– The Live Free Series –
BIG CROSS . DON’T GROW UP . TURN AND RUN . HEART IDOLATRY
*WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Someone gave Maria a bucket, asked her to fill it with water from a pond, and walk across a large field to water flowers on the other side of the field. She didn’t realize it at first, but the bucket had several holes in the bottom of it. So Maria filled the bucket with water, but it was almost empty by the time she crossed the field and got to the flowers. How would you feel about this if you were Maria?
WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THIS?
Today’s passage is part of a message God gave to his people through his prophet named Jeremiah. A prophet brought messages from God to his people and this message is about how God’s people have loved other things more than God. Let’s see how that message relates to our lives today.
1. Read Jeremiah 2:1–2, How did God’s people start out in their relationship with him?
2. Read Jeremiah 2:4–8? Summarize what happened to God’s people in their relationship with him.
3. Jeremiah 2:5 says, “They walked after emptiness and became empty.” What do you think this means?
4. Read Jeremiah 2:9–13. Why did the Lord want to fight with his people (verse 9)?
HOW DO WE APPLY THIS TO OUR LIVES?
5. Why do you think we sometimes start out loving the Lord but drift away from him over time?
6. In what ways have you struggled with letting a good thing become a “god thing” in your life?
7. How can you relate to what Jeremiah 2:5 says, “They went far away from me and walked after emptiness and became empty”? How is this like Maria’s experience of trying to water flowers with a bucket that’s filled with holes?
8. Sometimes we go far away from Jesus because he doesn’t seem as satisfying to us as some of the things we pursue. Why does he sometimes seem less satisfying to us than other things?
9. Read John 10:10. How does knowing Jesus as the source of life in all its fullness (i.e., “the fountain of living waters”) help us resist the temptation to seek satisfaction in things outside of God?
10. What’s a practical step you can take to be satisfied in Jesus so that it’s not as easy for good things to become “god things” in your life?
What ideas do you have that could improve this study? Are there creative things you do to bring this topic home to your students? Please share with the community clicking the FEEDBACK button or leaving a comment below.
