Sermon and Worship Resources

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jerry. Jerry's dad was a pastor, and all his life it was assumed that Jerry would be a pastor too. His grandma said it:

"God's got his hand on you, Jerry. Someday, you're going to wear those fine velvet robes, and put that shiny cross around your neck. And you're going to step into the pulpit and preach the Word, just like your daddy does. And we'll be so proud."

Jerry's uncles and aunts said it:

"I'll tell you, that boy has a good strong voice. I could hear him halfway around the block. Any preacher would give his right arm for a voice like that."

"You know he could read by the time he was three. What does that tell you?"

Jerry's mom and dad tried not to pressure him, but they dropped little hints. Everybody at church liked Jerry. He was president of the youth group. He was even dating that sweet girl, Tonya, who sang in the choir. What an asset she would be as a pastor's wife!

Then one day, while Jerry was sitting in his seminary dorm room cramming for a Greek exam, the Lord spoke to him.

"Jerry, it's time."

"What?" Jerry said, because he never expected to meet the Lord at seminary.

"Who is it?" He asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because he was afraid he knew the answer.

"You know who this is, Jer. It's the Lord. It's time for you to fulfill your calling."

"My calling? To be a pastor? But I've just barely started my seminary classes. I've still got to take Greek, and Hebrew, and Contemporary Expository Preaching 101, and Counseling, and--"

"I never called you to be a pastor, Jerry."

"But, everybody says that--"

"Did I say it?" (Pause) "Jerry, I made you. Before you were born, I knew you inside and out. You aren't an accident of nature. You are special and made for a purpose. My purpose. I want you to be a prophet."

"A prophet?!?" Jerry exploded. "I don't know anything about being a prophet. And who's going to listen to a young guy like me? Everyone will laugh in my face. Prophets aren't the most popular guys, you know? And what about housing, and health insurance, and my pension plan--"

"You didn't let me finish."

"I'm sorry."

"I was going to tell you that I'll always be with you. Always. I know this isn't going to be easy. You're right, there's no security in it, and there's no pension plan. People are going to laugh at you, and most of them won't listen. But let Me worry about that. You just tell them how I feel--I'll take care of you."

And before Jerry could object, God reached down and touched his mouth and gave him the words to say.

If you know a little bit of your Old Testament theology, then you recognize the protagonist of our story. In the year 628 B.C. or thereabouts, God called on Jeremiah, a young man from a priestly family. As the son of a priest, Jeremiah was expected to enter the priesthood also. The priests were the bridge between the people and God. Priests taught the Law and guarded the covenant between Israel and God. They offered incense and offerings on God's altar on behalf of the people. They sacrificed animals as an act of atonement for the people's sins. Although the priesthood required a huge amount of work and responsibility, the position had its perks too. Priests were highly respected. They had an honorable and secure place in society. The people usually took good care of their priests.

But Jeremiah never got to experience the joys of the priesthood. God had other plans for his life. When he was just a young man, about twenty years old, Jeremiah was called to be a prophet--a much less cushy job by every measure. Nobody likes prophets. They tell us the stuff we don't want to hear--they tell us we're sinners, they tell us we've got to look after the poor, they tell us that we're prostituting ourselves to the popular culture, and if we don't turn ourselves around RIGHT NOW and obey God, then we're in for a--well, let's just say it's not a pretty picture. This is not at all the type of ministry that Jeremiah was looking forward to.

Has God ever done that to you? Changed your plans in midstream? Shaken you up and turned you around and set you on an unexpected road? Or has God ever called you to do something you were absolutely, positively sure you just couldn't do? What was your excuse? We see Jeremiah's excuses: I'm too young, I wouldn't know what to say. Jeremiah's excuses are no different from our excuses; the bottom line is we all have the chutzpah to tell God that He's wrong.

But listen to what God tells Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Wow! What an awesome charge. And then, in the following verses, God promises to be with Jeremiah and equip him for the task. Jeremiah would need those words of assurance. As a prophet, he would be mocked, humiliated, beaten, imprisoned, and threatened with death. And yet, Jeremiah never once gave up. He lived to see his prophecies fulfilled and his name vindicated. But what kept him going? I believe when Jeremiah was at his lowest point, locked deep in a dungeon, without human contact, abandoned by everyone, he remembered these words, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." He was special, he had a purpose, and he was not alone.

A few years back, a company called Yankelovich Partners conducted a nationwide survey, the basis of which was one question: If you could ask God one question, what would it be? One-third of the people said if they had an audience with God, they would ask why they were put here on earth. (1) In other words, what is their purpose in life? Would that be your question?

THIS PASSAGE, APPLIED TO YOUR LIFE AND MINE, TELLS US THAT WE HAVE A PURPOSE IN LIFE TOO. You are not an accident. You were made and "set apart" for a very important task: to glorify God and reflect His image to others. Does that mean you have to go into the ministry? No. Does that mean you have to give up your job and spend all your time in prayer and Bible study? Not hardly. Maybe you glorify God through your position as a father, a special ed teacher, a stockbroker, a data entry clerk, or a mechanic.

Someone wrote in to the "Ask Marilyn" column in Parade Magazine (July 30, 2000) and asked her to answer the age-old question: what is the purpose of our life? The questioner included his own opinion that the purpose of each individual's life is to pursue his or her own happiness and fulfillment, regardless of the means of reaching this goal. What did Marilyn, who is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as having the highest recorded IQ in the world, reply? Well, fortunately, this brilliant lady was wise enough not to give an answer. Instead, she turned the whole question around. She wrote that if there is an intelligent Creator and a plan behind the creation of the universe, then our purpose is decided by our Creator. But if there is no intelligent Creator behind the universe, if it all happened as the Big Bang theory says, then there is no ultimate purpose in life. (2)

Did you get that? If there is no God, or if we live as if there is no God, then there is no purpose to our life. But, if there is a Creator, then there is a purpose to it all. That's good news! There is a purpose to our lives. We were made to glorify God.

A little boy came home from church looking visibly upset. His mother asked what was wrong.

"We learned a stupid song in Sunday School today."

"What was the song?" the mother asked.

"It says Jesus wants us to be his sunbeam."

"What's stupid about that?" said the mother.

"Because," the little boy fumed, "I don't want to be a sunbeam. I want to be a truck driver."

Don't buy into the idea that serving God is an either/or situation. You can be a truck driver and be Jesus' sunbeam at the same time. No matter where you are in life, you have a holy and awesome purpose for living. Never forget that.

THE SECOND THING THIS PASSAGE TELLS US IS THAT WE ARE SPECIAL. God knows us. God loves us. So few of us are really known. We wear masks so much in life that no one around us truly knows who we are. And, sadly, we also wear those masks when no one else is around. We often don't really know ourselves. Deep inside, we think if someone really knew us, they wouldn't love us. But check out the first verse of this passage: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart . . . " God really knows you, not just the clean and shiny version of yourself that you present to the world, but the real you. He knew you long before you even had the consciousness to know yourself. And He loves you. As someone once said, "God could not love you more, and He will not love you less." You are special.

Pastor Bill Hybels was greeting parishioners after church one Sunday when a woman came up to him and caught him in a big hug. She was crying as she whispered in his ear, "Don't ever stop telling us that we matter to God because it's changed my life." (3) It's true; you matter to God. And if you really, truly believe that, it will change your life too.

AND FINALLY, IF WE APPLY THIS PASSAGE TO OUR LIVES, WE LEARN THE GREAT TRUTH THAT WE ARE NEVER ALONE.

Admit it: there are times when you think God just created you and then dropped you into this cold and lonely world and left you here to fend for yourself. That was Jeremiah's first fear when God called him to be a prophet. That's why he made excuses. He thought that God was calling him to this harsh and difficult job under his own power. But Jeremiah was never meant to perform under his own power. God promised him that he would be equipped with God's power, with God's protection. He even gave him the very words to say. The job of prophet is a lonely job. That's why God told Jeremiah from the very beginning that He would never leave him alone.

Max Lucado wrote a cute-sounding, thought-provoking devotional about how much we mean to God. It's called, "If God Had a Refrigerator."

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem;
not to mention that Friday at Calvary.
Face it, friend. He's crazy about you. (4)

That's why God sent Jesus, God's self in human form. Jesus came to preach the good news that we are special, that we are loved, that we have a purpose, that we are not alone----that God is crazy about us. And if you believe it, if you really, truly believe it, it will change your life.

2. "Ask Marilyn" by Marilyn vos Savant Parade Magazine July 30,2000, p. 7.

3. Bill Hybels. The God You're Looking For (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997), p. 11.

Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan