Emphasis Preaching Journal

Amos 7:7-17
This text makes clear that the faithful are called to be rebels — to refuse to tolerate all the racism (64% of us say it remains a major problem according to an NBC poll last year), hatred of immigrants (a Gallup Poll taken 6 months ago found the American public deeming it our major problem) and Anti-Semitism (there was a 57% increase in such incidents in 2018), which characterize American life. French existentialist Albert Camus well describes the kind of rebellion Christians are called to undertake:

What is a rebel? A man who says no, but whose refusal does not imply a renunciation… Metaphysical rebellion is the movement by which man protests against his condition and against the whole of creation. (The Rebel, pp.13,23)

But this evidence lures the individual from his solitude. It founds its first value on the whole human race, I rebel — therefore we exist. (The Rebel, p.22)

The framer of Black Liberation Theology, James Cone, taught that this kind of rebellion on behalf of the suffering and oppressed is our business, because it is God’s business:

In Christ God enters human affairs and takes sides with the oppressed. Their suffering becomes His; their despair, divine despair. Through Christ the poor are offered freedom to rebel against that which makes them other than human. (Risks of Faith, p.8)

Think this is too much emphasis on a peripheral issue? Consider the words of the first great existentialist, Søren Kierkegaard:

Church members who deny their responsibility for the needy in any part of the world are as guilty of heresy as those who deny this or that article of faith. (quoted in Ulrich Duchrow, Alternatives to Global Capitalism, p.38)
Mark E.

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Amos 7: 7-17
A plumb line is defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary as “A line directed to the center of gravity of the earth: a vertical line.” God speaks to Amos about setting a plumb line among the nation of Israel. There is a time of retribution and waste coming to the people. The king Jeroboam and the priest Amaziah share a distaste for the words Amos is prophesying. But Amos is clear — to be a prophet is not his choice. God called Amos from the herds and from the orchards and gave Amos the words to speak. This is a difficult passage for us to study for it seems God is about retribution and punishment in this prophecy. Yet, we know God to be a God of hope, compassion, reconciliation, and love. Perhaps though, we first need to hear the anguish and anger of God, before we can repent and turn back into a positive relationship with God — maybe there is a time for righteous anger and a focus on re-centering our lives on God. Perhaps, we too, are called to prophesy a new relationship with one another and our God.
Bonnie B.

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Amos 7:7-17
Be careful if you say “America First.” God can destroy our great nation if we don’t measure up to the plumb line. We should be careful since we are still in God’s hands. Every night on tv I hear some who are not prophets telling us that our country will die if we don’t listen to their words. Too often we hear two who both sound like prophets who disagree with each other as to where that plumb line should go. We hope there is a prophet in our church who can help us know which ones to believe. The pastor takes the role of prophet in every church. If not a prophet at least a shepherd.

We all have had someone from a different church or religion tell us that only they have the truth as when a Jehovah’s witness comes to our door and tries to win us over to their plumb line.

Sometimes it can be very confusing when a number of plumb lines have been set before us. We need to read our Bibles and choose the right church — maybe with the help of our family if their faith is strong.

There can be times when we must examine a prophecy to see if it measures up to the Bible. If the prophet tells us to fight someone who disagrees with us, we need to talk with others who we trust to get their opinion. The prisoners who I was helping as chaplain saw me as their prophet.

We need to pray that the Lord will give us wisdom to know who are the true prophets and shepherds.  

A pastor’s job is help us find only true prophets.
Bob O.

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Colossians 1:1-14
Tamron Hall was the first African-American woman in 2014 to co-host the Today Show, that is produced by NBC. She was the host of the third hour at 9 a.m. which is called Today’s Talk until 2017, when she was replaced by Megan Kelly. Moving forward, her own talk show, produced by Disney-ABC, will debut on September 9, 2019. Hall married Steven Greener in March 2019. At the age of 48, after several attempts at in vitro fertilization she became pregnant. Though, she felt “I’m being rejected” when she went to the fertility clinic. This was because NBC did not renew her contract for Today’s Talk, and when she was in her 30s, she unsuccessfully attempted to conceive a child at a fertility clinic. She described her feelings when she went to a fertility clinic this time, and joyfully conceived a child. Hall said, “When I tried in my 30s, I felt like I had some time, and the fertility clinic felt like a bright room. In my 40s I saw all the gray: The faces looked gray, the walls were gray, nothing seemed shiny and optimistic.” But today, she celebrates the birth of a little boy named Moses.
Ron L.

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Colossians 1:1-14
You probably haven’t heard of a young man named Grayson Clamp. I hadn’t either until researching for stories about hearing. In June of 2013 news broadcasts across the country told his story. The three-year-old child was doing something he had never done before, he was hearing. Grayson was born without the auditory nerves that carry sound to the brain. Attempts to restore his hearing with a cochlear implant were unsuccessful, so doctors at the University of North Carolina tried an experimental procedure to implant an auditory nerve directly into his brain. This procedure proved successful, and millions of people enjoyed seeing the look of wonder and joy on the little boy’s face when he heard his father’s voice for the first time.

That had to be just a wonderful picture. Can you imagine the joy, wonder and excitement that boy must’ve felt hearing his dad’s voice? I believe it is that same sense of wonder and joy that Paul and his companions pray that those at Colosse have for hearing the voice of their father. He writes, “we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.”

What is our reaction to be filled with the knowledge of God and to understand his love and his will for our lives?
Bill T.

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Colossians 1:1-14
Letters in the ancient world generally began with a prayer of thanksgiving to the gods, or to a specific god, for the recipient, the recipient’s health and well being, and good fortune. Christian letters were no different. Here in his letter to the Colossians the apostle Paul begins with a prayer of thanksgiving to “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.3) because of three things he has heard about them. (Remember, Paul hasn’t met them yet. He did not found the church at Colossae).

The three things Paul had heard about were “your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven (vs.4-5).” There’s that faith, hope, and love trio that always abide when everything else fails, as we learned in 1 Corinthians 13. Those are core Christian attitudes. Paul will be focusing on what C.S. Lewis referred to as “Mere Christianity,” the essentials of our faith, and not all the other stuff that gets mistaken for the real thing.
Frank R.

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Luke 10:25-37
In his book, Strength To Love, Martin Luther King Jr. reflected on the Parable of the Good Samaritan:

I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?

Christian love is a reckless love that does not make calculations. That’s because it is not a love about us and what we get out of it or have to do. Rather, Christian love, the story of the Good Samaritan, is about God, what he does for us. Dr. King’s namesake Martin Luther nicely made this point:

Now here in this Samaritan Christ pictures and makes known the kindness, help and comfort, which He ministers in His Kingdom through the Gospel... This is the principal article of the doctrine of faith that says we cannot save ourselves, neither can anything we do nor the doctrines of the Law; but He must begin faith in us... But He has tender mercy upon us, besides is friendly and consoling through His Word. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/1, p.53)

American Christian singer Cory Asbury nicely defined the reckless love of God in one of his songs. He sings that there’s no wall the Lord won’t kick down, no shadow he won’t light up, no lie he won’t tear down, no wall he won’t kick down when coming after us. As recipients of that kind of love, Good Samaritans try to love like that too.
Mark E.

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Luke 10:25-37
We hear a lot about this passage, about those who offer themselves in the care of others — and those who pick and choose who their neighbors will be. There are a couple homeless men who rotate standing where I get on and off a route to my house. They patiently stand with signs indicating they are homeless and hungry. I see them almost every day — rain or shine — from early morning until dark. Fairly often I stop and give them a little cash. Sometimes I buy a protein drink or an extra sandwich and give it to them. Does it make a difference to them? I hope so. I know it makes a difference to me — even when my cynical human nature wonders if they are truly homeless. But whether the recipient of charity and compassion deserves it is not the question. The question is do we have the heart of the Good Samaritan, a heart of generosity to all our neighbors. I truly hope so.
Bonnie B.

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Luke 10:25-37
We may have memorized all the laws God gave us, but to live them out may give us a few problems. For example, in that story Jesus told about the Samaritans who were looked down on by the Israelites. Suppose you told that story in Israel today and said that the thoughtful one who saved the man who was robbed was one of those Muslims on the other side of the border? Suppose in this country the man who saved the fallen man was an African American? Can we translate that story given to us today for any country? We all have a group who we don’t love. It could even be someone in our own family who has a bad reputation with us. Maybe he turned to the wrong political party or joined the wrong church because he married someone in that church. Could be a migrant from a country we don’t like. One of our sons married a girl with a Chinese origin. He treats her family with love. Our feelings so often go up and down or are made to change by what we experience. Even if our experiences go up and down the rule is still love. Even our enemy!

When I had an accident and was laid up in a hospital for a week, I had trouble loving my Lord for a couple days. Yes my love came back partly through the loving care of the hospital staff. I realized that the Lord gave them that love.

The one most important word in the Bible is love. God is love! He couldn’t have made all of creation without love. He wouldn’t have sent his son to die for us if it weren’t for love. We wouldn’t have children without love.
Bob O.