Now More Than Ever Passages: Amos: 1:1

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Now More Than Ever Passages: Amos: 1:1; 2 Kings 14:23‐27; Gen. 12:2‐3 April 27, 2014 Overview: What happens when those called by God to bring light into the darkness fail to live out that calling, when the people of God become so enmeshed with the world around them that they compromise their mission for the sake of their own pursuits? Is it possible to reclaim that mission? What does that mission look like? What is the path back to God’s calling? These are the questions confronted in the book of Amos. When the nation of Israel wandered far off its ordained path, God chose, not a full‐time prophet, but a layman, to herald his message of impending judgment and call to repentance. In this book we will be challenged to look at the devastating results of life without God and why now more than ever God’s people need to shine in the darkness. This first message will overview the book and set the context for encountering the truth of this book. Engaging with each other 1. Describe where you were and what you were doing when: a. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 b. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake c. The 9/11 fall of the World Trade Center Towers Engaging with the Bible 1. Amos 1:1 is loaded with data that sets the context for the book. The man Amos is described as being a shepherd from Tekoa a town in the land of Judah. What are some significant and interesting aspects to his calling given these facts? 2. In 2 Kings 14:23‐27 we have a description of Jeroboam, the king of Israel mentioned in Amos 1:1. How would you describe the nation of Israel during this time? (For further context see the brief summary of Israel and Judah’s history at the end of the lesson). 3. There is also a reference to an earthquake that came two years later, indicating that these written accounts of Amos’ oracles to Israel were collected and written down after the earthquake happened. In Amos 8:8 there is a prediction that God would make the earth tremble as part of his disciplinary judgment. How might these two things be related? 4. Read Gen. 12:2‐3. How would you describe the mission God gave to Abraham and his descendants? How does this inform our understanding of God’s words and actions in Amos?

Engaging with our lives 1. What characteristics of today’s culture, SF Bay Area 2014, challenge you most in living out your faith? 2. How would you describe our calling as the church and how does that inform the way you think about your personal calling? (ref. Matt. 5: 13‐16) 3. Since Amos was not a full‐time prophet like Elijah or Jeremiah, how might he be an example to you as you seek to live out your calling? What ways might God be calling you to speak His words in your world? A Brief Overview of the History of the Divided Kingdom After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam had succeeded him as king, but he was weak, and the nation descended into chaos. Rehoboam listened to bad advice. His youthful indiscretion and poor judgment resulted in a coup, and the kingdom ended up splitting. Ten tribes joined together under the infamous Jeroboam son of Nebat to form a separate nation that was called Israel. The remaining two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, constituted a geographically smaller nation that was called Judah. Judah had an up-anddown spiritual journey, with both good kings and bad kings. Often a king would rise who had a heart for God, and God would revive the nation, and it would draw close to God again, seeking and doing the right things. But Israel, the northern kingdom, born out of rebellion against not only Rehoboam and the monarchy, but also against God himself, never had a good king. Jeroboam son of Jehoash mentioned in Amos 1:1 was one in long line of these evil kings who ruled Israel.