Jer. 32 for Sept 29

I haven't looked at  translation points, as this seems a fairly straightforward account, but here are some thoughts on the passage itself.

This provides an excellent chance to speak of the future in the midst of struggle in general, for our nation, a congregation, a denomination, a ministry. How certain and uncertain is the future? Why have we gone to such a dystopian view of it in popular culture?

One could look at this virtue of hope not in the optimistic way that things naturally progress, but as a virtue in spite of the facts on the ground, in a different future.

Here money is being used for a noble purpose. we do well to be careful that Scripture does see acquisition as a temptation, but not sharing is the usual issue, not money in itself.

If one were so inclined, one could use its dull features of the transaction itself  as doing God's work in the mundane tasks. Many folks in the pews have gone through similar stages in the difficult process of buying a home. Did you ever sign so many documents at once as a t a closing?

One could use this enacted prophecy as an example of doing a small thing in the face of large forces.

We are quick, too quick, to disparage church property. It provides  sacred space, but it is also a repository of memory, the precious keepsake of a wedding, a baptism, a funeral.

As an alternative, one could speak of the value we place on 100 year farms in Indiana and our concern about the family farm as a symbol.