StoneBridge Community Church
Pastor Jeff Cheadle
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV
Accept your new situation as your new situation, and invest yourself in the opportunities it offers.
Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
Jeremiah 29:5-6 NIV
For Reflection/Discussion: Have you ever found yourself in a situation or a place you never planned to be? What was that experience like? How did you respond to it? Try to imagine what it was like for the people of Israel to see Jerusalem destroyed, God's Temple torn down, their homes set on fire, and then be forced to move to a city a thousand miles away where their language wasn't spoken, their God wasn't acknowledged, and their future was uncertain. What was God's message and instruction to the exiles? How would you have responded to such a message? As our church family goes through this time of pastoral transition, how might today's text address our situation? What can we do as a church family to make this a positive, productive time of increase, not of decrease? What are your thoughts on the observation Before God brings great blessing to his people, he first prepares them to receive it?
Jeremiah 29:8-9 NIV
Biblical hope is rooted in reality and grounded in God.
Jeremiah 6:14 NIV
For Reflection/Discussion: Have you ever been tempted to give up hope? What is the difference between biblical hope and wishful thinking? In your judgment, why were the false prophets promising peace so popular, while Jeremiah, a true prophet of God, was not? What are some examples of false hope that people cling to? Why is false hope dangerous? Admiral James Stockdale survived eight years in a Vietnamese POW Camp. To what did he attribute his ability to survive? Why are stories like Stockdale's inspiring? Disturbing? What are some of the tough realities that you or someone you love is facing? Why is biblical hope so resilient?
Jeremiah 29:10-13 NIV
Ephesians 1:4-11 NIV
For Reflection/Discussion: What is God's clear and settled plan for his people? Jeremiah 29.11 was originally written to exiles from Jerusalem in Babylon. Is it appropriate to apply Jeremiah 29.11 to believers today? Why or why not? The NIV translates part of Jeremiah 29.11 as "plans to prosper you." How might that translation be misleading? The Hebrew word being translated is a familiar one— Shalom. What is shalom? Where else in Jeremiah 29.4-13 is the word shalom used? How can Jeremiah 29 help us when we are going through a distressing, disorienting time in our lives? How does Ephesians 1.4-11 flesh out the promise of Jeremiah 29.11?
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