Focal Passage: Amos 9:5-15     The Bible’s “Famous Amos” did not make cookies; far from it! He identified himself simply as one who was “among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa.” He seemed to be saying, “I’m just one of the farmhands from the backside of nowhere.”  But some of the most well-known words of the Bible came from him, words like: “Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like

Focal Passage: Amos 5:4-15     In the past two lessons we were introduced to the Old Testament prophet that one writer calls “Amos, the country cousin — a backwoods ‘cowboy’ from the barren hill country some six miles southeast of Bethlehem, overlooking the Dead Sea.” His early messages were strong rebukes of the sinful nations around Israel, to which God’s people could say “Amen!”  But then Amos began to

Focal Passage: Amos 4:1-13     In the 1929 Rose Bowl, the California Golden Bears squared off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and provided one of the most famous plays in college football history. In the second quarter, California player Roy Riegels recovered a fumble, but instead of advancing it, he got confused and began running backwards toward the opposite end zone. California barely lost and this mistake would

Focal Passage: James 2:1-13  There’s a great deal of attention being given to equality these days. How the world speaks of equity is neither correct nor accurate. Worldly equity only leads to further division because it divides people by outward appearances and false identities rather than by the content of their character.  God is an impartial God in that He does not favor one ethnicity over another due to skin

Focal Passage: Amos 2:4-16     I’m the grocery shopper in our family and an aisle that I frequent is the coffee aisle. I wouldn’t designate myself as a coffee snob, but I do enjoy rich coffee. One brand that always stands out is Kona coffee. It catches my eye because I know it’s origin story.  The beans are farmed, milled, roasted and brewed all within a 10-mile radius from

Focal Passage: II Kings 22:8-20  I hear business and leadership gurus often say CEOs are really CPSs. Cheif Problem Solvers. People are confident when their leaders are optimistic. For every problem, there can be a good outcome. We can either (1) solve the problem, or (2) learn a lesson.  As we come to the conclusion of I-II Kings, it ends with a glimmer of hope and a lesson for us.

Focal Passage: John 1:40-49  The greatest thing we can do for another person is to share Christ with them. If you’re reading this, it is my hope that you already understand that people without Jesus are counted as enemies of God, are dead in their sins, and are under the condemnation and wrath of God.  No matter how kind, benevolent or religious, they will surely die and go to hell

Focal Passage: II Kings 19:10-19, 32-34  A friend of mine began a new diet and asked for accountability when we went out for meals.  After a couple of weeks, I ran into him with a dozen donuts. I grinned and asked if donuts were part of his diet. He said, “Well, I came around the corner of the donut shop and I told God, if He wanted me to buy

By Dustin Allman Pastor, The Fort Church, Kingsport Focal Passage: II Kings 17:7-20     Most of us have heard of Babe Ruth, but have you heard of Babe Pinelli? Pinelli was an umpire in Major League Baseball who once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed in disapproval of the call, Babe turned to the umpire and said “There’s 40,000 people here who know that pitch

By Dustin Allman Pastor, The Fort Church, Kingsport Focal Passage: II Kings 12:4-16     Several years ago a man and woman in California went through a McDonald’s drive-thru like most people do. They gave their order through the speaker and proceeded to the first window and paid. They paid for their order and headed to the second window to receive their bag of food. Like many in a hurry,