Introduction:  In this passage Jeremiah is instructed to go down to the potter’s house and hear the words of the Lord.  We do not find in the passage that Jeremiah carried on any kind of conversation with the potter, but that he merely watched him work.  The Lord wanted Jeremiah to see the work of the potter with the clay, for if he understood this, he would understand much of the work of the Lord with His people.

1. THE PREPARATION OF THE CLAY
1. A Trip to the Potter’s Field (Matthew 27:7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
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2. The Digging of the Clay
1. The clay is removed from the earth by the potter.
2. The clay is removed with a purpose in mind.
3. The Treading of the Clay (Isaiah 41:25I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
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1. Once the clay is broken up from the rest of the ground it is then tread upon.
2. The treading upon the clay is done to soften the hardness of the clay for the best results upon the wheel.
2. THE MOLDING OF THE CLAY
1. The Usable Clay
1. The only clay that makes it to the wheel is that clay that has already been softened by the potter.
2. The clay that makes it to the wheel is clay that has potential to make a great vessel.
2. The Moistening of the Clay
1. While on the wheel the clay can become dry.
2. The potter employs the use of water to keep the clay pliable.
3. The Shaping of the Clay
1. The shape and purpose of the clay is according to the will of the potter.
2. The clay is not to resist the will of the potter (Romans 9:20Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
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3. The clay may reveal some imperfections and need to be reformed (Jeremiah 18:4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
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3. THE STRENGTHENING OF THE CLAY
1. The Removal of the Clay from the Wheel
2. The Burning of the Clay (Nahum 3:14Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
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4. THE PURPOSE OF THE CLAY
1. The Usefulness of the Clay (2 Timothy 2:21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
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1. The clay was formed with a purpose in mind.
2. Vessels in the Bible were often times for the purpose of a container.
2. The Praise of the Clay
1. The clay cannot boast of its own merits.
2. Any good thing accomplished with the clay is for the praise of the potter (Isaiah 64:8But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
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3. The Frailty of the Clay
1. Even the formed vessel was very frail and prone to break.
2. Sometimes the damage done to a vessel was irreparable (Jeremiah 19:11And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.
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Conclusion:  Where do you fit in?  Are you on the wheel?  Are you willing to allow the potter complete control?  Are you going through the furnace?  Are you being used as a vessel?