Opening

• Take a piece of plasticine, and make two small vases or jars. Your creation can be beautiful, ugly, thin, tall.

Bible Story

• Have you ever heard someone say that no two people are alike? It is true. Even identical twins are not exactly alike. They can point out all sorts of differences between the two of them. People are different not only in appearance, but they have different personalities, different likes and dislikes and each person has a unique purpose for their life

• Today, our story is about Jeremiah, who learned a valuable lesson about people, and about God who created them.

• A long time ago, God spoke to a young man whose name was Jeremiah. You can read about him in the Bible book by the same name. God spoke to him and said, “Before you were formed, I knew you. Before you were born I knew you would be a holy person, and I decided that I wanted you to be my prophet” (Jeremiah 1:5).
• A prophet is someone who can tell what is going to happen in the future.
• One day God told Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house. A potter is someone who makes pots, bowls, and all sorts of things out of clay. When he arrived at the potter’s house, he found the potter working.
• Jeremiah watched as the potter reached down into a deep, pit and brought out a lump of clay. He slapped it onto the stone that was on top of the potter’s wheel. The clay was rough looking with lots of lumps and bumps and uneven edges, but he balanced it carefully before starting to work with it. Dipping his hands in water, he steadily held his hands over the clay as the wheel started to spin.
• As the clay bobbed around, some gentle pressure was applied to hold it in place, preventing it from jumping and lurching. Never did the potter touch the clay without wet hands. The lump soon became smooth, and the potter was able to begin shaping and moulding the clay. As the vessel responded to the care of the potter’s hand, it was moulded and fashioned in just the way the potter wanted it.
• You see, the potter had a plan for that piece of clay. When he looked at the imperfect piece that he had started with, he did not see the lumps and bumps and rough bits. He envisioned a beautiful vessel, and he knew just what would be needed to achieve that goal and what work it would take.
• While Jeremiah was watching, before his eyes that marred, an old piece of clay was transformed into a beautiful, balanced vessel without any spots or wrinkles.
• In Romans 9:21, Paul asks this question, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” The answer of course is yes, the potter does have the right. Likewise, God has the right to make some of His people serve one purpose, and others to serve another purpose. The great thing is, whatever the purpose, we can rejoice that God is the one who gave it to us. Remember the vases we made at the beginning of class? No two were exactly alike. Likewise, no two people are exactly alike. However, God made us all, and anyone who belongs to God can be used by God.
• God knew you before you were even born and He has a very special job that He wants you to do. While we are alive we have to learn lessons of obedience and sometimes God even gives us some trials to see if He can trust us to do the special job He has for us. If you are obedient to your mom and dad and ask God to help you to be willing and able to do the jobs they ask, one day when God knows you are ready to do the job He has for you He will let you know just what it is.

Questions

1. Why did the Lord want Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house? (To give him a message.)
2.  What was wrong with the first pot [vessel] being made by the potter? (It was marred or ruined.)
3. Because the pot [vessel] was marred, what did the potter do? (Formed it into another pot.)
4. Does the potter make all of his pots alike? Why not? (No, because they serve different purposes.)
5. Whom does the Lord compare the potter and the clay to? (Potter as God and the clay as God’s people.)
6. What does this story tell you about the importance of people? (Everyone is important because everyone is made by God.)