After we finish our current Sunday Bible talks on the Letter of James, we’re going to head into the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. The series is going to be called “Beauty for Ashes”. Although ‘Beauty for Ashes’ is a quote from Isaiah 61:3, it works as a summary statement for the Book of Jeremiah for the following reasons:

• Jeremiah tells the story of people forsaking their Maker, Redeemer and First Love, and subsequently turning on each other. Jeremiah tells the story of a world in chaos.
• Jeremiah shows the effects of sin as it digs the depths of human anguish and pain, rejection, hatred, futility and foolishness.
• Jeremiah vividly portrays God’s wrath at all sin, and the fires of judgement that leaves devastating effects.
• But out of ‘the ashes’, Jeremiah shows the beauty that grace brings forth. New life is created, people are re-united – and God makes a new forgiven and renewed people for Himself, who treasure Him and find Him all-satisfying.

Here’s the outline of the sermon series (dates for each sermon will be finalised soon). Reading the passages ahead of time will help you grasp the sermons better!

18/7  - To pluck and to plant (Jeremiah 1:1-12)
25/7  - The Unheeded God (Jeremiah 7:1-29)
01/8  - Fire in the Bones (Jeremiah 20:1-18)
08/8  - The Ingathering (Jeremiah 23:1-8)
15/8  - A Fresh Start (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
22/8  - Seeking great things for yourself (Jeremiah 45:1-5)

“Beauty for Ashes” will be a roller coaster ride, but hopefully it will be a profound ride, as we further grasp the world we live in, its problem/s, the solution, and the God of justice and of grace.