In 586 BC. the southern kingdom of Judah came to an end when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians. The city and temple of Jerusalem were destroyed and the people were taken into exile by force.
In this context, Jeremiah was proclaiming God's prophetic messages about how God acted and the response God wanted from the people. Through an examination of the book of Jeremiah, we will focus on the messages of judgment and restoration from their theological content and literary structure. We will also focus on how Jeremiah acted in his prophetic ministry, including how he proclaimed the messages and his difficulties when he was rejected as a prophet.
The seminar is open to alumni, psychologists, counsellors, pastors, Sunday school teachers, social workers, pastoral workers, people who want to understand the Old Testament in depth.
The training will take place on 6 May from 10.00 to 16.30 and on 16 and 17 May from 18.00 to 20.45 (total 12 academic hours).
The training room is located at Narva mnt 51, 1st floor, auditorium 103.
Course lecturer: Dr. Kelvin Friebel e-mail address:
Responsible lecturer: Mark Nelson e-mail address:
Course objectives
The aim of the course is a practical application based on the question "How can we prophetically serve our contemporary world?!".
- how to understand the responsibility of God's people
- How can we understand how the God of God's people can serve the world's people?
- How to use persuasive techniques in message presentation
- how to deal with difficult situations in ministry work
- offer hope for the future
Learning outcomes
This course aims to help:
- Place Jeremiah's messages in their original context of social, political, economic, and religious life in Judah circa 625-575 BC;
- Understand the prophetic messages of Jeremiah theologically and thus apply them to our personal lives and to the church today;
- To be able to appreciate the communication techniques used by Jeremiah and thereby also discover ways of addressing our contemporary culture and church.
METHODS: seminar, lecture, group work, independent written work.
Programme
6.05.2023. Duration (h): 6 academic hours, 10.00-16.30.
Introduction
Introduction to OT prophecy
Historical background 7th & 6th century BC.
The prophetic vocation
The structure of the Book of Jeremiah
1) Holding God's people accountable for their sins:
The judgment calls in the book of Jeremiah.
Calls to repentance
Proclamations against foreign nations.
2) Opposing political & religious leaders
Conflict with leaders
Conflict with false prophets
16.05.2023. Duration (h): 3 academic hours, 18.00-20.45.
18.00 - 18.45 hours (18.45 - 18.45 hours)
3) Use of persuasive techniques.
Message styles in the book of Jeremiah.
● Signpost-works
● Use of metaphors
● Marriage metaphor
4) Coping with the complexity of ministry when no one listens
Resistance to Jeremiah's ministry & Jeremiah's songs of complaint
17.05.2023. Duration (h): 3 academic hours, 18.00-20.45.
5) Offering hope for the future
Fall of Jerusalem
Participation
Pre-registration is required!
Participation in the 3-day Jeremiah course is free with a voluntary donation.
Participants will receive study materials, with coffee breaks during the course.
In order to receive credits (2 ECTS) for completing the course, the minimum requirements are 75% attendance, reading of required literature, submission of a reading report and essay.
It is possible to attend the training either on-site or via Zoom.
The training will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Estonian and Russian.
If you have any questions, please contact tel: 6688467 or