Delta Church - SP‪I‬ Delta Church

Jeremiah 17:5-10.
The year 2020 scorched several of us in numerous ways. Our lives were marked by movement last year but it was unhealthy movement. Many were just surviving (barely). So what does healthy movement look like going forward in 2021? What does it look like to move from surviving to thriving as an everyday disciple? From Jeremiah 17 we see Spirit inspired imagery that gives answers. Contrasting the imagery of a desire shrub versus a fruitful green tree we see that it is possible for everyday disciples to thrive in the heat of daily life.

Pslam 7.

Amos 9:1-15.
Yahweh is the Lion of Judah and He is neither toothless nor tame. Being a shepherd from Tekoa, Amos knew the danger of treating a lion in this way. A lion in the wild is not tame and it will be to your disaster if you treat it as such. But the book of Amos has taught us that the people of Israel were guilty of this very disaster. Thus, Amos was sent to remind them that the Lion from Zion was not to be trifled with. Amos 9 zeroes in on the Lion of Judah as the agent of judgment who is poised to pounce, ready to carry out the promised judgment. But we also see that in His mercy , the black cloud of God's wrath will give way to the rainbow of God's promised restoration and blessing in Christ.

Amos 8:1-14.
As the visions continue, Amos now sees a basket of summer fruit. At first glance, this vision might stir thoughts of comfort and refreshment. After all, fruit picked in the summer would mean it is ripe and ready to be eaten; something good to be enjoyed. But as Israel would find out, God was using this vision to give a glimpse of what the judgment to come would be like. Just like summer fruit is ripe and ready to be consumed, so Israel was a people ripe and ready for judgment. In this vision the LORD reveals the unavoidable consequence of judgment.

Amos 7:10-17.
With the vision of the plumb line still lingering in the air, Amaziah the priest is stung into action. The prophet from Judah has gone too far with his message of judgment and the time has come to shut him down. This interaction between Amos and Amaziah is very instructive for any and all who've been called to stand firm on the Word of God. We learn that when confrontation comes our confidence is found in the LORD who has spoken.

Amos 7:1-9.
As we roll into the last section of the book of Amos, we will see five visions that further clarify the message of coming judgment. Because the people were on the brink of receiving just judgment for their sin, the need of the moment was two-fold: someone who would speak the truth out of love for God AND someone who would plead in prayer and out of love for souls. And what we will find is that Amos meets the mark on both accounts. We learned that this section means for us today by asking two key questions.