Sermon Tone Analysis

One Nation under God

*Text: *Jeremiah 18:1-10 (NIV) \\ 1 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 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord.

“Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.

9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

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I.         Introduction: Army Adjustment – Order: You will do it, and you will like it.

The Army won’t change, so you better change your attitude.

We had better change Our attitude about God and His authority over a nation and we had better begin to like it, because it is not God who is going to change.

Like clay in the hands of the potter, if we resist God, we will be cast down, and another pot will take our place.

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II.

Be Educated: The Permanence Of A Nation Is Not Assured

!! A.      This Nation is In The Process Of Creation

!! B.      This Nation Holds The Possibility Of Collapse

!! C.      This Nation Is Under Personal Control

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III.

Be Glad: The Punishment Of A Nation Can Be Averted

!! A.      Precisely When A Nation Is Scheduled For Destruction

!! B.      Only When A Nation Is Stirred To Repentance

!! C.      Finally When A Nation Is Spared By God

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IV.    Be Careful: The Potential Of A Nation Can Be Aborted

!! A.      Even When A Nation Has Prospered Comfortably

!! B.      Especially When A Nation Has Declined Morally

!! C.      Eventually When A Nation Is Judged Righteously

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V.      Conclusion: A little guy who is getting too big for his breeches starts to show disrespect and is picking on the gentle giant on the school bus.

The gentle giant responds, “You better know what’s good for you.”

When America begins to get away from God who made her great, she begins to get too big for her breeches.

We are one nation under God.

God wants us to know what is good for us.

If we try to resist the sovereignty of God over us, we begin to look like the little tough guy standing up to the giant, and we better know what is good for us.