In a recent "Dennis the Menace" comic in the Lima News, Dennis' line to his mother is: "Before I tell you what happened, remember I'm just a little kid."

My line to you this morning is: "Before I tell you about Jeremiah, remember I'm just a preacher." I'm just a messenger.

Jeremiah, the prophet of God, was just a messenger. Jeremiah said to God, "I don't know what to say." God said, "I'll tell you what to say!" And what God said is what Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah's message to the people of Israel, eventually included in the Bible, which is God's message to you and me, was this: "You're a bunch of crackpots!" I said I'm only a messenger! Like Jeremiah, I'd just as soon not deliver that message from the Lord but there it is: "Each of you is a crackpot, and so am I!"

How so? The first thing …