Preparing for the Lord's Day
When I was in my 20's, I had the privilege of teaching Walk Thru The Bible Seminars in churches throughout the US. If you've ever been through one, you may remember some of the memory aids used to remember the books of the Bible and the Biblical storyline. One of my favorite memory aids to the books of the Bible was the one for Amos. We were using overheads back then and the overhead had a picture of cartoon moose with a few plumblines hanging down from his antlers. Seeing a moose would remind you of the book of "A-moose" or Amos (insert groans) and the plumblines reminded you of the theme of the book which had to do with God measuring Israel's life to his holy standard.
This Sunday we start a two-month look at the book of Amos. We begin our series with an introduction to Amos' life and his call. We'll see how his life as a shepherd makes him a perfect prophet to God's people. The people needed a shepherd to rescue them from their rebellion against God, and this would be a painful, but necessary, process. And God's discipline of us is like that. It can be painful, but necessary. And yet God would tell us that his discipline comes from his love for us. To that end there are three demonstrations of that love for us that we must embrace from our passage this Sunday, which will be Amos 1:1-2 and 7:10-17. We must first embrace God's love for us through faithful leaders. Secondly, we must embrace God's love for us through faithful living and then lastly, we must embrace God's love for us through faithful correction. To come prepared for the sermon take time this week to read and to meditate upon Amos 1:1-2 and 7:10-17, 2 Kings 14:23-29, Hebrews 12:5-11 and 13:17, Luke 9:23-25, and this Ligonier Ministries article.
As we gather to worship our loving Father this Lord’s Day, we will join our hearts in song, singing the Hymn of Praise “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”, the Acclamation of Praise “How Deep The Father's Love For Us”, and the Communion Hymn, "Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me" and the Hymn of Response “Reformation Hymn” Let us come to worship this Sunday prepared to hear God’s Word, to receive it in faith, to love and treasure it in our hearts, and to practice it in our lives that we may continue to glorify and enjoy Him!
Sermon Information
Text: Amos 1:1-2, 7:10-17
Title: For Your Good
Outline:
- We must embrace God's love for us through faithful leaders.
- We must embrace God's love for us through faithful living.
- We must embrace God's love for us through faithful correction.