1.  There are more than enough examples of the need for wisdom today. Just read the headlines in today’s paper. Everything seems to be a moral choice, doesn’t it? What do we do about gay marriage, the Boy Scouts, abortion, the environment, immigration, religious liberty, education, national debt, genocide, gun control, corruption and the list goes on. How many voices are there we can trust? How many people can we identify who have genuine wisdom on any of these issues? To whom do we turn for answers? Who are the wise men and women? We all want them, don’t we? One of our favorite Friday night programs is “Blue Bloods”…

1.  A little background From the time the people have come out of Egypt they have been loudly and consistently dissatisfied with God’s treatment of them. With the exception of Joshua and the best times of Samuel they have complained about their conditions. When they get what they want they only want more. When they do not get what they want they whine. Moses saved them from destruction in the wilderness. Joshua led them into Canaan. The Judges saved them from being overrun by their enemies and Samuel protected them until he was old. But that was not enough. They wanted more. They wanted to be like the world around…

1.  First, why study the Law if there is a new covenant and the Law has been fulfilled by the new Law of love? Isn’t the Law obsolete? Hebrews 8:10-12: 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their…

1.  Genesis 11:27- 12:3: This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of…

1.  Genesis 3:1-13: 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes…

This morning I want to give some context for our guest teacher. I had asked her to be with us last week but she was in Houston. It turns out that this week is actually better as what she is doing and who she is are more directly related to the text. I am always glad when things work out that way. 1.  Amos 7:14: “I was neither a prophet or a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But The Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, “Go prophesy to my people Israel.” Two things to remember…

1.  “The biblical prophets continue to be the most powerful and effective voices ever heard on this earth for keeping religion honest, humble, and compassionate. Prophets sniff out injustice, especially injustice that is dressed up in religious garb. They sniff it out a mile away. Prophets see through hypocrisy, especially hypocrisy that assumes a religious pose. Prophets are not impressed by position or power or authority. They aren’t taken in by numbers, size, or appearance of success.” – Eugene Petersen’s introduction to Amos in The Message. Richard Stearns in the introduction to The Hole in Our Gospel. “What does God expect of us? That’s what this book is about. It’s a simple…

1.  The challenge of a long life is to stay vital and not drift. Not many of the leaders of Israel were able to be good for the long run. They eventually give in to deceit or drift or the ever present temptation to worship other gods. There are many strong starts but few that finish. Ephraim was exalted in Israel but he failed to finish well. It’s a question for us as well. Many of us have just made it through mid-life transition by the skin of our teeth and now we face the next challenge. It’s like climbing a mountain and finding out you are on a plateau…

Hosea 11-13: God and Mammon December 30, 2012 1.  Read Hosea 11:1-4. It is difficult to come to grips with all the different images of God in Scripture. Even though people can say it is like a painting or a tapestry that can only be expressed in a thousand different strokes or threads, it is a challenge – at least for me. Different characteristics have been prominent in different parts of my life. Maybe it is the same for you. Of course, it is complicated by the fact that in English we have so few words to describe God – God, Father, Lord – and in Hebrew there were at…

This is the beginning of Advent when we anticipate the coming of Christ – both his birth and His second coming. Because of that, Hosea is a good study for us as he describes conditions not unlike ours – instability, political infighting, chaos, power struggles, dissension, uncertainty, loss of faith in leadership, idolatry, corruption and disillusionment. But, his message is not just one of indictment but he is looking at the coming Savior and a new covenant of peace and security. 1.  A little historical context. After the death of David, the Kingdom splits into the Northern Tribes (Israel) and the Southern Tribes (Judah) each with their own line of…