Description
Today, hectic schedules and the quest for success often mean that time with God gets neglected. These 12 studies in Jonah, Joel and Amos will help you focus on your number one priority—to seek the Lord and live!
Introduction
Getting the Most Out of Jonah, Joel & Amos
This section introduces the topic, explains the structure followed in each study and offers tips for those approaching the study on their own as well as those participating in a group.
Session One
Jonah's Disobedience and Prayer
What was Jonah's condition when he finally remembered to pray? Why do you think we sometimes have to sink so low before we remember God?
Jonah 1–2
Session Two
Jonah's Obedience
If you were Jonah, how would you have felt when the word of the Lord came to you a second time?
Jonah 3
Session Three
Jonah's Anger
In the end do you think Jonah understood God's attitude toward Ninevah? In what area of your life might you be resistant to seeing things from God's perspective?
Jonah 4
Session Four
The Locust Invasion
Joel commands the elders to tell their children and grandchildren about the dramatic locust invasion. Why is this necessary? How does God discipline his people today, either individually or corporately?
Joel 1
Session Five
Return to the Lord!
Do you think Joel is describing a literal locust invasion or an army invasion, which simply resembles a swarm of locusts? How is the day of the Lord a warning against spiritual complacency for us today?
Joel 2:1–27
Session Six
The Day of the Lord
Joel describes the Lord as a lion, a thunderstorm, a refuge and a stronghold. What do these images reveal about the God we serve?
Joel 2:28–3:21
Session Seven
The Lord Roars from Zion
How are Judah's sins different from those of the pagan nations? How can Amos's warnings to Israel keep us from being presumptuous about our status as God's children?
Amos 1–2
Session Eight
Israel's Punishment
According to the law, people in danger could find refuge by grasping the horns of the altar. What situation has caused you to grasp the "horns of the altar"?
Amos 3
Session Nine
Prepare to Meet Your God!
God's tenderness, even in the midst of judgment, is evident in the repeated words, "yet you have not returned to me." How have you experienced God's grace in the midst of discipline?
Amos 4
Session Ten
Seek the Lord and Live!
A lament was a song or poem mourning someone's death. What images of death does Amos use in this lament? Do you see yourself, your church or your culture in any of Amos's statements?
Amos 5–6
Session Eleven
Five Visions (Part 1)
In the third vision the wall had been plumb line built and was being subjected to a plumb-line test. Why was this an appropriate analogy for Israel? What area of your life do you think God might currently be molding?
Amos 7–8
Session Twelve
Five Visions (Part 2)
In this fifth vision Amos sees the Lord himself standing by the temple altar. What would it be like to be standing in the temple among the people gathered there?
Amos 9
Total number of pages—64 pages
Doug Haugen is the director of Lutheran Men in Mission, the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He is also a freelance writer.
Doris Haugen is director of student services for the division of adult and continuing education at Judson College in Elgin, Illinois.