Intersections

 Last week, I talked about the first part of Hosea, this book of God’s unrequited love as shown through a marriage that was anything but ordinary.  Who is the person or group hardest for you to extend love to? We all have that one person or group. We also know that God offers grace and mercy to all who come to the throne. I’ll be honest with you - I find difficult people some of the hardest to love. And having two children who are as stubborn as I am means that Tadj has a really hard job some days. What do I mean when I say difficult people? I mean, those friends, acquaintances, maybe family members who put up walls, are unpredictable, don’t know how to apologize or compromise.  Does that sound like you sometimes? Because I’m realizing that that might be hitting a little too close to home for me. Don’t worry - it’s good to know I have more work to do. I might be calling my therapist tomorrow. But coming from the world of family law, I dealt with these people all the t...

 This passage from the Bible doesn’t seem like it belongs there. It feels like we’re reading from a different book, and you might be feeling confused. This and next week may a the only times you ever hear a sermon preached on Hosea and Gomer, so hopefully it’ll make an impact. And if not, well - I’m pretty sure it’s a lot cooler in here than it is outside, so why don’t ya’ll stay for a bit?  Let’s take a wider view of this book before we jump into the scripture today. Hosea is one of the twelve minor Old Testament prophets we’ve been talking about for the last few weeks, and he’ll be the last one in the series. He lived in the northern kingdom of Israel, and he lived about the same time as Amos from last week, just a little bit after him 753 to 715BC, so about seven centuries before Christ. Israel would be captured by Assyria in about 722 BC, so this is the beginning of the end, and based on what Amos heard from God, that seems accurate.  Hosea is preaching to Israel, and...