Tue May 26

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words woe and me.

Reading

Jeremiah 15:1-10—Intercession Plus Atonement

Optional Reading

Hebrews 7:11-25

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Jeremiah is praying for God’s mercy on Judah.
God answers No.
Jeremiah and Judah—and we—need a better intercessor.
Jesus is that better intercessor.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

Why did God say No to Jeremiah’s prayer for mercy on Judah?
What do we, like Jeremiah and Judah, need?
What do we know about Jesus’s prayers for us?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

Jeremiah has been praying for God’s mercy on Judah (chap. 14), and now God answers No. The burden of God’s righteous judgment is heavy on Jeremiah. It is not just that his prayers have been rejected, but God says that even if the great intercessors Moses and Samuel asked for compassion on Judah, it would be denied.

Jeremiah is overwhelmed with God’s pronounced judgment. And his concern is not just for Judah. Woe is me! he says. This isn’t just hard for us as a nation; it is hard for me. Like Job (Job 3:1), Jeremiah wishes he had never been born. Everything he says causes conflict, everyone curses him. His call from God was hard. Genuinely so. And it was hard for Judah.

It was not enough for Judah to have Jeremiah preaching to them and praying for them. And it’s not enough to have godly elders preaching to and praying for you. Like Jeremiah, we all need a greater Prophet and, like Hebrews tells us, a greater Priest.

Ryken reminds us we have one! Sinners need someone, not just to pray for them, but to offer a perfect sacrifice for their sins. They need intercession plus atonement. Jesus Christ offers both…Get back, Moses! Step aside, Samuel! Move over, Jeremiah! Let Jesus Christ stand before his Father to plead for the salvation of lost sinners. His prayers will never fail! See Hebrews 7:25.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 143a, 111a

Prayer

Rejoice in prayer that Jesus lives to pray for you.
Give thanks for something from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.