GodSpeak Readings: Week 69/January 3-8

January 3-8
Joel 2-Amos 5

GodSpeak readings for each day are listed below. Click the link to read the section and/or listen online. A discussion question is listed below for you to use in your GodSpeak group session or for discussion with others who are reading along.

Monday, January 3 Joel 2  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
1. Of what did the destruction of the locusts and the drought remind Joel (Joel 2:1)? What did he urge the people to do (Joel 2:12-13)? Identify some of the promises in the Lord’s reply (Joel 2:19-32). These promises have all been fulfilled for you in Christ.

Tuesday, January 4 Joel 3  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
2. God’s blessings come in many forms. Joel reverses a well-known saying from Isaiah (See Isaiah 2:4 and Joel 3:10) to highlight opposite poles of God’s blessings. What is the message of each saying? These complementary blessings are pictured later. What is the blessing for God’s people described in Joel 3:12-16a? What is the blessing for God’s people described in Joel 3:16b-21)?

Wednesday, January 5 Amos 1-2  Read & Listen Online Amos 1,  Read & Listen Online Amos 2  (Click “Audio” link to listen)
3. Identify some of the specific sins of the various nations that Amos named in chapters 1 and 2. How are Amos’ times like our own? He even names sins of God’s own people. What sins do church people commit today? There is only Law here. What promises of God are your favorites to remember when your sin has been so starkly exposed?

Thursday, January 6 Amos 3  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
4. “It’s inevitable.” You’ve heard people say that such-and-such a thing is inevitable. Name some things that you think are inevitable. In Amos 3 the Lord told Amos that certain things were inevitable (Amos 3:3-6). What were they? What is the Lord’s point (Amos 3:2, 10-11, 14-15)? A hint at what is also inevitable is in Amos 3:12. What else is inevitable? Look at these Scripture passages: John 3:16; 1 John 1:7; 2 Timothy 4:18; John 14:19; Hebrews 9:28; Philippians 1:6. Praise God for His faithful love toward us in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Friday, January 7 Amos 4-5  Read & Listen Online Amos 4, Read & Listen Online Amos 5  (Click “Audio” link to listen)
5. We often describe God by listing His attributes. Review them for a moment. Did you list “frustrated” as an attribute of God? What statements in Amos 4 show God to be a frustrated God? Put God’s frustration in your own words. “Frustrated” is not an attribute of God because it is not an essential or intrinsic aspect of God’s nature. What attributes of God counter His frustrations with His creatures (Psalm 145:9; Titus 3:5; Exodus 34:6-7; 1 John 4:8)? Praise God for these attributes in the words of verse 2 of the hymn “God Brought Me to This Time and Place” (LW 456).

6. Review Amos 5:21-27. Identify the “good news” phrases that offer God’s promise of deliverance for the faithful.

Saturday, January 8 Amos 6  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
7. After you have read Amos 6, list those acts and attitudes that God criticizes. Create some statements, similar to those in Amos 6, that Amos might write if he lived in our own time. How should Christians respond to these criticisms? Look at these Scripture passages for some ideas: James 5:16; Matthew 9:2; Psalm 51:13; Galatians 5:13, 22-23; Ephesians 2:10; Acts 2:42; 1 Peter 2:12. Pray for God’s help to live a life pleasing to Him and of help to your neighbor.

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