“CREATIVE COMMUNICATION”

(Jeremiah)
This is lesson is part of the “What’s in the Bible?” series, starting with “Memories & Stories” on Genesis

For The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

By Sally Ulrey

Key verse: Jeremiah 31:3

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness”

Objective:
 To understand the book of Jeremiah as an attempt at a faithful and creative attempt at
communicating God’s message over a lifetime without giving up
 To learn a little bit about what’s in Jeremiah
 To apply the idea of faithfully communicating the message of God’s love by brainstorming
ways to get that across to those in our own circles.
The Set up: Minimal
The Plan:
 Hook: The Greatest Lessons of All Time (10 mins)
o Discussion about the most memorable lessons they’ve ever been taught
 Book: Overview of Jeremiah (15 mins)
o Go over several creative teachings/object lessons, etc. Jeremiah used to get the message out
o Go over the historical background of when Jeremiah taught, how he taught for 40 years and
never gave up trying to get the message across
 Look: Object Lessons (25 mins)
o In partners, practice making some creative object lessons to get Christian messages across
 Took: Never Give Up (5 mins)
o Practice looking at things creatively, allowing life to point them to God, so they can continue to
get the message of God’s love across to those around them
The Supplies: The Preparation:
 Copy of lesson  Print and copy everything
 Copies Scripture passages  Read the Scripture and get very
 Colorful Belt familiar with the mini-lecture
 Clay Pot  Gather random objects (such as: a wig,
 Cardboard boxes a toy doctor kit, an acorn, a shoe, a
 Air Dry Clay bowling pin, sunglasses, stuffed
 A donkey or horse figurine (optional) animals, any random things!!
 Random, misc, silly objects  Set up an area where you can smash a
 Pens & Paper clay pot
 A Table
 Tape
 Bibles (with concordance OR phone w/internet)

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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ABOUT THE LESSON: The thing about Jeremiah is that he spoke to Judah on God’s behalf for over 40 years,
and not one single person turned back to God. But Jeremiah was FAITHFUL to share the message in the most
creative and engaging ways possible. Jeremiah didn’t give up just because they didn’t listen; instead he just
got more and more creative. There’s a whole other lesson there about evaluating our work based on being
faithful and leaving the results up to God, but the great thing about Jeremiah was his absolute commitment to
sharing the message in the most creative and interesting and engaging ways. The bottom line of the book of
Jeremiah is that, no matter the results, we are called to be faithful to share the message of God’s love
creatively, not giving up!

The Greatest Lessons of All Time (Hook, 10 mins)

For the opening of the lesson, you’ll do a simple group discussion (this can be in small groups of 3-4 or as a
large group) about the most memorable lessons they’ve ever been taught. Have them think of the most
impactful sermon illustrations, quotes, stories, Scriptures, etc. If they can’t think of church-related lessons,
then ask about which school lessons have been the most memorable and why. Be ready to share some of the
lessons YOU most remember. The point is that creatively sharing a message has an impact. When we put
effort in to creative communication, it can be really lasting and impactful!

Instructions:
 Start off by sharing a few lessons/quotes/illustrations that someone used to teach you something that
you STILL remember (we’re going for church-related). Plan to share several examples (3 mins)
 Put the students into groups for discussion, or lead as one large group

Group Discussion Questions (7 mins):

 What is a lesson/sermon/quote/illustration/Scripture someone taught you that you STILL remember?
 Why do you think it had so much impact?

Transition: Creative communication can be sooooo impactful to help us remember and live out the message
the teacher is trying to get across. Jeremiah the prophet was a master at creative communication. He had a
tough crowd, but he was DETERMINED to get the message about God across to the people. If he had lived
today, I think he would have been a youth minister, because he was always doing crazy, I mean CREATIVE,
things to get people’s attention so they would hear the message about God’s love and God’s best for them ….

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Overview of Jeremiah (Book, 15 mins)
In this section, you’ll briefly showcase several of Jeremiah’s creative communication techniques. In the next
section, they’ll get to try their hand at some creative communication, too. The ultimate point is that we, like
Jeremiah, are entrusted with an important and life-giving message from God to deliver to those around us,
and we need to make sure we are doing our absolute best to communicate that message creatively and in
ways that are engaging!
 LEADER TIP: You will want to look over the Scripture passages and Mini-Lecture in advance to be
familiar with what all is in Jeremiah.

Preparation:
 On a table at the front of the room, set out the following items:
1. A figurine of a donkey/horse
2. A crazy/colorful/weird/memorable belt (could use a linen scarf)
3. Wet clay that can be formed into anything
4. A clay pot
5. Fake silver coins or a pretend “Land Deed”
 Prepare a place where you can smash the clay pot with minimal damage. You may want to set up a
cardboard box to smash it in, with more flattened cardboard boxes underneath to cushion the blow to
the floor.

Instructions:
 As you go through Jeremiah’s creative communication techniques, lift up the object that correlates to
that story
 Also, after you’ve told each story, tape the Scripture passage page to the front of the table, right in
front of the object that it goes with
 Take about 10 mins for the mini-lecture, and leave about 5 mins for the group discussion questions.

Group Discussion Questions (after the Mini-Lecture, 5 mins)

 Which of Jeremiah’s communication techniques was your favorite and why?
 Which one do you think is the most memorable?
 How would you react if someone, say, did one of those at your school tomorrow?? Or even
somewhere like the pulpit on Sunday??

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

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Overview of Jeremiah…Continued (Book, 15 mins)

Mini-Lecture (10 mins) (Jeremiah 2:22-25; 13:1-11; 18:1-6; 19:1-5&10-11; 32:6-15)

HISTORY: Jeremiah was a prophet at a time when Babylon was threatening to conquer the kingdom of Judah (which they
eventually did and carried many into exile to Babylon). For 40 YEARS, Jeremiah preached for the people to turn to God,
their Rescuer, with their whole hearts, and was mostly ignored and persecuted. But he didn’t give up!! He tried
EVERYTHING to communicate that life-giving message in memorable and creative ways!!

Jeremiah’s Creative Communication Techniques

 Provocative Language (represented by the donkey figurine…depending on your group, you may not want to use
this one, as it is a little bit graphic). Jeremiah uses extremely vivid and provocative language to get his message
across. He had the shock factor. In chapter 2 (the very beginning, one of the first things he said), he compared
the Israelites’ idolatry to a wild donkey in heat, saying that their going astray to follow idols was not passive…it
was active disobedience. Pretty provocative imagery, which helped the Israelites to understand how God
viewed their idolatry…it was a big deal to God!
 Drama/Costumes (represented by the crazy belt). Jeremiah acted things out. I’m going to tell you a story about
his belt (my version might be a little dramatized, but I think it’s pretty true to the spirit of the story, which you
can read in ch 13). He got a belt, which I’m pretty sure must have been really memorable so that everyone
would have noticed it. The people were probably like, “there goes that crazy Jeremiah, wearing a crazy belt,” or
“There’s that Jeremiah, what’s he up to now?” Then, once everyone noticed his crazy belt, he went and buried
it. The people were probably making fun of him, like, “Where’s your belt, Jeremiah? Yeah, did you finally decide
to quit wearing that embarrassing belt? How are you going to keep your robe closed now?” And then many
days later, he brought it back to show them all it had been ruined and how it had been ruined… that it was so
dirty and hadn’t been taken care of or cleaned, so it basically rotted and became useless. Then he compared the
Israelites’ to the belt…they wouldn’t clean their hearts, and so became all rotten and useless. Jeremiah used
drama and costumes to get his message across.
 Object Lessons (represented by the wet clay and clay pot). Jeremiah uses objects to get a point across, and he
especially liked clay and pottery; he uses them a couple times. The first time, he tells them about a potter who
was molding the clay, but it didn’t go right, so he had to start over and make it into something else. He
compares that to God and the Israelites…God is the potter who is shaping the clay according to God’s purposes,
and if the clay tries to go in the wrong direction, God can decide to reshape it…which God can do, because the
clay is still moldable/teachable/responsive. But then, Jeremiah gets a hardened clay pot. And he just up and
[SMASH THE POT] smashes it in front of all the people he’s preaching to. And he uses it as a warning to the
people with hard hearts that won’t listen to God, that their stubbornness and unwillingness to turn from evil will
be disastrous for them! It’s a contrast to the story about the moldable clay...
 Questionable(?) Actions (represented by the silver coins or land deed). Jeremiah was always doing things that
were outside the norm, that made people stop and wonder what he was up to. He wouldn’t go to funerals
(16:5) or feasts (16:8), and he randomly bought a field at a time when they were being besieged (32:6-15), and
let’s just say it wasn’t a good time to buy property because they were about to be conquered. But he bought it
as a strong message that God would bring them back from exile in Babylon, and that land would be bought and
sold again, and that they would come back to their land. Always up to something. And all his actions had
meaning.

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Object Lessons (Look, 25 mins)
In this part, students will get a chance to practice using some of Jeremiah’s creative communication
techniques. They’ll pick an object and use it to teach a spiritual truth about God. They’ll need this practice to
be like Jeremiah: a committed messenger creatively telling everyone he could about God’s love.

 Put the youth in groups of 2-3.

 Have each group pick an object from the box of random objects
 Give the following Instructions:
o Decide how this object can be used to show a spiritual truth or something about God.
(Ex: Jeremiah used the wet clay to remind the Israelites that God was the Potter, and God was trying to form their
hearts, but if they were hard-hearted, then their stubbornness to keep doing evil would end up causing them pain).
o Find a Scripture verse to go with your lesson. A concordance in the back of your Bible OR online
is a great resource.
(Ex: if your object is an acorn or a seed, you can use a concordance to look up all the Bible verses about
acorns/seeds to get ideas)
 Give them pens & paper and 10 mins to figure out their object lessons
 Have them present their lessons to the group (15 mins)

Group Discussion Questions (as time permits…if you have lots of groups presenting, you may not have time)
1. What Scriptures did you just now learn that you hadn’t known about or thought about before?
2. How did this cause you to think about God or a spiritual truth in a new way?
3. What do you think would happen if you walked around looking for objects or things that happen to
point you to God?

Transitional Statement
Jeremiah was committed to communicating God’s message in the most interesting, engaging, creative,
memorable, and meaningful ways possible. Even though people didn’t like most of what he had to say,
because he was warning them to turn away from the things that would be bad for them, Jeremiah never gave
up trying to get across that following God was actually best for them, because God loved them so much!
Some of the most beautiful and encouraging Scriptures are from Jeremiah… here’s a few
[Tape the “Favorite Verses” page to front of the table]
 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you a
future and a hope!” (29:11)
 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with
unfailing kindness. (31:3)
 They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more….I will turn their mourning into gladness; I
will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. (31:12-13)
 I will make a new covenant with the people…“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be
their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know
the LORD,’ because they will all know me…“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no
more.” (31:31-34)
Jeremiah had an awesome message of love from God, and he preached for 40 years, faithfully, using every
creative and engaging technique possible, so that the people would know that message. Most of them didn’t
listen at the time, but NOW we have his words and they are STILL transforming people’s lives and hearts!
Jeremiah left the results up to God, but he fulfilled his calling to share that message, and share it WELL! We
are called to do the same!

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Never Give Up (Took, 5 mins)
For the closing time, we’ll invite students to start looking at the world around them creatively, as a place to
point them to God and get ideas on how to creatively communicate truths about God. We’ll also encourage
them to never give up trying to share the message of God’s love!

 Remind them that they are called to be Jeremiah’s: faithfully and creatively sharing the message of
God’s love.
 Empathize with the fact that that can be intimidating, but God’s got you. Jeremiah was intimidated,
too, but ended up being one of the best messengers ever! His words still resonate and transform lives
today!
 Read Jeremiah 1:4-8
4
The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you
were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I
said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too
young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of
them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the L ORD.
 Remind them that Jeremiah was probably only a teenager when he was called to be a prophet and
share the message. He didn’t think he could do it either. But God was with him, and he did it!
 Have youth walk around and look at the objects and verses.
 Give them each a copy of the “Favorite Verses” sheet and instruct them to note their favorites and
their favorite creative communication lessons. Allow them to make some quick notes.
 Give them each a piece of the Air Dry Clay.
 Ask them to form it into something that will remind them to communicate God’s love to others who
don’t yet understand it fully
 Tell them to put their clay somewhere they can see it as a reminder to:
1. Look at the world creatively, letting it point them to God and spiritual truths
2. Communicate creatively the message of God’s love

Close in prayer, asking God to help us be like Jeremiah, to faithfully communicate the message of God’s love
creatively and to the best of our ability, and to not give up doing so, even if we can’t SEE that it is impacting
anyone, but that we KNOW God can take care of the rest. AMEN.

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Passage 1—Jeremiah 2:22-25

22
Although you wash yourself with soap
and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign LORD.
23
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals’?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running here and there,
24
a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
25
Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!
I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.’

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

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Passage 2—Jeremiah 13:1-11

13 This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it
touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the LORD directed, and put it around my waist.
3
Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around
your waist, and go now to Perath[a]and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as
the LORD told me.
6
Many days later the LORD said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went
to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and
completely useless.
8
Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of
Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow
the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—
completely useless! 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the
people of Judah to me,’ declares the LORD, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they
have not listened.’

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission.
All rights reserved worldwide.

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Passage 3—Jeremiah 18:1-6; 19:1-5&10-11

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2

“Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will
give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot
he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as
seemed best to him.
5
Then the word of the LORD came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares
the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

19 This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.Take along some of the elders of the
people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate.
There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah and people of
Jerusalem. This is what the LORDAlmighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disasteron this
place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me and made this a
place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings
of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5 They have built the high
places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention,
nor did it enter my mind.
10
“Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what
the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be
repaired…

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Passage 4—Jeremiah 32:6-15

32 6
Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to
come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’
8
“Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy
my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for
yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the LORD; 9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and
weighed out for him seventeen shekels[b] of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed
out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions,
as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the
presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the
courtyard of the guard.
13
“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel,
says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay
jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the LORDAlmighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and
vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission.
All rights reserved worldwide.

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Jeremiah—Favorite Verses

Jeremiah 29:11
11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You
will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD

Jeremiah 1:4-8
4
The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you were
born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not
know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go
to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and
will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:3
3
The LORD appeared to us in the past,[a] saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

Jeremiah 31:12-14
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
13
Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:25
25
I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34

31
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant
with the people…33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares
the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the L ORD,’ because they will
all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the L ORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

Other awesome chapters: 30 & 33!!

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

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 The “What’s in the Bible?” Series

Genesis “Memories and Stories” Nov 2017

Exodus “Near” Nov 2017
Leviticus “You Want me to do What Now?” & “Fellowship” May 2017
Numbers “Unfinished” Nov 2017
Deuteronomy “SuperHero Wanted” Nov 2017
Joshua “Never Give Up” Sep 2016
Judges “No Rules” Dec 2017
Ruth “Loyalty” Feb 2017
1&2 Samuel “Who’s on the Throne?” Dec 2017
1&2 Kings “Lights in the Darkness” Dec 2017
Ezra “Read the Book!” Jan 2018
Nehemiah “Build the Wall” Jan 2018
Esther “Courage” Apr 2017
Job “Bad Theology” Feb 2018
Psalms “On the Couch” Feb 2018
Proverbs “Just Sayings” Feb 2018
Ecclesiastes “What’s the Point?” Apr 2018
Song of Songs “Love Being In Love” Apr 2018
Isaiah “Songs of Trust” Sep 2018
Jeremiah “Creative Communication” Oct 2018

“Creative Communication” (Jeremiah)

by Sally Ulrey for the Diocese of Atlanta
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