Dear all,
We hear much talk about the global economy and the polarization of wealth it has generated. Are we outraged about this? Or does it just seem normal or not something we can do anything about? The parties on the political left, who used to denounce the wealthy and defend the interests of ordinary workers, have turned to the causes of wokeness; the global economy has been left to the billionaires.
The Biblical prophet, Amos, faced a situation not unlike ours. The northern part of Israel (Samaria) had expanded to control some lucrative trade routes. The nobility and the merchant class capitalized on this economic opportunity, but hoarded the new wealth. Amos was outraged at the injustice he observed and channeled God’s righteous anger in denouncing it. This was not how the people of God were to live! And so he preached doom and disaster on the Kingdom. Samaria was, in fact, destroyed within a generation, and its inhabitants sent into exile, never to rise again.
So does Amos have anything to say to us? Is righteous anger in God’s name sometimes O.K? Are there situations in which it is even required? Can we imagine ever saying, “So listen to God’s Word.”
Order of Service
Prelude
Call to Worship
Hymn 39: “God of Mercy, God of Grace”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace and Lord’s Prayer
Responsive reading: Psalm 82
Amos 7: 7-17
Anthem: “Psaume 146”
Luke 4: 16-24
Hymn: “Let Justice Flow Like Streams”
Sermon: “An Amateur Prophet”
Hymn 648: “I’m gonna live so God can use me”
Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 592: “I, the Lord of sea and sky”
Benediction
Go now in Peace
Postlude