Jeremiah – weeping Prophet

*Jesus wept – Jn 11.35, Lk 19.41/Mt 23.37

1. at the death of His friend – even though He would raise him from death
2. over the sins of His people

*Did you know the Lord keeps all your broken hearted tears? - Ps 57.8

Tears are caused by irritation in the eye but more to the point as noted in our study – strong emotion(s)

Our nature is to want to be happy & carefree but let's take a look at why people cry and consider that tears are a gift from God.

2 Ki 20.5/Isa 38.5

King Hezekiah was sick and going to die – he cried about it but God spared him 15 more years – the Lord said, “I have seen thy tears.”

• Even though you may feel alone in your tears, understand that God see's each and every one and He see's You!

Est 8.3

Esther was crushed because of the impending doom of her people – so she begged the king to spare them – her tears gave her boldness and courage!

• It is right to pour out your heart the King Jesus when you see others in trouble.

Job 16.29

“My friends scorn me; mine eye poureth out unto God.”

• Job cried because he was mocked of/in his troubles – it seemed no one understood – even accused him that the trouble was his fault

Ps 42.3

Tears will cause one to question God

• David was sad because his former friend, King Saul had turned against him – even wanted him dead!

Ps 80.5

One may have tears because of your own wrong doing

• Being sad because you have done wrong is a good thing – it means you have a conscience. The worst thing one can do is not cry and get hard and bitter in life. It causes you to in turn hurt others and sometimes yourself.

Ps 126.5

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

• When tears are for brokeness over someone or something done wrong, this Psalm give promise of a better day.

Isa 16.9

Another prophet weeping because of the ruin of a people.

Why did Jeremiah cry?

Jer 9.1, 13.17, 14.17 The disobedience of his people

• Are you sad when people you love and care about do wrong?

Lam 1.2

• One weeps because a friend is now and enemy

Mal 2.13

Malachi is begging God for mercy and that produces tears.

• Are you sorry for you sin(s) enough to cry? Someone paid the price that you could be forgiven. Do you weep because of His sacrifice?

NT

Mk 9.24

A daddy crying because his child has died

Lk 7.38, 44

A woman so broken hearted because of her sin, she washes His feet with her tears and the hairs of her head.

Have you ever felt this low and humble because you knew He was right and you were wrong?

Acts 20.19

Look how Paul served the Lord – tears/humility

Acts 20.31 Paul's tears were a warning -

• Have you begged someone in tears, not to do a thing because they would suffer for it?

2 Cor 2.4

Paul's tears were out of great love for the believers – are yours?

2 Tim 1.4

Happy tears to see a loved one

Heb 12.17

Esau's tears brought not repentance – sad but true – God forgives whom He will.

So, there are tears of:

sadness

boldness

courage

hurt

disappointment

disobedience

questions

for others

brokeness

humility

happiness

love

loss

THE GOOD NEWS IS “TEARS AREN'T FOREVER!!!”

1. We are promised in Ps 30.5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

• Tears come and go but are a necessary part of the believers life because they are a healing gift of God.

2. Rev 7.17, 21.4 promises that one day “God shall wipe away ALL tears...” He even promises that in that day there will be, “no more death, sorrow OR crying.”

• GONE!
• There will come a day, for the believer, that tears will END!

Isaiah – Substitute

Isaiah – (in the Hebrew) Jehovah has saved

substitute – (W) To put in the place of another.

The prophet Isaiah said in 1.18-20 “Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. AND “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured...the Lord hath spoken it.”

You are allowed to question and “reason” out anything you hear regarding His Word. However, if you refuse to believe you will be destroyed. “the Lord hath spoken it.”

Illustration: objects – medicine/honey, beets/cookies, peace globe/crown of thorns. Let students choose their preference. Ask why they chose one over the other.

• Sometimes things that are good for you are not the easiest to consume and
• things that seem easier are not the best for you.
• Honey is sweet and not bitter like the cough syrup but by itself will not help a cough.
• Cookies will keep you from getting hungry for a while but have no nutritional value or lasting benefit to your body.

Our bodies are sin sick and weak without the Lord and His Word to keep us spiritually healthy to thrive in His Will, Way and Work. If one would be completely honest, our flesh would rather have the easier part of God's ways – that is the blessings and abundance rather than sacrifice or pain. Can you really substitute the easier thing for lasting help?

Piece of paper:

Write “Isaiah 53/Substitute” at the top of the page – can you see a substitute as we read this key chapter?

• Read, then have students go back and write any words thought important and/or draw a pix of what the words make you think of as I reread and ask questions – particularly about the meaning of “substitute”

Isaiah 53

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Do you believe all that is written in scripture? Even the part about obeying and honoring parents, adults in authority and anyone that has rule over you?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
What does tender plant mean? (easily bruised) Do you say and do things deliberately that hurt others?

Why would the writer say there is no beauty in Jesus? Verse 3 will explain why

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Why was He despised, why did we “hide” from Him? It seemed that sorrow and grief followed Him, in spite of miracles shown in the NT – no one actively seeks out the sad way of life -
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Which two phrases indicate what He did for us? “borne our griefs, carried our sorrows”
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
What did He suffer that we might know peace in spite of our “transgressions/sins? Wounded, bruised, beaten with stripes
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
How many “went astray?” All Whose way was more important than His way? Everyone else's/”My way”
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Did He cry out for mercy or vengeance when mocked, cursed and beat? No
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Do you want to “declare” Him? Isaiah asked the question “who shall declare...”
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
So, even though He was innocent (no violence, deceit) He had to die?
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Why would God be pleased to allow His Son to suffer so? The only way back to God is thru a perfect man and we c/n be perfect. (Jn 14.6, 7) “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Who was satisfied by His suffering? V10 says “it pleased the Lord”
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
How far did He go to be your substitute? “death” - “He poured out His soul unto death”

The real question for today:

Is He YOUR substitute? Did He die for You? How do you know? (believed and was saved)

Song of Solomon – my Beloved

What does love mean to you?

Webster's defines love as “in a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection.”

the word “love” is written 24X's in the 8 chapters of SOS.

Because God first loved us we can love others.
Questions –

1. Does Jesus Love people?
2. Do you know that God loves you?
3. What did Jesus do to show His love for us?
4. Who do you Love? (write on dry erase)
5. Have you ever felt someone love you?
6. How do you know that they love you?
7. How do you let someone know that you love them?
8. What does the Bible say about loving others?
9. When you know someone loves you how does that make you feel?
   

Listen as we read the verse below: Do you love someone this way?

1. 1.2 thy love is better than wine.
2. 1.3 thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the (unmarried girls)virgins love thee.
3. 1.4 we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love
4. 1.9 I have compared thee, O my love
   
5. 1.15 Behold, thou art fair, my love
   
6. 2.2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love...
   
7. 2.4 and his banner over me was love. Whose banner?
   
8. 2.5 for I am sick of love. (sick means affected with disease)
   
9. 2.7 nor awake my love, till he please
   
10. 2.10 Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
    
11. 2.13 Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
    
12. 3.5 ye stir not up, nor awake my love
    
13. 3.10 He made...silver,...gold, ...purple,... paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
    
14. 4.1 Behold, thou art fair, my love
    
15. 4.7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
    
16. 4.10 How fair is thy love,... how much better is thy love than wine! ...ointments (and) spices!
    
17. 5.2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice...my love,...
    
18. 5.8 if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick (in need) of love.
    
19. 6.4 Thou art beautiful, O my love
    
20. 7.6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love
    
21. 8.4 stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
    
22. 8.6 love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave:
    
23. 8.7 Many waters cannot quench love,...if a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
    

You can’t measure God’s love for us. – How many of you have ever gone to the beach? How many have stood on the beach and looked out as far as you eye could see and saw an end to the large ocean. No one can because the ocean is so large you can look and look and never see the end. Much like God’s love for us we see His love shown to us when He came to earth and died for our sins.

Ecclesiastes – the preacher

Review: Ps 19.7-10, Books of the bible up to Ecclesiastes

To find Jesus in Ecclesiastes read 1.1 – thus the meaning of the book, “preacher”

So the wisest man in the world also calls himself, “preacher.” (1.12)

Let's find out what “the preacher” has to say.

If you think it wise, would you be inclined to listen closer to “your preacher?”

1. What is called the “gift of God?” (3.13) one's labor
2. Should one be more ready to hear or speak? (5.1) hear
3. What is sweet to one who works hard? (6.12) sleep
4. What gifts are evil and disease prone? (6.1, 2) riches, wealth & honor
5. What is better than precious ointment? (7.1) a good name
6. What is better for the heart, sorrow or laughter? (7.3) sorrow Why? It makes one appreciate the good times
7. What “resteth in the bosom of fools? (7.9) anger So, is it foolish to get/be angry? Yes
8. Besides death, what happens to all? (9.11) time and chance. So a good or bad thing could happen to one or another equally. No one is promised good or evil but circumstances, good or bad, happen to “all.”
9. What is better than weapons of war? (9.18) wisdom
10. What or who is likened to a serpent? (10.11) one that babbles all the time – talking without purpose or value
11. Is it good to study all the time? (12.12) No
12. What conclusion did the preacher come to about life? (12.13) to fear God and keep His commandments
13. Will the secret things you've done be judged? (12.14) yes
14. What is your responsibility for living life? (2.2) Listen to wisdom and apply it to your heart

Sticky situation:

(Eccl 5:1-5) for solution

Last month Devin got the scare of his life. In the middle of the night, his mom had been rushed to the hospital, seriously ill. Devin had spent several anxious hours at his neighbor's house waiting for his dad to come home. When his father returned, he told the family that Mom wasn't in any danger, but the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her. They kept Devin's mother in the hospital for several weeks until they were able to determine what was causing her illness.

Those weeks were difficult for Devin and his dad. Every night before Devin went off to a troubled sleep, he prayed and promised that if God would help make his mom better, he would read his Bible every day.

Now his mom is back home. She is still weak but definitely on the mend. The doctors had determined that the illness had been caused by a virus she picked up on the family vacation. She needs to take it easy, but Devin' is glad to have her back home. While his mom is tucking him into bed tonight, she whispers, “Thank you for all your prayers, Devin. They helped get me through this.

Devin smiles in the dark to himself. Yes, he thinks, God is good to bring my mom back to me. But then he remembers his promise to God about readying the Bible, daily. He has to admit that he hasn't had time lately because he has been helping out more around the house. What should he do about the vow he made to God?

1. Forget about it – surely God isn't going to hold him to a silly promise like that
2. Open his Bible and start reading wherever it falls open
3. Decide that his promise didn't mean anything because he had his fingers crossed when he made it?
4. Ask his parent or Sunday school teacher to help him come up with a good plan to read through the Bible because he truly wants to know God better
5. Get a child's picture Bible to read – he didn't specify what king of Bible, did he?

• When you make promises to God, do you take them seriously?
• How do you think God views promises like that? Does He really expect you to hold up your end of the bargain?

Solomon offers some serious words on making foolish promises or vows (which is a stronger word for promise). It is foolish to make a voew you cannot keep or to play games with God by only partially fulfilling what you promised to do. It's better not to make a vow to God and than break it. It's even better to make a vow and keep it!

Who is Jesus in the book of Ecclesiastes?

Proverbs – wisdom

Proverbs – wisdom

wisdom – the right use of knowledge

Can one be smart and wise? Can one be smart but unwise?

Which one are you?

Prov 1.8, 9 “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.”

TRIVIA:

(if the student doesn't know it right off the bat, have them look it up...)

1. Who is identified as the writer of Proverbs? (1.1)

David Saul Solomon Samuel Jesse

2. According to the book of Proverbs, we are to trust the Lord and 'lean not on' what? (3.5)

Heart Our own understanding Parents Friends

3. Why should one not boast of tomorrow? (27.1)

Because it may bring trouble Because it does not belong to you

Because one knows not what it may bring forth Because today is enough of which to boast

4.  For whom the Lord loves he ______. (3.12)

Hates Corrects Leads Leaves

5  What was the sluggard instructed to observe to obtain wisdom? (6.6)

Grasshopper Ant Locust Bee

6.  What is the beginning of wisdom? (9.10)

Education Love The day of the Lord The fear of the Lord

7. What is portrayed as a woman calling out in the street? (1.20)

Hope Wisdom Jubilation Sorrow Charity

8.  Who shall be cut off from the earth? (2.22)

Liars The Israelites The meek The wicked

9. 'The issues of life' come from what? (4.23)

Eyes Ears Heart Soul

10. 'A wise son maketh a _____ father.' (10.1)

Wise Strong Glad Poor

11. What did Solomon say is beginning of knowledge? (1.7)

Fear of the Lord Learning Prayer Humility Sacrifice

Sticky situations

(Prov 1:10)

• Garrett is the most popular kid in Brendan's class. Everyone wants to sit with Garrett at lunch and be his friend. When it's time to decide what to do at recess, Garrett typically leads the way. Whatever Garrett decides, the gang generally goes along with.
  Brendan likes Garrett, too, and wants to be his friend. He joins in whatever games Garrett and his friends play. One afternoon, Garrett suggests that the group egg the teacher's house that night. The teacher is one of the strictest teacher's in school and not very popular. Nobody likes this teacher or at least no one admits it if they do. What should Brendan do?

1. Volunteer to get the eggs?
2. Laugh and pretend to go along with the idea?
3. Explain that it would be wrong and walk away
4. suggest a less messy prank?
5. Say he's allergic to eggs and can't be around them at all?

Doing something we know is wrong can be tempting, particularly if it makes us feel like one of the crowd. But God wants us to make choices, not based on the flashy appeal of friendship but on the long-range consequences of the act. Sometimes that means steering clear of people who want to tempt us to do something we know is wrong. In other words, “walk away...”

(Prov 12.22)

• Randy's friend Paul is struggling in math class. The big test is on Friday. Paul knows that Randy is really good in math, so he asks Randy if he will help him after school. Randy says he will. Later that day, Randy's friend, Terry asks him to come over after school to try out his new video game. It just happens to be the game that Randy really wants to get for himself, and he would love to try it out. As he is about to say yes, he remembers his promise to Paul. What should Randy do?

1. Say nothing to Paul and go to Terry's house?
2. Tell Paul he can't come over because he has to go right home, then go over to Terry's house?
3. Tell Terry, “I'd like to, but I can't because I have something else to do” then help Paul as promised?
4. Pay Terry to help Paul while he gets to play video games?
5. Ask Terry if Paul can come over too and help Paul between games?

How do you feel when someone breaks a promise to you?

Why doesn't Randy make arrangements to study with Paul another day? Do you think it's a good solution, why or why not?

How good are you at following through on what you say you are going to do?

We make promises every day – promises to clean our room, do our homework, help our sister with one thing or another. What's important to God is what we do after we make the promise – do we follow through and do what we said we would? Proverbs clearly teaches that God delights in those who keep their word.