Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters

In one paragraph

The pastor worked through most of the book of Amos this morning, picking up where he left off last week and driving toward the final five verses. The service opened with a live set from Raising Lions, a band rooted in cowboy church ministry, whose songs about sin, shame, and God's relentless pursuit set the tone for everything that followed. The sermon landed at the communion table, where the...

Read together

1. Amos 5:24 Let justice roll out like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream, used as the jumping-off point from last week's sermon
2. Amos 5:25-27 God asks Israel whether they presented sacrifices in the wilderness while also carrying idols, warning of exile beyond Damascus
3. Amos 6:1-7 Woe to those who are carefree in Zion, the strumming gluttons on ivory beds who will be first to go into exile
4. Amos 6:8 The Lord swears by himself that he loathes the arrogance of Jacob and will give up the city
5. Amos 6:9-11 If ten men are in one house they will die and survivors will say keep quiet, the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned
6. Amos 6:12-14 Do horses run on rocks, you have turned justice into poison, God will raise a nation against Israel
7. Amos 7:1-3 Vision of a locust swarm, Amos intercedes and the Lord relents
8. Amos 7:4-6 Vision of fire consuming the land, Amos intercedes again and the Lord relents
9. Amos 7:7-9 Vision of the plumb line, God will no longer spare Israel and will rise against the house of Jeroboam
10. Amos 7:10-13 Amaziah the priest of Bethel accuses Amos of conspiring against the king and tells him to go back to Judah
11. Amos 7:14-17 Amos replies he was not a prophet nor son of a prophet but a herdsman, and delivers judgment against Amaziah
12. Amos 8:1-3 Vision of a basket of summer fruit, the end has come for Israel
13. Amos 8:4-6 Warning against those who trample the needy, cheat with dishonest scales and sell the refuse of wheat
14. Amos 8:7 The Lord swears by the pride of Jacob that he will never forget their deeds
15. Amos 8:8-10 The land will quake, the sun will go down at noon, festivals will turn to mourning
16. Amos 8:11-14 A famine not of bread but of hearing the words of the Lord is coming, people will roam to find it and not find it
17. Amos 9:1-4 God standing beside the altar, commanding destruction, no fugitive or survivor will escape wherever they hide
18. Amos 9:5-6 The Lord of armies who touches the land so it quakes, who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and calls the waters of the sea
19. Amos 9:7-8 Are you not like the sons of Ethiopia to me, God also brought the Philistines and Arameans, the eyes of the Lord are on the sinful kingdom
20. Amos 9:9-10 God will shake Israel among all nations like grain in a sieve, all the sinners of his people will die by the sword
21. Amos 9:11-12 On that day God will raise up the fallen shelter of David so they may possess the remnant of Edom and all nations called by his name
22. Amos 9:13-15 Days are coming when the plowman overtakes the reaper, Israel will be restored and planted on their land never to be uprooted again
23. Micah 6:8 Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God, cited as the message of Amos and most of the minor prophets
24. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 On the night Jesus was betrayed he took bread and the cup, read during the communion liturgy

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about Amos delivering an unpopular message to people who were comfortable and prosperous, people who felt secure because things were going well outwardly. When has comfort or security in your own life made it harder to hear a correction from God?
2. The pastor described two ditches: the legalist who trusts in his own righteousness, and the licentious person who figures anything goes. Which ditch are you more naturally pulled toward, and how does the gospel address that particular drift?
3. Amos was a herdsman and a fig farmer who did not ask to be a prophet. The pastor said God calls and then equips for service. What is something God has called you toward that you felt unqualified for, and how did that play out?
4. The merchants in Amos could not wait for the Sabbath to be over so they could get back to cheating people in the marketplace. The pastor asked whether that is a message we need to hear today. Where do you see the pressure to cut corners or look the other way on honesty showing up in everyday life?
5. The last five verses of Amos shift from judgment to restoration, with God promising to bring in the remnant of Edom and all the nations called by His name. The pastor said those people we might write off as irredeemable are just pre-Christian. Who in your life or community are you tempted to write off, and what would it look like to see them the way God does?