Athey Creek: Audio Podcast

The people were living in luxury while oppressing the poor, playing games with God’s commands, and caught up in all kinds of other evil practices in Amos 3-5 and God is ready to dole out judgment upon the nation of Israel. As we find ourselves in a similar national state of moral decline and godlessness, may we still personally hold fast to the truth of God’s Word and sincerely practice His charge to be just and righteous.

The people of Amos's day were wealthy, confident in themselves, and living in relative safety – but little did they know that it was all about to come crashing down. As we parallel our current culture with theirs in Amos 3, may we learn from their example and humble ourselves before the Lord before it is too late for us too.

A Bible teaching titled “Through the Bible (Amos 1-2)” from Amos 1-2 by Brett Meador.

Amos 3:3 proposes a simple question to the people to cause them to consider their walk with God and whether they are actually doing it or not. As we dig deeper into what walking with the Lord looks like, may we take time to consider Amos' question and examine our own walks as well.

The Day of the Lord is the primary focus of Joel 2:28-3:21, but to what exactly is this referring? As we continue our through the Bible study, we break down what this “day” is, what will happen during it and what it means for us today.

It was a time of decimation and turmoil like the people had never seen before as locusts, drought, fires, and famine ravished the land in Joel 1-2:27. Not only was this locust army of destruction sent to bring the people of that day to repentance, but to show us what will happen in the Last Days so that we may also turn to God and allow Him to restore us to righteousness before it is too late.

After a devastating locust scourge lays waste to the land, the Lord calls the people to repentance and restoration in Joel 2:12-25. And while the things that destroy our lives today aren’t usually literal locusts, we face other destructive forces. Fortunately, God gives us the same opportunity to turn to Him, rejoice in His salvation, and allow Him to restore what has been destroyed.

God is pleading with Israel in Hosea 11-13 to turn back to Him by reminding them of all He has done for them, how much He loves them and what their fate will be if they don’t. As we watch them decline further and further with no hope of coming back any time soon, may we learn to turn to God, repent from our sin, and follow Him before it is too late for us too.

A Bible teaching titled “Get Up!” from Hosea 14 by Brett Meador.

Be it in Hosea’s day or in our own time, there are consequences when we choose to rebel against God and persist with living in sin. Hosea 9-10 shows us the things we can expect to see when we walk away from God and the brutal impact it will have upon our lives.

The people in Hosea 8:12 were rejecting the Word of God for many of the same reasons people do so today. As we dismantle the excuses, we see how exciting, powerful, and trustworthy the Word of God is and why we should be giving it great importance in our lives.

The courtroom-esque scene continues in Hosea 7-8, and as the evidence mounts, we see a clear picture of how the Jews rejected their Maker, celebrated wickedness, and mixed with things opposed to God. As we watch God issue their punishment, may we take heed to avoid falling into these same traps and instead keep our eyes upon Jesus.

A Bible teaching titled “Hosea 5-6 | Guilty!” from Hosea 5-6 by Brett Meador.

God is casting an indictment in Hosea 4 against a nation that has forsaken the truth, is merciless, and has no knowledge of Him. And while this terrible judgment is technically for Israel in that day, the sins and consequences are still perfectly applicable to us today.

After being completely broken down and destroyed by her prostitution and adultery, Gomer finds herself in utter ruin and up for auction on the slave market. However, in a moving example of unconditional love and redemption, Hosea comes to her rescue with salvation and restoration – providing us with a picture of what God wants to do for His people.

You likely won’t find the names Hosea is instructed to call his prostitute-born children in any baby name books, but God is specific about what He wanted them known as. As we study Hosea 1-2, we learn about the meanings of these names and how the Lord ultimately wants to change them into ones that reflect His mercy and grace.

In a beautiful poetic statement in Hosea 2:14-15, we see a humbling picture of how God has mercy upon His people and is always willing to restore them to Himself.

As we wrap up our study in Daniel 12, we see a final recap of what will happen during the Tribulation, how it affects the Jews, and what it means for us. As we conclude, we gain more insight into the Last Days and are charged to live like Daniel in these troubling times.

Tucked away in an End Times prophecy in Daniel 12:3 is a little exhortation for us to shine like bright lights during dark days. And the Word gives us plenty of reasons why we should strive to illuminate the darkness and be all about pointing people to Jesus Christ.

Daniel receives a detailed prophecy, but he can’t make much sense of what he is told and how it will play out during future events. But as we study Daniel 11:1:35 with the benefit of hindsight, we see some of history’s most infamous characters, such as Alexander the Great and Cleopatra, and events come together to help us unlock the future by understanding the past.