Big Idea of the Series: We can read the right Bible verse and still get the wrong message. This series is about slowing down, understanding the text in its context, and learning to read Scripture the way it was meant to be read. Hermeneutics: Learning how to read the Bible clearly and understand what the Biblical authors meant before deciding what the Bible means for us. We want to practice Exegesis over Eisegesis. Exegesis: “What does the Bible say?” Eisegesis: “How can I make the Bible say what I want?” C.L.E.A.R.: Consider what it says - Read the actual text carefully Locate where it sits - Passage, chapter, book, biblical story Explore their world - Culture, history, original audience Ask what it meant - Determine the original meaning Respond in ours - Apply that truth to our lives Jeremiah 29:11 NLT For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:1-11 NLT Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah, and all the craftsmen and artisans had been deported from Jerusalem.He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jeremiah’s letter saidThis is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem“Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreamsbecause they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the LORD.This is what the LORD says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:12-14 NLT In those days when you pray, I will listen.If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” So instead of: “God has promised that everything in my life is about to work out.” We can say: “Even when I cannot see what God is doing, I can trust the character of the God who sees beyond my circumstances.” God’s good plan does not guarantee an easy present; it guarantees that suffering does not get the final word. Psalms 32:8 NLT The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Psalms 37:23-24 NLT The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. Proverbs 16:3 NLT Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Ephesians 2:10 NLT For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Romans 8:28 NLT And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 12:1-2 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Jeremiah 29:11 NLT For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. God has a plan for my life, and when I follow His plan, I learn His will for my life.