Monday, October 3, 2022

Restoration

 

Yesterday morning, in church, we finished up a sermon series titled Restoration based on the Old Testament book of Amos.  Wowzers, it was hard.  Amos has almost nothing but bad news for us.  

Some Sundays these last few weeks, I would have been happier to just see videos of puppies and kittens. But I fully understand why we need to study Amos.  Many of his dire warnings apply to our situation here in the US of A.  

Pastor Philip started by saying "We made it through the hurricane and (sigh) we made it through the book of Amos!"  But Pastor Philip reminded us that this did not result in instant restoration .  And he then preached an excellent sermon on restoring our ruined cities and living in them. There were strong leaders of the Israelite community who butted heads on how to go forward. Just like us.  

However, I want to share Amos' words in this last chapter with you.  It's a message I need to hear and I was kind of shocked with how it speaks, right after the devastating Hurricane Ian, to us Floridans at this particular time. 

Amos 9:11 I will restore David's fallen shelter - I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins - and will rebuild it as it used to be.

Amos 9:15  They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.  They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 

Thanks Amos and thanks Pastor Philip.

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