Amos

Christmas is a great time of year. People gather together and give gifts and have some really great parties. Christmas is also the time where there are a ton of charities asking for donations to give to the poor/less fortunate for Christmas. It feel like every store has a place to donate toys and every church does something for those in the community too. I love what our church does with the backpacks. It always reminds me of when I was younger, my grandma would give my sister and I a box that would be loaded with all sorts of goodies, kind of like a stocking. These backpacks are presents within a present.

There are also people outside of stores with buckets and bells asking for donations.  

What's the point here? 

We have so many opportunities to help those around us and yet there is still a huge need because people do not seize the opportunity. 

Remember what I said last week about the statistic that found if Americans gave up ice cream for a year we could solve world hunger? CRAZY!!

We hear these things and yet we do little to nothing about it. 

Today we are going to talk about the book of Amos. 

Amos was a prophet from the countryside of Judea. (Farmer)

This book is a compilation of messages to northern kingdom (Israel) (the main place where everything was happening...kingdom)

Similar to Joel it acts as a wake up call

It begins by announcing judgement and it lists a bunch of destruction that has occurred because of disobedience 

It then lists all of the reasons for this judgement.  (God gave the people many chances before he caused destruction) see chp 4

One of the main issues Amos see is Wealthy ignor poor, and ignor injustice

• They are allowing material things to distract them from what God really cares about (his people)
  • Amos 2:6-8 :This is what the Lord says: The people of Israel have sinned again and again. And I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals. They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name. At their religious festivals they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security  In the house of their God, they drink wine bought with unjust fines

Their worship is disconnected from how they treat people. 

• Amos 3:10 My people have forgotten how to do right", says the Lord. Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence
• Amos 4:4 Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel. Keep on disobeying at Gigal. Offer sacrifices each morning, and bring your tithes every three days. Present your bread made with yeast as an offering of thanksgiving. Then give your extra voluntary offerings so you can then brag about it everywhere. This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do

We rarely think about the consequences our actions have (Amos 6:3) , 

Have we forgotten to do right?

Do we come to church and go through the motions?

Last week we talked about how we are only in church world for maybe 4 hours a week and we are in school/secular world for at least 40 hours a week. 

• Are you living your church life out in your school life

Last week we talked about how we would act if Jesus were standing next to us. 

• How did you do this week?

Do you notice a disconnect between how you are at church and how you are when you leave?

Where is Jesus?

Jesus took our place for the judgement God wanted to pour out onto Israel

-because of Jesus we are not punished as severely 

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This reminds me of a story in Matthew (Matt 21:12)  Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves."

Jesus was calling these people out for using the temple for things other than worship

When we come and worship and it's not genuine, are we just as bad as those people?

God wants us to be here, but he also wants our worship to be genuine. He wants us to be the same in church as we are outside of church. 

Challenge: What do you need to change in your life to refocus on God? What do you need to do in order to be genuine?

What do you need to do in order to make your priorities in life align with God's priorities