Acts 15:1-2, 22-29

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (vv. 16-21)

Road trip. Books, movies, and songs often center on a story about a journey in which someone finds out who they really are, what they really want, how to become what they were meant to be. The journey may be literal — discovering about ourselves through travel — or symbolic — an inward journey or experience that crystalizes self-discovery. In these passages, Jeremiah’s journey is an inward dialogue with God, in which, despite his protestations, it becomes apparent he is to be God’s prophet in the worst of times.

Jeremiah 1:4-10
Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, wrote, “'I have chosen you!' Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God but that He has got you.” These words are powerful and, I think, reflect well the call of Jeremiah that we see in this passage. From before the time he was born, God had a plan for Jeremiah. He would be God’s prophet to the nations. 

Call to worship:

Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him. As we grow, let us too become strong, with the favour of God upon us.

Invitation to confession:

Lord, we would grow inwardly strong, as you were strong.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord, sometimes we are weak and do that which we later regret.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord, may we hold fast to you and become filled with wisdom.
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:

Note: This installment was originally published in 2007.

Contents
What's Up This Week
"Love Language That Hurts" by Argile Smith
"Whine And Cheese" by C. David McKirachan
"Moving On" by C. David McKirachan


What's Up This Week

I want to let you in on an industry secret. Ready? Most preachers have a difficult time preaching in the congregations where they grew up.

"The land of the free and the home of the brave." So ends our national anthem sung today at many large public gatherings in our society. It was originally penned in a time of war and has continually reminded us that this is a nation where people will bravely fight to defend their freedoms. But in this day of post-modern relativism, when there are very few causes left which anyone will bravely defend, "freedom" still remains as the great American ideal.