Jeremiah & Lamentations Bible Reading Challenge
Use this challenge sheet filled with a variety of activities and Bible reading extensions. Some activities may be particularly suited for children and families, while others may be suited for adults and teens – there is something for everyone. Each activity collects a certain number of points with a goal of 1000 points. (Activity details are below.)
One of the best parts of a challenge is doing it together. Find another family to do it with, or involve your Sunday School or CYC. You can also share your thoughts, favourite verses, quotes, reviews, etc in “Sisters Bible Study” on Facebook or “readthebiblechallenge” on Instagram with the hashtag #psalmstomalachi and #2021readthebiblechallenge!
To see all of the challenges by book of the Bible visit: www.magnifyhimtogether.com/bible-reading-challenge.
Read - 400 Points
Read all the chapters of Jeremiah & Lamentations for 400 points! Print off one of these templates can help track your reading.
Bible Journal - 500 Points
Use a notebook or a Bible Reading Journal to take notes while you read. You can order this one on Amazon or use your own notebook. You can also download and print this set of Bible Journal suggestion pages to paste in your notebook, if you wish. Share your thoughts or favourite verses.
Bible Marking - 100 Points
As you read through Jeremiah, use coloured pencils to mark all the occurrences of the following words: “remnant” and “in the last days”. These words are from the King James Version and may not be the same in other translations.
Bible Art - 500 Points
Find a verse that encourages or exhorts you in Jeremiah. Maybe you want to draw pictures to illustrate them and put them where you can see them. Share your creations here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1393428964180459
Literature - 200 Points
Read through the following book and share a quote or two.
Obeying God Rather than Man by Geoff Henstock
The Life of Jeremiah (5 books) by Mark Morgan
Media - 300 Points
Listen and write a summary!
Search for this series of talks on Christadelphian Bible Talks and Exhortations: Herald of Captivity and Restoration by Colin Badger.
Dig Deeper - 150 Points
Find out about clay bullae that were found in Jerusalem from Jeremiah’s time: Biblical Archaeology.
Our World - 300 Points
The people did not trust God and keep the sabbath year, so the land would receive its sabbath rest while they are in captivity for 70 years. Learn about the sabbath year: Shmita – The Sabbatical Year – KKL JNF – Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund and The Mitzvah of Shmita.
Food - 300 Points
Jeremiah 24 tells the story of the good and bad figs. It was a lesson about the people of Judah – the good figs were those who would be sent away from the land to the land of the Chaldeans. God would keep His eye on them for good. But the bad figs were the king Zedekiah and his officials and the remnant of people in the land: they would be destroyed. Perhaps you can use some good figs to make Fig Newtons and think about how the captives may have felt knowing that even in their captivity God was with them.
Memory Verse - 250 Points
Learn these two verses by heart: Jeremiah 17:7-8 and Lamentations 3:22-23. You can print out the above bookmarks to help you memorize them. (You can also colour them, or use them as a template to journal into your Bible margin.)
Language - 150 Points
Do a word study on the word “backsliding.” You can use the above Word Study template. Share what you learn!
Hymn Study - 100 Points
Learn to play and sing hymn 163! This website provides piano music for each of the hymns that you can sing along with.
Write out the hymn (using the above template), and list Bible passages that relate to the different lines from the hymns along the side.
Geography - 100 Points
Use this map and the included worksheet and activity instructions to find places mentioned in Jeremiah! Answer key is also in the pdf download.
Or you can use this link: Jeremiah: Maps and Locations and try to find as many of the places mentioned on your map.
Journey - 100 points
Read through the Letter from Israel that goes through archaeology that relates to Jeremiah.
Bible Study - 200 Points
Use this Lamentations Bible Reading Journal for Bible study!
Overview - 300 Points
Use the Overview of Jeremiah to get a big picture of the book! The completed version is great for teaching, review or coloring, and the worksheet version has blanks to use as an activity page!
Timeline - 300 points
Use this two page timeline to fill in words or pictures to summarize the outline of the book of Jeremiah.
Art Project - 150 Points
In Jeremiah 18, God is described as a potter. Make your own pottery and think about the lessons from Jeremiah 18. You can use this tutorial: damasklove.com/diy-stamped-clay-succulent-pots/
The Heart - 150 Points
In the case of Jeremiah we have to reconcile, as he had to, the misery with what God said to him when He called him to be a prophet. He was especially chosen by God to bring his dread message to God’s people, and God gave him much encouragement and reassurance when He first called him: “And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail” (Jer. 1:19). What did Jeremiah think of that promise when he found himself in the stocks or in the dungeon? Had not God said to him: “I am with thee… to deliver thee” (v19)?
God has said that not only to Jeremiah but to us all: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5,6).
That is difficult to believe when trouble comes, but it is true. It was true for Jeremiah, and it is true for us. Indeed, it is true for all the children of God. Paul says: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
The life of Jeremiah demonstrates this. Indeed, it is in the midst of tribulation that Jeremiah demonstrates his faith, his confidence that God is in control. He says: “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD” (Lam. 3:22-26). This conviction that Jeremiah had should be shared by us all.
excerpt from “Jeremiah under trial” by Ernest A. Stallworthy in the Testimony magazine July 1993
Thank you to Julie S, Karen P, Bailey M, Tanya W, Sarah W, Sheva B, Lindsay B for the contributions to the Jeremiah/Lamentations Challenge!
More Resources
For more Isaiah resources check out the following links:
- Bible marking. Christadelphian Studies – The Call and Mission of Jeremiah Bible Marking notes
- Video. Meet the Bible Character – Jeremiah: https://youtu.be/TAAKF-2aTAA
For more Bible Reading ideas check out the following links: