February 5, 2023
[Sermon begins at the 55 minute mark.] How do you persuade a wealthy congregation in Corinth to share their resources with an impoverished and ethnically different group of people in Jerusalem almost 1,000 miles distant? When they shared from their resources with the Jerusalem believers, Paul wrote, they would “glorify God by [their] obedience to […]
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Biblical Texts, Theology | Tagged: 2 Corinthians 8:8-10, 2 Corinthians 9:13, Generosity, Giving, Grace, Poor, Poverty, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
October 3, 2013
While the first half of Micah’s first oracle assured Judah that God was serious in treating them much like he did their northern neighbor Israel. Yahweh, Micah warned Judah, is about to appear at the gates of Jerusalem with the Assyrian army after they devastate the cities of southwestern Judah. In response to the message, […]
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Biblical Texts, Theology | Tagged: Disaster, Economic Injustice, Economic Justice, Inheritance, Injustice, Micah 2, Micah 2:1-5, Micah 2:6-13, Poverty, Prophecy, Providence, Suffering, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
March 28, 2013
This is the second of two woe oracles in Amos. The first (5:18-20) was followed by a legal indictment (5:21-27). The second (6:1-7) is followed by a judgment pronouncement (6:8-14). Together, as the third major section of Amos, they lament Israel’s sin and warn the nation about impending doom. The woe oracle in Amos 6 itself falls […]
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Biblical Texts | Tagged: Amos 6:1-14, Bible-Amos, Israel, Judah, justice, Luxury, Poor, Prophets, Rich, Righteousness, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
March 4, 2013
This is the second of Amos’s three prophetic speeches against Israel. They each begin with “Hear this word” (3:1; 4:1; 5:1). The first announced God’s coming visit in judgment against Israel while the third will voice lament. The second highlights divine patience and persistence in seeking to turn Israel from its sins. While this second […]
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Theology | Tagged: Amos, Amos 4:1-13, Bible-Amos, Disasters, Israel, Judgment, Natural Evil, Oppression, Poor, Prophets, Repentance, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 28, 2013
The second major section of Amos (chapters 3-5) contains three oracles describing the punishment, sin and lament of the northern kingdom of Israel. Each begins with “Hear this word!” (3:1; 4:1; 5:1). In many ways, this is the heart of Amos’s work as it lays out Yahweh’s case against Israel. We might even imagine Amos […]
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Theology | Tagged: Amos, Amos 3:9-15, Bible-Amos, Israel, Oppression, Poor, Prophets, Punishment, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
January 2, 2013
How might a migrant worker convict luxurious homeowners about their oppressive lifestyles? What might a poor, rural believer say to wealthy, urban idolaters? Amos was neither trained as a prophet nor assumed the career of a prophet. He was a shepherd near the Judean wilderness six miles SE of Bethlehem in the backwater village of […]
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Biblical Texts | Tagged: Amos, justice, Oppression, Peace, Poor, Poverty, prosperity, Rich, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
May 16, 2012
When the Central Christian Church in Cincinnaiti, Ohio, completed its $140,000, 2000-seat French Gothic building in 1872, many–especially Benjamin Franklin and David Lipscomb–thought it was an outrage. By 1892 there were rumors that the church needed to sell the building since many of its members had moved to the suburbs. The downtown, urban church could not […]
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Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Church Buildings, David Lipscomb, Poor, Power, Stone-Campbell, Wealth |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks