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“Givers of Life” Sermon by Rev. Ashley Bair Amos 8:1-12

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“Givers of Life” Sermon by Rev. Ashley Bair Amos 8:1-12 “Givers of Life” Sermon by Rev. Ashley Bair Amos 8:1-12 JULY 14, 2019 God, may the words of my mouth were not as concerned about the teachings and the meditations of our hearts measure of God as they were about their own up in your sight. Amen. morality and prosperity. Amos gave them God’s warning. At the beginning of this passage, Amos tells the high priest Amaziah that he I sometimes wonder why the words of received from God a very dramatic vision. prophets were placed in our Bible. Many of God had shown Amos a basket of summer them are, like Amos, speaking a harsh word fruit, better translated as ripe fruit. Fruit to God’s people. These words must have ready to be picked. In other words, God said deep purpose. For me to gain some to Amos, the time has come to reap. The understanding of the purpose of these words verses that follow indicate that this is not and warnings, I need to zoom out from the about people reaping a harvest for bounty to picture of Amos for a moment. Let’s do that share, but rather the reaping of a people together. who had not, as Amos previously mentioned, measured up. God’s immeasurable love is steadfast and so obvious in the stories of our Bible. Why was God ready to reap? Time and time again we see God’s love conquer all. And yet, we also have texts Last week, we read Amos 7 and where we see God’s anger, frustration, and talked about why Amos felt he needed to go warning. I’m not quick to think to separate and prophesy these words. He said the God’s warnings from God’s love. God’s love words of God roared around him like a lion. can’t be separated from anything. So, then, Today, I would like to take another step back how is this warning meant to be taken? from the text to examine why this message is so poignant. When Amos spoke these words, Here is what we know about God’s he knew that people in his homeland were character: Our God is a God who loves us comfortable and optimistic because they so much, God wants us to live and to thrive. T: 651.224.4824 | F: 651.291.1469 | www.centralforgood.org | 500 CEDAR STREET | SAINT PAUL, MN 55101 In the beginning, in Genesis, God 3. God set us free in love and trust with created the world and saw that it was good. faith. So, too, are we to embrace the freedom of others, and to love and So, God created and placed trust and live our lives completely in humans, made in God’s image, on the faith. world to enjoy that goodness as much as God does and to take care of this precious Let’s dissect these three a bit... world, created so intentionally, and to be well in it. In fact, to be more than well. First, God made the world to enjoy Everything that was placed on earth is and made us in that same image on that enough for all to thrive. Even when God saw same world, to enjoy it as much as God that humans had acquired faults, God does. It was created for us to embrace in all placed measures on us, not for the sake of its beauty, to take care of on land and sea, punishment, but for the purpose of thriving. and to share with each other in bounty and plenty so that everyone’s needs are met Our God is a God who longs for us through what it offers. It was not meant to be to thrive and it all goes back to the a commodity, but rather a dwelling place beginning, when we were made in God’s where we can find absolute satisfaction. image. We were made in God’s image with the expectation that we would know that as Second, on the last day of creation, much as we are a part of God – as we often God rested. We have it written down as a talk about us each being the many parts of whole day of rest. Given the expanse of time one God - God is a part of us. it took to do the other things, it might be even more than we might consider a day, Made in the image of God means but even so - a whole day of rest. Have you that we are made in the image of God’s tried that? A day is a long time. I often have character, too, and are to take on God’s trouble sitting down for more than an hour form and traits. We are to carry God’s love without experiencing guilt. I need to work on in our hearts and the purpose of our that. creation, and our creator, in our being. A good friend of mine comes to mind Though there are many ways this can when I think of rest because he is an manifest into our choices, I see three major extremely extroverted person. He is like the ways that our creation as bearers of the energizer bunny, go go go all the time. image of God was meant to impact our life: And when I’m with him and say 1. God created us and shared the world okay,” let’s take a rest,” he will sit down, sip with us. We are meant to create, and some water, look around and then jump the world was shared with us, so we back up, saying, “OK. Rested and ready to are meant to share the world. go!” 2. After creating, God took a Sabbath. Perhaps this is a good reminder that Therefore, we are meant to take we all have different ways of resting. For Sabbath and rest. you, it may be completely turning everything, Central Presbyterian Church | Sermon Notes 2 including your mind and body, off. It may be Today this is important to remember gardening or reading or catching up with a as we read Amos’ words spoken in the friend over a meal. It’s good for us to king’s temple. Being created in the image of discover what gives us true rest. And God and with the traits of God’s character, whatever that is, remembering that God took is a gift, and the closer we get to truly living a whole day of rest. We were made in that out the character that God has instilled in us, same image, so we have that same call: to the closer we get to the world which God rest. Rest is so restorative. It affects our created for us in the beginning. The world minds, our bodies, and our spirits. We can that is meant to be a dwelling place where get deeply muddled in life and work if we we all can find absolute satisfaction and be don’t rest. Even God rested. more than well. Thirdly, I think the prophet Micah There is still enough for everyone on adequately summed up God’s freedom in earth to thrive. The issue is that some have love and trust in faith with the charge to do forgotten the God in them and have not justice, love kindness and walk humbly. Even brought forth the thriving of creation. Rather, with that chare, we get testy and they have brought destruction upon the disobedient; falling out from the image out earth. We all have done this in some of which we were created. We continue to measure. give into temptations that come from another part of us; a part we sometimes Amos said, the actions of the entire don’t recognize or like to admit we have. society of Israel and Judah would suffer Given the way we are when we exist in that because they had separated their faith from part of us, we may not realize what we are their lives. He called them out for forgetting doing. the implications of our creation. Saying, With unconditional love, God time you are not creating, you are not and time again reminds us of what it means sharing. The people here are living calm for us to be one in God and to have God in lives in luxury and plenty because they have us. God has performed works of justice in stolen from the poor by cheating people’s the face of oppression, remained faithful to wages and charging more than an item is God’s people with a tender kindness, and worth. taught humility to those who thought they You are disobeying the Sabbath by were better than the rest. God shared the simply waiting for it to be over, so that you world in freedom and trust, that we would can start a new business day. And in doing do the same for others, knowing that this so, you are ignoring your rest. You are not would be a measure by which we can help rejuvenating your spirit, nor listening for each other thrive. God’s roar. These three things capture some You are not allowing freedom to foundational essence of the character of anyone but yourself, you have bound the God, which in turn was implied for us, poor to be poor forever and there is no love during creation. Central Presbyterian Church | Sermon Notes 3 in that. You have made yourself so powerful Amos 8, God lists calamities that would that you do not trust in God and have little ensue if Israel and Judah did not act.
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