*NO4*
Amos denounced the high places of Israel and pronounced that God would rise against bthe house of jeroboam II with sword. Then amaziah, the priest of bethel, sent word to king jeroboam II that Amos had conspired against him and that the land was not able to bear all his words. He said that jeroboam would die by the sword and is isreal must go into exile.
To Amos, amaziah said, o seer, go flee to the land of Judah, eat bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at bethel. Amos replied ! I am no prophet, nor a prophets son.I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees. The lord took me from following the flock to go and prophesy to my people, is real.
Therefore, hear the word of the lord. For ordering me to shut up, your wife shall become harlot in the city; your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword. Your land shall be parcelled out by line. You yourself shall die in and unclean land and is real shall surely go into exile away from its land.
Those who oppose God should be condemned for the following two reasons:
The lord God is our creator and sustainer; its is condemnable for people to oppose him.
Besides, the opponents of God are evil to others, and could serve as snares to the righteous.
B.
I. People complain about the men of God for their extravagant lifestyle.
II. People complain about men of God for their extortions from the congregation.
III. People complain about the immoral behavior of God's men.
5a) They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him
(1a)
Pharaoh decided to let the people of Israel go after suffering devastating plagues sent by God. God told Moses he would get glory over Pharaoh and prove that the Lord is God. After the Israelites left Egypt, the king changed his mind and was angry that he had lost his source of slave labor. He summoned his 600 best chariots, all the other chariots in the land, and marched his massive army in pursuit.
The Israelites seemed to be trapped. Mountains stood on one side, the Red Sea in front of them. When they saw Pharaoh's soldiers coming, they were terrified. Grumbling against God and Moses, they said they would rather be slaves again than die in the desert.
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
The angel of God, in a pillar of cloud , stood between the people and the Egyptians, protecting the Israelites. Then Moses stretched his hand out over the sea. The Lord caused a strong east wind to blow all night, parting the waters and turning the sea floor into dry land.
During the night, the Israelites fled through the Red Sea, a wall of water to their right and to their left. The Egyptian army charged in after them.
Watching the chariots race ahead, God threw the army into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels to slow them down.
Once the Israelites were safe on the other side, God commanded Moses to stretch out his hand again. As morning returned, the sea rolled back in, covering the Egyptian army, its chariots, and horses. Not one man survived.
After witnessing this great miracle, the people believed in the Lord and his servant Moses.
(1b)
(i) Christians should learn from this incident never to doubt God in any situation
(ii) Another great lesson Christians should learn from this incident is to always do what God commands and obey his prophets
9a)
Peter advised the Christians living among non-Christians to abstain from fleshy lust since it battles against the soul.
He told them to engage in honest conversation among the Gentiles so that even if they speak against them, their good works would force the Gentiles to glorify God.
Peter told them to subject themselves to every human institution whether it is the Emperor himself or the Governors that have been sent to reward those who do good and punish those who do wrong. According to Peter, if they do this, they will put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
He advised them to live as free men but should not use their freedom as a pretext to engage in evil. They should live as servants of God. They should honour all men, love the brotherhood, fear God and honour the emperor.
Peter explained that they would receive no glory if they are punished for doing the wrong thing, but if they are punished for doing the right thing and they endure, it is acceptable before God.
Peter concluded that Christ himself suffered the same faith. According to Peter, Jesus was reviled but he did not reply. Therefore, the people must copy Christ’s example.
8b)
1. AS A FORM OF ESCAPISM
Some see Christianity as a way to escape from reality, to hide from their problems, ignore conflict and flee from the harsh realities of the world around them. But Christianity was never meant to be a carefree way to avoid stress, pain and suffering. Instead, it’s about embracing truth—no matter how ugly it may be.
Christianity isn’t a make-believe fantasy land full of perpetual happiness, tranquility and joy. Sure, those things do exist, but in the end, Christians are called to fight injustice, poverty, inequality and to help the weak and poor—this demands embracing reality instead of pretending everything is OK.
2. TO GET MONEY
Christianity is filled with opportunities to tithe, donate, fundraise, support missionaries and give to various causes and ministries. Unfortunately, instead of feeding the poor, sheltering the homeless and helping those less fortunate, many take advantage of these platforms in order to increase their own personal wealth—selfishly getting rich off of the generosity of others.
3. TO GAIN POPULARITY
Contrary to promoting the Gospel, some use Christianity to promote themselves. It’s easy to use the venues of teaching, preaching and leading to create a culture of celebrity instead of one of humble servanthood.
In a society obsessed with fame, celebrity and viral sensations, Christians sometimes idolize these same distractions—often at the expense of glorifying God.
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