{"content":[{"text":"1","bbox":{"left":0.873475,"top":0.045835,"width":0.009143000000000012,"height":0.017016000000000003}},{"text":"In last week’s Bible story, we looked at God’s call on Jeremiah and on each of us.","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.091464,"width":0.747877,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"Jeremiah received the word the Lord for the first time. He was told that before","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.123888,"width":0.73604,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"God shaped him in the womb; God knew him. Though he made his excuses; the \n prophet Jeremiah chose to obey God. Where we find ourselves in today’s biblical","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.156312,"width":0.757036,"height":0.053575999999999985}},{"text":"story is in a political, social, and religious upheaval. Josiah, the beloved king who","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.220858,"width":0.750001,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"upheld Yahweh’s covenant with the people, is now dead, and the king who","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.253282,"width":0.695052,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"eventually comes to the throne is Jehoiakim, “a self-serving puppet of Egyptian","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.285706,"width":0.7335480000000001,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"power, who has no intention of continuing Josiah’s covenant commitment” (FOW, \n Bruce C. Birch). Here, after some time has passed, Jeremiah receives another","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.31813,"width":0.762619,"height":0.053576999999999986}},{"text":"word from the Lord. Just as Jeremiah was shaped by God so is all of Judah, if","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.382676,"width":0.7077150000000001,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"they’re willing to be. Today’s text offers the image of God as the potter, which is","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.4151,"width":0.7453960000000001,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"one of the best-known passages in Jeremiah. Jeremiah isn’t addressing","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.447524,"width":0.662118,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"individuals as much as he is speaking to the community at large. He is speaking to","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.479949,"width":0.761561,"height":0.021454999999999946}},{"text":"Judah, the last remaining remnant of the people of Israel, which includes \n Jerusalem. God is looking to shape the entire community of faith “in its collective","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.512373,"width":0.7530930000000001,"height":0.05357600000000007}},{"text":"social, religious, and political life to serve divine purposes” (FOW, Sally A. Brown).","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.576918,"width":0.756036,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"This passage also reveals one of the most important theological issues in","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.609343,"width":0.672968,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"Scripture: “the tension between divine sovereignty and human freedom. Do our","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.641767,"width":0.7483270000000001,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"actions as human beings really have any effect on what God decides to do” \n (Birch)? Before turning to God’s word for us this day, let us pray. PRAY. Listen to","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.674191,"width":0.7608860000000001,"height":0.05357600000000007}},{"text":"a word from God found in the book of Jeremiah 18:1-11. READ.","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.738736,"width":0.594044,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"I have a brother who is 13 months younger than I am. One of our babysitters","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.803585,"width":0.71686,"height":0.021455000000000002}},{"text":"here in Greenville did him a favor when he was young. You see he’s named after \n my dad, “Clarence.” He’s Clarence the III, as my dad was Jr. and his father Sr. Our","bbox":{"left":0.117879,"top":0.836009,"width":0.756565,"height":0.05357599999999996}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}