Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amos has the almost unbearable calling of holding people accountable for their sin. In the end it nearly costs him his life. In this passage we see Amos' life in jeopardy for the message he brings. In Amos we see an example by which we can live, and by which we can preach. We need to preach, without fear, the word God gives to us. Like Amos, and like Paul many years after Amos, we need to be fearless in bringing the good news to the world and in holding people accountable for their sin. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Amos 7: 1-9; Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"'This will not happen,' said the Lord." God relents in this passage. Israel is given a chance to get back on the right track, and they choose not to do so. God, in the end, does punish them for sin, but he does give them a way out. God does the same for us through Jesus. God gives us Jesus as a way out of sin. If we follow Jesus, if we accept him, then we will be saved from punishment. If not, then we better be ready for the 'plumb line (by which our holiness will be measured).' God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
"'This will not happen,' said the Lord." God relents in this passage. Israel is given a chance to get back on the right track, and they choose not to do so. God, in the end, does punish them for sin, but he does give them a way out. God does the same for us through Jesus. God gives us Jesus as a way out of sin. If we follow Jesus, if we accept him, then we will be saved from punishment. If not, then we better be ready for the 'plumb line (by which our holiness will be measured).' God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Friday, July 29, 2011
Amos 6: 8-14; The LORD Abhors the Pride of Israel
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
'Pride goeth before the fall.' That is such a wonderful thing. Pride, for us Christians, because it keeps us from fully embracing the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin. If we are too proud we will begin to believe we are not in need of salvation. If we do not need salvation we do not need Jesus. And if we do not need Jesus we do not accept him. We all know where that road leads. Do not be too proud. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
'Pride goeth before the fall.' That is such a wonderful thing. Pride, for us Christians, because it keeps us from fully embracing the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin. If we are too proud we will begin to believe we are not in need of salvation. If we do not need salvation we do not need Jesus. And if we do not need Jesus we do not accept him. We all know where that road leads. Do not be too proud. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday Scripture and Sermon for July 31, 2011
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Acts 6: 1-6 in which seven servants are chosen to care for widows. The sermon is titled 'Increase In...' and will focus on the need to grow, but to do so in the right way. I hope to see you all in church on Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Acts 6: 1-6 in which seven servants are chosen to care for widows. The sermon is titled 'Increase In...' and will focus on the need to grow, but to do so in the right way. I hope to see you all in church on Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Amos 6: 1-7; Woe to the Complacent
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the worst things we can believe is that the church will be here tomorrow. This belief, while in some ways noble, causes us to look casually at the church. It is here today, it will be here tomorrow, so it doesn't matter if I'm there then or not; I'll go next time. The same applies to faith. Our faith is here today; the poor are here today; the naked, homeless, hungry, etc. are all here today; I can help them tomorrow, we might say to ourselves. Complacency is bad. It keeps us from doing the things we need to be doing. Do not fall into the same trap Israel did. They got complacent and they ended up losing everything. The same could happen to us, if we let our faith slip through our fingers. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
One of the worst things we can believe is that the church will be here tomorrow. This belief, while in some ways noble, causes us to look casually at the church. It is here today, it will be here tomorrow, so it doesn't matter if I'm there then or not; I'll go next time. The same applies to faith. Our faith is here today; the poor are here today; the naked, homeless, hungry, etc. are all here today; I can help them tomorrow, we might say to ourselves. Complacency is bad. It keeps us from doing the things we need to be doing. Do not fall into the same trap Israel did. They got complacent and they ended up losing everything. The same could happen to us, if we let our faith slip through our fingers. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Amos 5: 18-27; The Day of the LORD
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Someday the Lord will come. Jesus promises us that one day he will return and take us to the kingdom he has prepared for us. Amos shares the same news many years before Jesus. Whoever it is that gives it we need to remember one very important thing: Jesus is coming back. When he gets here do we want him to be pleased with us, or displeased? Just something to think about. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Someday the Lord will come. Jesus promises us that one day he will return and take us to the kingdom he has prepared for us. Amos shares the same news many years before Jesus. Whoever it is that gives it we need to remember one very important thing: Jesus is coming back. When he gets here do we want him to be pleased with us, or displeased? Just something to think about. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Amos 5: 1-17; A Lament and Call to Repentance
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance is a very important word when it comes to having a relationship with God. The Israelites are called, here, to repent, which means, literally, 'to turn around.' You might add to that 'and walk in the other direction.' Amos is calling Israel to turn away from their other gods, practices, etc. The same call is extended to us by Jesus. Jesus asks us to repent, to turn and walk in a different direction, his direction. Jesus has set out a path in front of us, one that does not involve sin and selfish desires, but that does include love and salvation. It is worth mentioning that repentance needs to be done more than once. Every once in a while we fund ourselves off God's path. When that happens we need to heed that call to repentance and, once again, set out in the direction Jesus would have us walk. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Repentance is a very important word when it comes to having a relationship with God. The Israelites are called, here, to repent, which means, literally, 'to turn around.' You might add to that 'and walk in the other direction.' Amos is calling Israel to turn away from their other gods, practices, etc. The same call is extended to us by Jesus. Jesus asks us to repent, to turn and walk in a different direction, his direction. Jesus has set out a path in front of us, one that does not involve sin and selfish desires, but that does include love and salvation. It is worth mentioning that repentance needs to be done more than once. Every once in a while we fund ourselves off God's path. When that happens we need to heed that call to repentance and, once again, set out in the direction Jesus would have us walk. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)