Icebreaker Ideas: ● If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be? ● Is there a food you refuse to eat? Why? What is your favorite drink when you’re thirsty?

Root Inspection ● What is God showing you this week as you read His Word and pray? ● What decisions or life struggles do you need Biblical direction or prayer for?

Message Summary 8:1-14 March 14-15, 2020

We are in the this week as we continue in our Finding Jesus series. Amos is the third Minor of the six we are going to look at this year. We learned that Amos spoke on behalf of God. Before God called him to speak for Him, he was a shepherd on the border between and Judah. In spite of Israel's military victories, lands conquered, and vast wealth, things were not good for Israel. The wealth led to social apathy. Conquered lands lead to the worship of false gods, injustices in the nation, and the neglect of their poor.

Amos lives his life as a shepherd to share God’s message. His first message is to the nations that surround Israel, where he reminds them of all of their injustices. He also tells them of the destruction that is going to be thrust down on them from the Lord. Blind to their sin, Israel is thinking that their destruction is okay because all the people around them are bad. The people in Israel are still hanging onto the fact that they were rescued out of Egypt and are still God’s chosen people. Things are good until they hear God’s words for Judah. This hits close to home because they were once all one nation until they split one hundred and fifty years before. So the people who will be destroyed are similar to Israel in many ways.

Amos then takes aim on Israel itself. We learned that being chosen by God carries a great responsibility, along with great consequences. They were to be a blessing to all nations but chose to be unfaithful.

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The same is true for us who confess to believe in Jesus. We have a great calling along with great responsibility. “​ ​The calling? To be a witness of Jesus Christ. The responsibility? To make disciples of all nations. And there’s a great consequence for our unfaithfulness. People will spend eternity in Hell separated from God. And not just people who live in foreign countries — but people who are close to us.” Sharing the good news of Jesus and social justice are to be completed by God’s ​ people. The book of Amos finishes with a vision of the Day of the Lord. A day of judgment and fear, but there is also hope because a King will come and establish a new kingdom of God that will rule over all nations. In this, we see God is just, but merciful. With the destruction comes restoration with a new people of God and a new Kingdom ruled by a just and merciful King.

Next, we looked at a vision, God’s memory, a promised day of mourning, and then finally God’s explanation of it all. First, Amos has a vision of summer fruit and dead bodies. The warning is that God is going to bring destruction to the people that will be so quick and devastating that there will be bodies everywhere. There will be so many that they won’t have an opportunity to bury them. The vision ends with a demand for silence, for no one is allowed to weep or cry.

God then continues by reminding us of His memory. He is telling them not to forget, and that He won’t forget. This is in reference to Israel’s blindness to their sin. He has seen their mistreatment of the needy and the poor. They see the religious holidays and times of worship as inconvenient and a hindrance to them making money. “God says, “I’m never gonna forget this.” Their behavior ​ ​ so disgusts him that the earth’s going to shake”. Amos goes on to describe a day of mourning ​ that is coming. He speaks of a time after God’s judgment has come on Israel when there will be weeping and wailing like that of losing an only child.

The meaning of all of this is revealed as God describes the famine that will be on the people. This famine will not be one of food and water, but of the Word of God. They will seek the Word of God and will not find it no matter where they look. They will hunger and thirst for the Word and will not find nourishment. Instead of being the blessed nation, they will be an example to other nations of what happens when God’s people stop listening to His words.

Now for us today, culture tells us if we hunger and thirst for something we should pursue it and if you don’t desire it you shouldn’t bother pursuing it. It gets even more complicated when “A thing ​ ​ is good because you desire it. And you desire it because it is good.” We were reminded that as ​ Christ-followers we are to pursue what God’s desire is, because what He desires is good. Because God is the definition of good. The question becomes, do we hunger and thirst for the Word of God? If not, it is probably because we are full on other things and we don’t have an appetite for it. But God is telling us to “hunger and thirst for my Word.”

In the gospel of John, we see “Jesus is called the Word of God. Yet the is also called the ​ Word of God. And though the Bible isn’t Jesus and Jesus isn’t the Bible — the two are inseparably linked.” We can find spiritual nourishment in Jesus as we spiritually feast on Him, for ​ He is the Word of God. By knowing the Word, you will know Jesus, and his justice and righteousness will flow in and through us into the world like an endless river.

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DISCUSSION & APPLICATION QUESTIONS Take a moment to read our sermon text: Amos 8:1-14

After briefly reviewing the message summary, use these questions to further examine the sermon and to discuss how these truths apply to daily life, so we can “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jas.1:22). Based on your knowledge of the people in your life group, select the questions that will best help you frame the group’s discussion of this sermon and sermon text.

GENERAL SERMON QUESTIONS

1. What do you think is the key message of these verses? Explain why you think this. 2. After hearing the message and reading the scriptures, what was your biggest takeaway and why? 3. In what ways do these truths, which were written thousands of years ago, apply today? 4. Which point in the sermon spoke to you the most? How did it affect you? 5. In what ways do these passages point to Christ? What can we share with others about Him from what we just heard and read?

Overview Read :2-2:3-6,3:2,5:25 1. In what ways were the Israelites blind to their sin? What about us today? 2. How can wealth and prosperity cause us to neglect the poor and needy? 3. Why is it okay for God to punish the bad people all around us but not people like us? 4. What is meant by “great calling plus great responsibility equals great consequences”? 5. What is our calling as Christ-followers? What is our responsibility? What are the consequences if we don’t?

Amos Chapter 8 Read Amos 8:1-14 & John 1:1-4, 14-17, 6:35,48-51,7:37b-38

1. What is God revealing to the Israelites in Amos 8:1-3? 2. Why does God have to remind the people that He will never forget? In what ways should we find comfort in that as a Christ-follower? 3. After the judgment, there will be morning. How can brokenness restore us? 4. What does it mean to hunger and thirst for the Word of God? If you seek God or His Word do you find Him? 5. Do you feel a longing for God’s Word? If not what is suppressing that desire in your life? 6. Just because you don’t have a desire or passion for the Bible, does it mean it is ok to read it? Why or why not? 7. Take time to share ways you have restored your passions and desires for the Word. 8. How can we keep each other accountable when it comes to being hungry for the Word of God? 9. How does reading and meditating on the Word of God connect us to Jesus? Can you have one without the other? 10. Why is it important for us to remember that the entire Bible points us to Jesus?

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Root Check

The Challenge - Life Application

❏ Read the passages used in this week’s message. Write down any scriptures you need to be reminded of on sticky notes and place them around the house. Try to memorize as many as you can. ❏ Reflect on the message and ask God to give you His strength as you follow Him. ❏ Pray that, as Christ-followers, we would reflect the change God has made in us. ❏ Go back and listen or watch the sermon if you missed it or you need to be reminded of its truths. ❏ Remember to check out our podcast for insight and answers to questions you may have about this week's sermon. If you have a question, please send it in.

Weekly Prayer Focus

Pray for Our Church: ● Ask God to use us as instruments for His purpose and glory. ● Pray that we are a GOING church, proclaiming the gospel to the nations. ● Ask God to help each of us to live a life that reflects Him. ● Pray for all of our campuses. ● Pray for our pastors and leadership here at Gateway. Pray for Our City: ● The government and civic leaders ● Those in need in our community and the services that help them ● The fire and police departments ● Schools, students, and teachers Pray for Our World: ● Pray for the Christ-followers in Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Cuba, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh ● Pray for all of those who are in harm's way for the Kingdom ● Pray that the message of Christ will reach all of mankind Pray for Life Groups at Gateway: ● Pray for those who are leading our groups ● Pray that everyone involved in our groups would continue to be rooted in the Word and connected to each other ● Pray for relationships to grow with other Christ-followers and that we will encourage and care for one another ● Pray for discipleship opportunities

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