Podcast on The Way

016 Hosea 7

Hosea piles on the metaphor in an unrelenting fashion in chapter 7. The first problem Hosea addresses: God sees all of Israel’s sin, despite the fact that Israel has become blind to it.But they do not consider that I remember all their evil.Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.This is despite the fact that God is ready and willing to forgive if Israel will repent.When I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria,Is there sin in your life that you act like God can’t see? What are some sins, secret sins, that you’ve explained away and no longer wrestle with or find yourself justifying? Remember the promise extended to Israel in Jeremiah: For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.This promise is extended to us through God’s amazing love through Christ’s sacrifice. The call to repentance is for us, now, too.For with hearts like an oven, they approach their intrigue; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers.All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me.Israel burns hot like an oven for the idols of other Gods. But they can’t burn hot for these others and truly call upon God. We know they continued in their temple sacrifices, but these were empty ceremonies, not true repentance. Where in your life are you trying to serve two Gods?Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.As Israel begins to realize its predicament, instead of returning to God in repentance and restoring the covenant, they go looking for help from other nations. It’s as if they’re willing to try anything before they return to Him. What’s your Egypt or Assyria? To what do you fly towards when life gets hard before you return to God?

015 Hosea 6

This passage starts with a raw prayer from Hosea for his fellow people to return to God. God has done these things to the nation to redeem them. Describe a time in your life (preferably recently) when you prayed with this kind of fervor, whether for yourself or someone else. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3 ESVThe history of the people of God, from Abraham to the present day, can be described in terms of how we are pressing on to know the Lord. Talk with your group about what that phrase means, ‘to know the lord.’ Next, read 1 John 2:4 and talk about what this means for us now. In verse 4, the prophet cuts deep when says of Israel, “your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.” Their love is inconsistent and fleeting. Does this describe you? Is your love of God fleeting? Is it based on your current circumstance, whether good or bad?“I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”Wait, what?!? The sacrificial system is crucial to Israel! It's been ingrained in their lives for generations! The whole Levitical system was established by God! How can this be?!? This is a groundbreaking statement - enough so that Jesus points back to it in Matthew's gospel. So let's be sure we're on the same page before we ask a question. The whole of the sacrificial system is a means to an end. The end is a relationship with God, which is a revolutionary thought at the time. God used the sacrificial system as a means to that end because it was something that would be easily understood in that day, with that people. We see this truth in this passage that Israel had made a religion out of the means and missed the end. God desires a steadfast love and a knowledge of him.So, now the hard question. Where do you see this pattern in your life? Where have you forgotten that the end is a relationship with God, and instead created a religion out of some means (even a God-given one?) Some practical thoughts if this seems too abstract:Have you given up the freedom we find in God for being enslaved to consumerism and consumption rather than being creators as we were created to be?Have you given up the love we see in Christ for being cold, angry, or distant towards other believers with whom you disagree about an open-handed doctrine rather than being known by your love for others?Have you given up the great lengths we see God taking to restore his people for being insulated and only loving toward people in your small group, or only people at COTW, or only other believers, rather than being loving toward all?Have you given up your identity as a son or daughter of the living God who created everything? We see and know from the smallest particle we can detect to the largest cluster of galaxies stretching across billions of light years, for being more concerned with an online identity you've created that feeds your ego with the likes, shares, and comments from people you don't know, rather than identifying primarily as being his?Have you adopted a set of doctrines or a systematic theology, not as a means to the end of knowing God, but for the sake of having answers to any question, or a rebuttal to any argument, or as a way of always being right, rather than admitting there are things we cannot know or understand about a God who is infinitely greater than us and finding fellowship with your brothers and sisters who are in the same place?Will you settle for the religion you have created or will you plead with him the way Hosea does at the beginning of this passage to overwhelm you with his truth and presence as we seek to press on to know the Lord?

014 Hosea 5

In this week's message, we went through chapter 5 of the book of Hosea. At the beginning of this passage, we see the people of Israel are blind to their sin and transgressions against God, and God's patience is coming to an end.In our lives, what are the sins that we are blind to? How are we to even know when there is sin in our lives that we are blind to? What role should biblical community play in helping people see their sin? (Helpful resources - The Enemy Within, Diehard Sins )Towards the end of this passage, we see an amazing truth: God is willing to destroy the nation of Israel in order to bring the Israelites back to him. There's no length he won't go to, in order to bring his people back to him. Share with your group times in your life that God has gone to great lengths to bring you back to him.I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.God's discipline towards Israel isn't simply about punishing their sin, it's about restoring and redeeming his people. Are their things God is doing in your life that you have misperceived as punishment when it's actually God working to restore you to him?

013 Hosea 4

Read Hosea 4
What are the open fields that draw you away from God? How has TV, Movies, social media, blogs tempted you toward open fields?  How have these open fields enslaved you?
Have you ever been the guilty of acting like a stubborn heifer? Israel finds themselves called this because they lack understating about who God is. Where do you need to grow in your understanding of God?
The highest freedom is only attainable within definite limits. Explain in your own words what this truth means in your life. Share a time that you thought you were getting more freedom that turned into slavery?
Each day believers have a choice to glorify God or not glorify God with their life. God doesn’t make us glorify him he will allow us to wander away however he always continues to watch over us. How does this shape your response to God? Share a time you wandered off and how you God received you back.

Filled with the Spirit

Read the following verses Ephesians 5:15-6:9 together.Talk with your group about what it means to be filled with the Spirit of God. Recall some of the metaphors that were given for this concept and how they may differ from your previous understanding.Do you struggle to sing from your heart to the Lord? This means more than just singing on Sunday morning it means having a “melody in your heart.” Do your circumstances dictate your attitude?Spirit-filled Christians aren’t complainers. Where do you struggle with not being thankful? Have you ever considered how your lack of thankfulness keeps you from experiencing the Spirit-filled life?When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we then see Fruits of the Spirit. Do you see these fruits in your life?

God is Series - Applied (part 2)

God is Series - Applied

There is the divine imperative to be joyful (Matt. 5:12; Ps. 110:2; Romans 12:8, 12, 15; Phil. 4:4) We are to forgive our brother with our whole heart (Matt 18:35) We are commanded to Love (1 Peter 1:22) (Romans 12:10) We are commanded to fear (Luke 12:5; Rom. 11:20; 1 Peter 1:17) We are commanded to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Col. 3:15) We are commanded to be zealous (Rom 12:11) We are told we need to desire the Word in 1 Peter 2:2 We are commanded to act with tenderheartedness (Eph. 4:32) We are commanded to mourn. (James 4:9) We are commanded to weep (Rom. 12:15)

God is Sovereign