GodSpeak Readings: Week 70/January 11-15

January 11-15
Amos 7-Jonah 4

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 10 Amos 7     Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
1. The Lord is a God of determination. Do you like it that God is so determined? How does Amos 7 show God to be determined? As a sinner, I am not at all happy that God is determined in the way that He is pictured in Amos 7. I am glad that God is determined in another way. Look at these Scripture passages to see another side of God’s determination: Matthew 1:21; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 John 4:9, 11; Psalm 118:1. Then thank God for His determination in this respect.

Tuesday, January 11 Amos 8     Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
2. If God were silent (the famine of not hearing God’s words of Amos 8:11), what would you not hear? There are several places in Scripture that indicate the dire consequences of God’s silence (I Samuel 28:6; 2 Chronicles 15:3; Ezekiel 7:26; Micah 3:4, 7, for example), but what would you miss if God were silent? Look at these sections of Scripture to stimulate your thinking and your thanks for God’s Words of grace: Psalm 23; Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 2:1-20; John 3:16; John 20:19-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; Romans 8:35-39. Share your own section of God’s Word and tell why you would miss that Word if God were silent. Then thank God for His Word.

Wednesday, January 12 Amos 9     Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
3.“Finally, after all of that!” When might such a statement be made? Why might the reader of Amos be inclined to say “Finally, after all of that!”? Look especially at Amos 9:8, 11, 13-15. Rejoice with the people of God by saying or singing the words of “Praise the Almighty” (LW 445).

Thursday, January 13 Obadiah     Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
4. What does it mean to “pick up the loose strings”? In one sense, Obadiah is a book in which the Lord picks up the loose strings. In the previous prophetic books, what was the Lord’s purpose? See Amos 2:4-5 or Jeremiah 3:11-13, for example. Through Obadiah, whom does the Lord call to account, and for what (Obadiah 8-12)? Describe a time when you have rejoiced at the misfortune of someone who is having a hard time or rejoiced when someone is punished for doing wrong. What is the Lord’s response to such behavior (Obadiah 12-15)? What “loose string” does the Lord pick up in Obadiah? What is the connection between the message of Obadiah and the story of the Good Samaritan (See Obadiah 12 and Luke 10:29 ff.)? Where is there forgiveness for these sins (Obadiah 17; Romans 11:26-27; Hebrews 12:22-24)?

Friday, January 14 Jonah 1-2     Read & Listen Online Jonah 1     Read & Listen Online Jonah 2    (Click “Audio” link to listen)
5. Identify the confessions of faith that Jonah made (See Jonah 1-2). What doctrines in the creeds did Jonah confess? In spite of the doctrinal knowledge and the faith that he had, Jonah did not carry out the mission God gave Him. Why? What warning for us is in this reading? What comfort and strength is given in this reading when we fail like Jonah?

Saturday, January 15 Jonah 3-4     Read & Listen Online Jonah 3     Read & Listen Online Jonah 4   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
6. True or False? Throughout the book of Jonah the prophet wanted Nineveh to be destroyed rather than receive God’s gracious forgiveness (Jonah 1:3; 4:1-3; 9). Why didn’t Jonah want the Ninevites to hear God’s call to repentance (Jonah 3:4, 9) and His message of grace (Jonah 4:2)? What idol was he still worshipping (Jonah 2:8)? What idols that we worship keep us from proclaiming the Gospel to others? What grace is ours (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9)?

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