In our sacred scriptures, the prophets speak to a world gone very wrong and to people in deep pain. They point to a hope found in God, who will come. The prophets tell us that God’s natural disposition is not anger but chesed [Hebrew for steadfast lovingkindness].
How desperate we are to hear this message today? The minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible were more or less truth tellers, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to announce God’s word in the midst of the contemporary situation. This summer we will focus God’s word to us through the minor prophets and hear from modern day prophets among us. In these voices we will find that God is committed bringing about a world of justice and righteousness, and each of us have a role to play.
SUNDAY, JUNE 7 | JOEL: THE CALL TO REPENTANCE
SUNDAY, JUNE 14 | HABAKKUK: LET US LAMENT
Habakkuk’s written work is not directed at the people. It is a complaint against God – a lament. It is an unusual insight into the heart and soul, the expectations and the anguish, of one of God’s prophets. Habakkuk’s words ofttimes echo our own experiences. These words may allow us to step into a very difficult, sometimes poignantly painful, place in our own struggles and questions of faith. When violence and corruption abound and evil appears to rule, we may be tempted to wonder whether God really cares about us or is really in control of the world. The power of lament is that God can handle our anger, pain, and grief.
SUNDAY, JUNE 21 | Zephaniah: The Call to Act
What does the Lord require of us? The vast majority of Americans believe that God is either content with us or indifferent toward us. And we return the favor. What does it mean to understand God as being not only engaged in the world but also having expectations for human behavior? This week we focus on the call to act and how we can join in God’s restorative work in the world.
SUNDAY, JUNE 28 | PRIDE SUNDAY | Amos
The dominant theme of Amos’ writing is an unwavering call to social justice as the expression of true faith in Yahweh, the God who is known for faithfulness and mercy, but also justice and righteousness. Sharon Fields preaching.
SUNDAY, JULY 5 | Micah: The Tragedy of Conformity
SUNDAY, JULY 19 | Obadiah: For the Common Good
People are loyal to their own tribe or social group. It is a dynamic of conformity; there is pressure in the group to conform — viewed as something very positive and pressure to avoid being like people from another “tribe” — which is viewed in the negative. In contemporary society this tendency is known as “tribalism”. What does this “new tribalism” have to do with God’s Word to us through the Prophet Obadiah?
SUNDAY, JULY 26 | Nahum: The Last Word
Does it ever seem like the world is spinning out of control? State Politics? U.S. Political Gridlock? International Anxiety? Uprisings? Pandemics? The Prophet Nahum invites us to steady faith in anxious times. Nahum’s message from the Lord to the people of Nineveh, in the late seventh century, was that evil will not go unpunished. This week, through Nahum, we are provided with an awesome revelation of God’s nature and character. It is simply this: The Lord is slow to avenge; but God’s justice does not wait forever.
