Pastor Sherry’s message for July 13, 2025

Scriptures: Amos 7:7-17; Ps 82; Col 1:1-14; Lk 10:25-37

The three best professors I ever had—in 12 years of post-high school education–were all from my seminary. My Church History prof, Dr. Les Fairfield, was exceedingly knowledgeable, was a great story teller, and had a wonderful sense of humor. The other two men were Old Testament scholars. I learned to sign up for any class they taught. Dr. Alan Ross, from whom I took  a class on Isaiah, read from the ancient Hebrew, simultaneously translating into English as he taught us. As I listened to him, the tears would slowly run down my face; I knew he was revealing to me the truth of God’s immense and patient love for all of us. Dr. Paul House, wrote the book, Old Testament Theology (InterVarsity Press, 1998), which describes what God conveyed to us from every book of the Old Testament.  As with Dr. Ross, I have found his insights to be spot-on-accurate, and I credit them both with helping me to fall in love with the God of the Old Testament.  I frequently use Dr. House’s book as a preaching/teaching resource.  If I struggle with trying to figure out what a passage means, both of these two men—plus the biblical commentator, Rev. Dr. J. Vernon McGee—always seem to point me in the right direction.

Dr. House says that God sent the prophet Amos to convey to the Northern Kingdom (Israel) that He was done with their idolatry and their blatant disregard for their covenant relationship with Him.

God, as a lion, was about to roar against Israel’s sin (house, p.35-359).

In our passage appointed for today (Amos 7:7-17), God shows Amos a plumbline, an Old Testament symbol of coming judgment. God is measuring His chosen people and tells the prophet they are out of plumb. He has given them 2 centuries to repent and straighten up (930-760). He has sent them prophet after prophet to warn them of the judgment to come.  But as we can conclude from the snarky accusations of the apostate priest, Amaziah, they have not listened to God.

Consider this:  Amaziah is leading them in worshipping a golden calf at Bethel (the name means house of God). He is a false priest, who has rejected the words of the One True God.  Thinking Amos is a false prophet, or perhaps threatened by Amos’ words of truth, he dares to spin-doctor Amos’ God-given, plumbline words.  God had told Amos that He was going to bring King Jeroboam’s dynasty to an end.  Amaziah tells the king Amos has hatched a plot to kill him, and falsely claimed the people will be exiled. God hears these lies, is totally fed up with Amaziah’s misrepresentation of His prophet, and roars His judgment on Amaziah (YIKES!): Amaziah, deported, will die outside the Promised Land.  His sons and daughters will be killed by the invaders (Assyrians, 722 BC). His wife, with no one to support her, will be reduced to prostitution to live.  His estate will be taken over and occupied by others. And what remains of Israel will be exiled—and all of this happened! (The mark of a true prophet.)

It’s not wise to ignore God.  Whether or not a person chooses to believe in the Lord does not nullify His existence or His rule.  Our God is still large and in charge, sovereign over all things. This could very well be a warning to America and to us, individually….We too, like Israel, began as a country in a covenant relationship with God.  Like Old Testament (and modern) Israel, we have broken our agreement and drifted away from Him.

We have become a nation of idolaters, worshipping many things other than the One True God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.  And we have ignored His Words, preserved for us in the Bible.  Our nation is currently out of plumb with God.  Amos wants us to realize that God’s patience with us will eventually wear out.

Our other readings today reinforce this lesson from Amos and point us toward how we can live so as to avoid God’s judgment:

A. Psalm 82, penned by Asaph, is a prophetic reminder that God will judge the judges.  Whether these leaders/judges are human persons or demonic entities influencing the corrupt judges, God views them as oppressors. They lack integrity. They have made decisions based on their desires to please certain people; or they have bowed to political-pressure; or they’ve been bought and paid for. Doesn’t this sound amazingly contemporary? (As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, There is nothing new under the sun.)  They have not pleased God by rendering righteous judgments, defending the weak and the fatherless, the needy, or those oppressed.  

We know the Law of Sowing and Reaping will eventually see them get what is coming to them.  But this psalm prophesies that Jesus will judge them when He establishes His reign on earth. Verses 7-8 are a judgment from God: I [the Lord] say, ‘You are gods [human leaders and demonic influencers], you are all children of the Most High.  But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.’

The Lord means for this psalm to reassure us in the midst of the lying, corruption, and injustice we witness around us. We worship the God of justice. We can take comfort in the fact that (Ps 34:15-16, NIV):  The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 

In our Gospel lesson (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus once again demonstrates the principle of love (for God and others) through the Parable of the Good Samaritan.   Another foolish religious leader, a lawyer, tries to test Jesus before a crowd by asking Him, (v. 25): What must I do to inherit eternal life?   Jesus knew the guy knew the answer;

So He uses the Socratic Method (answer a question with a question), and answers the guy with a question of His own (v.26): What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?  The guy does a great job: Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself.  But the man is trying to make points to the crowd at Jesus’ expense, so he then probably snidely asks (v.29): And who is my neighbor?

This famous parable is Jesus’ answer.  In it, He reveals three classes of people, or three philosophies of life:

(1) The thieves who robbed and beat the man. Their philosophy was, What you have is mine—everything should be shared.  Sounds like Socialism or Communism, doesn’t it?  No one has the right to private property.

(2) The religious leaders who were unwilling to aid the man as doing so would make them ritualistically “unclean.”  Their philosophy was, What I have is mine.  We might say this is godless capitalism—Nothing is to be shared; simply look out for #1.

(3) The Good Samaritan, the despised enemy who had compassion on the injured man.  His philosophy was, What I have is yours if I can help you.  This is an example of Christian love for a neighbor, because a neighbor—according to Jesus—is anyone in need.  (McGee, Through the Bible commentary on Luke, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p.138.)  I wonder when the snarky lawyer realized that Jesus had accurately understood him? And had outsmarted him?

C. Finally, Paul, while praying for the Colossian Church from prison in Rome (Colossians 1:1-14), actually tells us how to live a life that is plumb with God:

(1) He thanks God (v.4) for their faith in Jesus, and their love for Jesus and others: may our faith and love be as strong as theirs.

(2) He asks God to (v.9) fill them with the knowledge of God’s will.  He wants them to have both spiritual wisdom and understanding so that they may live lives that produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit, because this is pleasing to God.  May this be true of us as well.

(3) He bids God that (v.11) they be so strengthened by His power that they might patiently endure any trials, and be filled with joy. Wwho among us does not need patience and more joy?

(4) And he encourages them to thank God (v.12) for rescuing them (and us) from the kingdom of darkness into His kingdom of glorious light.

In a nutshell, here is how we can come to measure up to God’s expectations of us and avoid His punishment: Have faith in Christ—this is key, this is most important! Live out Christian compassion, loving God and our neighbors.  Ask the Lord for spiritual wisdom and then understanding to know His will. Bear spiritual fruit.  Be patient and joy-filled.  Have an attitude of gratitude to God. Amen! May it be so in our lives!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams