"The Church: God's Warming Station," Jeremiah 23:29

THE CHURCH: GOD'S WARMING STATION Jeremiah 23: 29 A few when three ago, I was standing near the door four children came by. They asked if days or they could come in because it was cold outside. They stayed a while and talked about how their mother had company and told them to stay out. After awhile they said, they were warm enough and needed to go. They said, "Thanks" and left. I thought to myself, why they used the Church as a warming station. The power had been off all day. It was cold and snowy outside. The biting cold chilled everything. We gathered a few things and headed out looking for a place to get warm. Finally, the power lines were repaired and the furnace began to blow again. I had never spent a night there before but I found it a warm refuge from biting cold. The world, in its freezing cold and dropping wind chill factor, needs a place to get warm. It needs a place to turn away from the cold winds of bias, the chills of hatred, the freeze of mean­ spiritedness, the rough turbulence of wickedness, the 1 storms of evil and wrong. The weak needs from the hostility of the strong. a refuge The humble needs safe house to rest when the enemy is all around. I wonder can they turn to the Church? If there is any a place the world that ought to be generating warmth, it ought to be the church. The prophet Jeremiah is ofttimes called the weeping prophet because of his deep concern for the welfare of God's people. He was also deeply concerned about the behavior of the shepherd of God's people. So in this chapter, he writes to those who would scatter the flock of God, who prophesy according to Baal, who commit adultery and walk a lie, who refuse to heed the Divine instructions of God. He wants to make sure that above all else, those who watch for our souls will handle the Word properly. That seems to be the primary concern of the Apostle Paul as he writes to young Timothy: "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. "(II Timothy 2: 15) Listen to today's text: "Is not my word like a of God flre" saith the Lord." The prophet is raising a 2 question about the most important resource we have available to us: The Word of God. Not my word or your word or even the word of the prophet but what matters is the word of God. The Psalmist reminds us that those who meditate in the word day and night shall be like a planted by the rivers of water; its leaf shall not whither; and whatsoever he doth shall prosper." (Psalm 1) God's word is light is the midst of darkness and when it is preached, taught, and lived it provides warmth. It brings us in right relationship tree with God and that we In warms us toward that Jesus rose fellow against the do not stand alone closing, our man. So cold. you remember in the New Testament from the grave. As He was walking along, He joined Himself to two men. They were talking about the tragedy of Jesus death and buried but were not yet aware of His powerful resurrection. The Bible says that He walked with them, that He broke bread, blessed it, and gave it to them, and that opened to them the scriptures and taught them. Then when He left them all they could report was: He "Did not us our hearts burn within by the wayside." (Luke 24: 3 us as 32) He talked with