Worship Service

Isaiah 43:1-13; Joshua 4:1-7,19-24

43 But now, this is what the Lord says- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." 8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. 9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true." 10"You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. 12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "that I am God. 13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"  

4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." 19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' 22 tells them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."   

Jeremiah 1:4-10 

Do you ever feel like you’re just too young or too small to do something? Can anyone think of a time when you might have said, "I just can’t do it!" (Pause for responses.) We have all said that at one time or another. Maybe you said it when the coach asked you to play a new position for the first time, or while you were trying to do your homework. (Hold up textbook). We’ve all found ourselves feeling defeated, saying, “I just can’t do it.” 

Our Bible lesson today is about a man named Jeremiah. One day, God spoke to Jeremiah and said, "Before you were even born, I chose you to be My prophet to all the nations."

Wow, that’s a tall order! Can you imagine being chosen by God to speak His words to all the nations of the world? 

Jeremiah answered, "I can't! I'm not a good speaker, and besides, I'm too young."

"Don't say 'I can't,' " the LORD answered Jeremiah. "If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word!" Then the LORD reached out His hand,  touched Jeremiah's mouth, and said, "I am giving you the words to say, and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for Me."

God called Jeremiah to a monumental task before he was even born. But He wasn’t going to leave Jeremiah to do it all on his own. God also promised to give Jeremiah all the words he would need to speak. 

Just like God had some mighty big plans for Jeremiah, He also has some pretty big plans for you too. He knows your name. He knew you before you were even born and He has a plan for your life. 

There will be times in your life when God will come to you, as He did to Jeremiah, and ask you to do something important for Him. He may call you to do something that feels difficult, or maybe even impossible. You may feel like you’re too young, and you might even want to say, “I just can’t do it.” But when that happens, remember what God said to Jeremiah, "Don't say, 'I can't!' " If God calls you to do something, He will reach out His hand and touch your life to give you the ability to do it.

Dear Father, there may be some things in this life that we cannot do on our own. But we know that if You ask us to do something, You will give us the ability to do it if we just trust in You. In Jesus' name, Amen.