Heart Prep:
Jeremiah was a prophet who taught plainly about sin and how our disobedient hearts cannot be trusted. Jeremiah predicted God’s judgment on Judah’s sins through the nation of Babylon. Yet, Jeremiah also declared how God would make a new covenant with His people. The people of Judah faced the same problem we face today: sin. Their failure to abide by and uphold the law was a constant reminder that they were sinful and fell short of God’s standards. Through Jeremiah, the Lord spoke of His everlasting love toward His people. The old covenant required complete obedience to the law; yet no one can be justified by the law (Galatians 2:16). In His grace, God did what we cannot do, by promising a new covenant. Jesus is the fulfillment of the new covenant; He fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf. Forgiveness that lasts forever only comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:11). Remind children that God changes believers’ hearts to hearts that love and obey Him.
Message:
Before Babylon came and attacked Judah, God sent a prophet named Jeremiah to speak His words to God’s people. Jeremiah said, “The sin of the people of Judah is like words carved into a stone—it can’t be simply wiped away.” Jeremiah shared more of God’s words, saying, “The person who trusts in other people is cursed, because people are sinful and imperfect. People cannot save themselves. The person who trusts in the Lord, however, will be strong and healthy, like a tree planted by water.” Through Jeremiah, God also said, “Our hearts are deceitful, and we cannot understand them. But God knows our hearts, and God is trustworthy. He gives each person what they deserve according to their character.” Even though people have sinful, deceitful hearts, Jeremiah shared how God promised to make a new covenant with His people. Jeremiah said, “Look, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with my people. It will be different from the old covenant I made with them when I freed them from Egypt. They broke that covenant, but they will not be able to break this one. I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. All my people will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive them and never remember their sin.”
Main Point:
Like God’s people, we all have sinful hearts that do not obey God or love Him rightly. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God made a new covenant. Those who trust in Jesus have their sin forgiven and have the law written on their hearts.
Discussion:
How does God write His law on our hearts?
Tell kids that God does not write on our hearts with a marker or a pen. Explain that when we turn to God, He permanently changes the desires of our hearts. As believers, we will want to obey God’s law not because of written rules, but because we have a transformed heart that loves Him (Romans 6:17).
Why should we obey God?
Help kids understand that we obey God because He loves us. Tell kids that we don’t obey God to earn His love, because through Jesus, we already have it. Because of sin, our hearts want to do what we want instead of what God wants. We can try to obey God perfectly, but we will sin. Through the new covenant, God promised to save us through Jesus and to change our hearts to help us obey Him.
The people in the Old Testament broke the old covenant because they did not keep all of God’s laws. Why can’t the new covenant be broken?
Share how the new covenant cannot be broken because God Himself accomplished it. When Jesus came to earth, He obeyed every one of God’s laws perfectly. Jesus always did what the Father commanded. The new covenant was completed when Jesus died on the cross. His blood washes away the sin of those who trust in Him. Before Jesus died on the cross, He said, “it is finished.” Jesus did what God sent Him to do so people could have forgiveness of sins.
