Victory in Jesus, Hard Slog to Get There

In one paragraph

The pastor opened in the book of Amos, a prophet from Judah who carried an unwelcome message into the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The sermon walked through all nine chapters, tracing God's case against the nations surrounding Israel and then against Israel itself, before landing on the restoration promise at the end of the book. Amos was a herdsman and sycamore fig farmer from Tekoa in Judah, not...

Read together

1. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Anika quoted it as a challenge to do all things to the glory of God
2. Amos 1:1 introduced Amos as a shepherd from Tekoa who saw visions concerning Israel
3. Amos 1:2 the Lord roars from Zion and the shepherd's pastures mourn
4. Amos 1:3-5 oracle against Damascus for threshing Gilead with iron sledges
5. Amos 1:6-8 oracle against Gaza for leading a population into exile and selling them to Edom
6. Amos 1:9-10 oracle against Tyre for enslaving a people and breaking a covenant of brotherhood
7. Amos 1:11-12 oracle against Edom for pursuing his brother with the sword and maintaining fury forever
8. Amos 1:13-15 oracle against Ammon for ripping open pregnant women of Gilead to enlarge their borders
9. Amos 2:1-3 oracle against Moab for burning the bones of the king of Edom to lime
10. Amos 2:4-5 oracle against Judah for rejecting the law of the Lord and following lies
11. Amos 2:6-16 oracle against Israel for selling the righteous for money and oppressing the poor
12. Amos 3:1-2 God chose Israel above all families of the earth and will therefore punish them for their wrongdoing
13. Amos 3:8 a lion has roared, who will not fear; the Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy
14. Amos 4 pampered women of Israel called cows of Bashan for oppressing the poor
15. Amos 5:1-3 lament song over Israel, she has fallen and will not rise, cities reduced by ninety percent
16. Amos 5:4-6 God offers an olive branch: seek me so that you may live, not Bethel or Gilgal
17. Amos 5:14-15 seek good and not evil so that you may live; hate evil and love good and establish justice
18. Amos 5:18-20 woe to those longing for the day of the Lord, for it will be darkness not light
19. Amos 5:21-23 God rejects Israel's festivals, offerings and songs because they lack a true heart
20. Amos 5:24 let justice roll down as waters and righteousness as an ever flowing stream
21. Amos 7:14-17 Amos replies to Amaziah that he is only a herdsman and fig farmer whom God called to prophesy
22. Amos 9:11-15 promise to raise up the fallen shelter of David and restore Israel, extending to all nations called by God's name
23. Proverbs 22:22 do not rob the poor because he is poor nor crush the needy at the gate, for the Lord will plead their case
24. Micah 6:8 act justly and walk humbly with the Lord your God
25. Romans 15 whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and encouragement we might have hope
26. Hosea 14:9 whoever is wise let him understand, for the ways of the Lord are right and the upright walk in them
27. James 1:5 if any of you lacks wisdom, ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan pointed out that the Israelites cheered God's judgment on surrounding nations, then fell silent when the oracle turned to themselves. Where in your own life are you tempted to say 'get them, God' while overlooking the same issues closer to home?
2. Amos was a shepherd and a sycamore fig farmer, not a trained prophet, yet he could not stay quiet about what God had given him to say. Has there been a moment when you felt compelled to speak or act on something God laid on your heart, even though you felt unqualified?
3. God told Israel through Amos that He hated their religious festivals and would not listen to their songs because their worship was not backed by just and humble living. What does that say to us about the relationship between how we worship on Sunday and how we treat people the rest of the week?
4. Amos 5 says 'let justice roll down as waters and righteousness as an ever flowing stream.' Pastor Nathan connected this to the idea that if we have truly received God's mercy and grace, we will be sharing it with others in concrete ways. What does that actually look like in everyday life for someone in this congregation?
5. The book ends with restoration, the fallen shelter of David raised up, the nations called by God's name brought in, and His people planted never to be uprooted again. How does that silver lining change the way you sit with the hard and dark parts of a passage like Amos?