and rules the world's affairs. He will restore His people's joy and turn mourning to dancing.
When calamity strikes, possessions offer no comfort. What was important isn't anymore. How do we go on? Even as Jeremiah tours through Jerusalem's wreckage, we find God's hope for reconstruction.
Finally, when we come to the third chapter of Lamentations, we find something in Jeremiah's sad journal that's encouraging! The prophet offers a bright ray of hope, and we're ready to hear it.
Chuck Swindoll continues his study of Lamentations by looking at one of the darkest chapters of Scripture that describe the extreme suffering endured during the destruction of Jerusalem.
Now that we have introduced everyone to Jeremiah, and have surveyed all five chapters in Lamentations, we're ready to dig into the first chapter.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll presents an overview of Lamentations. These five chapters are filled with the prophet's anguishing words over the destruction of Jerusalem, the city he loved.
Chuck focuses on an eight-year-old boy named Josiah, who became Judah's king. His friendship and subsequent reign played a vital role in Jeremiah's life and ministry.
Before delving into Lamentations in the coming weeks, Pastor Chuck Swindoll first takes a look at the life of the prophet Jeremiah. Why did he write this book? What was going on around him?
This is the story of David and Abigail—of a strong man who admired a strong woman; a wise man who listened to an even wiser woman. This can be our story too, if we’re wise enough to follow her example and adopt her motto.
“Familiarity breeds contempt” is an old cliché because it’s nearly always true. However, before contempt, familiarity breeds complacency—a ho-hum attitude that is satisfied with the status quo. If we’re not careful, complacency will then breed cynicism, which is a kissing cousin of contempt.