Learning the skill of listening well
Amos 7:10-17; 8:1-3 I was once asked to contribute a part to a document on a biblical issue compiled by the bible college where I taught. This was later publicised in the denomination of the college. One church’s leadership particularly…
Intercession: the power to shape the future and its limits
Amos 7:1-9 After a tsunami hit Samoa in 2009, many there had physical injuries and/or suffered mentally in the aftermath of the disaster. When the little daughter of a plastic surgeon in New Zealand heard what had happened, she earnestly…
The temptation of wealth and how to fight it
Amos 6:1-14 John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist in the 19th century and arguably the richest American in history, was once asked how much money was enough. He famously replied, ‘Just a little bit more’. His observation brilliantly captures…
The challenge to confront our false cultural beliefs
Amos 5:18-27 A commonly raised objection to the Christian faith is, ‘If God is love, how can He judge and condemn people?’ Behind the question are a host of cultural assumptions. For instance, God’s love is taken as self-evident even…
Is the relationship with God conditional on good deeds?
Amos 5:1-17 Protestant Christians like to emphasise that we are only saved by God’s grace as we trust Him to do it (Eph 2:8). However, in many churches the emphasis on grace has become so dominant that obedience to God…
What makes worship God-honouring?
Amos 4:4-13 In the mid-2010s a new trend took off, especially among Asian women, to organise wedding ceremonies where they were ‘marrying themselves’. The wedding industry jumped in with packages complete with wedding dress, a vow, reception and honeymoon. There…
The forgotten side of the relationship with God
Amos 3:1-15, 4:1-3 A while back, a friend shared an incident about taking her son to a birthday party where the birthday boy received the newest iPhone model from his parents. As the boys were horsing around, he dropped the…
Taking the log out of our eyes
Amos 2:4-16 Recently, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and for a fraction of a second, I thought I saw my mum: the same eyes, the same facial expression. It was a surprise, as I do not…
Where is God when wars and atrocities happen?
Amos 1:2-15; 2:1-3 War crimes and atrocities in armed conflicts are nothing new, but in the West we can be too far removed from it all. However, with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Gaza,…
Introduction to Amos
Amos 1:1; 2 Kings 14:23-27; 2 Chron 26:1-23 I once saw a photo of a man sitting in a deckchair in the sun reading a newspaper. It looked an idyllic picture except for the fact that the man was positioned…