Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why does the Bible talk so much about “home”?

There is a deep human longing for home as more than a physical place. In Genesis, humanity begins in the Garden of Eden, living in right relationship with God, one another, and creation. When sin enters the story, that relationship is broken and humanity is separated from Eden.

That our longing for home is ultimately a longing to be fully connected with God again. We are looking for something that places, possessions, relationships, and accomplishments cannot completely provide.

2. What happened in the Garden of Eden?

Genesis 2–3 describes humanity's original home in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lived in relationship with God and creation, but they disobeyed God. Sin entered the human story, and they were removed from the garden.

This describes this as humanity's original exile—the beginning of our longing to return home to God.

3. Who was Jeremiah?

Jeremiah was a prophet who lived during a very difficult period in Israel's history. He watched Jerusalem fall, the temple be destroyed, and many of God's people taken into exile.

Jeremiah's message included both warnings about Israel's unfaithfulness and promises that God had not abandoned his people. Jeremiah 31 looks beyond their suffering toward a future restoration and a new covenant with God.

4. What is Jeremiah 31:10–15 about?

Jeremiah 31 describes God gathering his scattered people and bringing them home. The picture is one of restoration: people celebrating, gardens flourishing, sorrow being replaced with joy, and God's people experiencing God's goodness again.

But the passage also acknowledges deep grief. Verse 15 describes Rachel weeping for her children, reminding God's people that restoration does not mean pretending their pain never happened.

5. Who is Rachel, and why is she crying?

Rachel was the wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. In the book of Genesis, Rachel experienced deep sorrow surrounding having children and eventually died while giving birth to Benjamin.

Jeremiah uses Rachel as a picture of the grief of Israel. Her tears represent the mothers, families, and generations experiencing the pain of loss and exile.

The image appears again in Matthew 2 when King Herod orders the killing of young boys in and around Bethlehem. Matthew connects the suffering of those mothers with Rachel's earlier tears.

6. What is the “new covenant” in Jeremiah 31?

A covenant is a committed relationship or promise established by God. Jeremiah says God will make a new covenant with his people. Instead of simply giving them more rules to follow, God promises to put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

The sermon connects this promise to Jesus. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, God provides forgiveness and begins the work of changing us from the inside out.

7. What does the Bible mean by the “heart”?

The biblical idea of the heart is broader than simply our emotions. Jeremiah uses the Hebrew word lev, which includes a person's mind, desires, intentions, will, and inner life.

So when God promises to write his law on people's hearts, he is promising an internal transformation. God is not simply asking people to try harder to follow instructions. He is changing who we are from the inside.

8. Why does the sermon say that Jesus is the answer to our homesickness?

What we ultimately long for is not simply a better place, better job, better relationship, or better circumstances. We are longing for God.

Jesus came into our broken world, experienced suffering and rejection, died on a cross, and rose again. Through Jesus, God begins restoring what was broken by sin.

The answer to our deepest homesickness is therefore not simply a place. It is a person—Jesus.

9. What does “glimpses of home” mean?

“Glimpses of home” describes moments when we experience something that reminds us of the life and relationship with God for which we were created.

The sermon identifies three places where we can experience these glimpses:

• Prayer — experiencing God's presence and hearing his love.

• People — experiencing God's love through relationships and serving others.

• Purpose — joining God in bringing love, beauty, grace, and restoration into the world.

These moments do not mean that everything is already perfect. They are reminders of where the story is going.

10. What does it mean that we are “not home yet”?

The Christian story teaches that Jesus has already begun restoring what sin broke, but the restoration is not yet complete.

The Bible ends with the picture of God's creation being fully restored. Revelation 19 describes a wedding celebration involving Jesus, the Bridegroom, and the church as his Bride.

Christians therefore live between what God has already done and what God will one day complete. We are not simply waiting for heaven. We are called to live faithfully now, participating with Jesus in God's work of restoration while we look forward to the day when everything is finally made whole.

Glossary

Covenant

A serious promise or committed relationship established by God. In Jeremiah 31, God promises a new covenant in which his relationship with his people will be written on their hearts.

Eden

The garden described in Genesis where humanity first lived in relationship with God, one another, and creation. Eden represents the home and wholeness humanity was created to experience.

Exile

Being forced to live away from your homeland. In the Bible, Israel experienced exile when foreign nations conquered them and took many of their people away from their land.

Grace

God's undeserved love and favor. The sermon describes salvation as something we cannot earn by following rules perfectly. God steps in, provides what we cannot provide for ourselves, and gives us forgiveness as a gift.

Heart

In the Bible, the heart means more than emotions. It includes our thoughts, desires, decisions, intentions, and inner character. Jeremiah's promise of a changed heart means God transforms us from the inside.

Home

In the sermon, home means more than a physical location. Ultimately, home is being fully connected with God and living in the restored relationship with him, others, and creation for which we were made.

New Covenant

God's promised new relationship with his people described in Jeremiah 31. Instead of relying only on external rules, God promises to change people from within by writing his law on their hearts. Christians understand Jesus as the one who fulfills this promise.

Rachel's Tears

A biblical image of deep grief. Jeremiah uses Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, as a picture of Israel's sorrow. Matthew later uses the same image to describe the grief caused by Herod's killing of children in Bethlehem.

Restoration

God's work of repairing what sin and brokenness have damaged. The sermon connects restoration with Jesus and the hope that one day creation, relationships, and humanity's relationship with God will be fully made whole.

The Bride and Bridegroom

A picture used in the New Testament for Jesus and his people, the church. Jesus is described as the Bridegroom, while the church is described as his Bride. The image points to a deep, committed relationship and to the future celebration when God's restoration is complete.