The Lion Roars!

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). THE SUBJECT.

(2). THE TIME.

(3). THE MAN.

(4). THE LOCATION.

(5). THE THEMES.

Theme #1: The Eight Prophecies (1:3-2:16).

Theme #2: Three Sermons (3:1-6:14)

Theme #3: The Five Visions (7:1-9:10).

Theme #4: The Five Promises (9:11-15)

SERMON BODY

Ill:

Lion Trivia

• (1). Lions can live up to 14 years in the wild, and up to 20 in captivity.

• (2). Lions are the tallest of all big cats.

• The males can be up to 4ft in shoulder height, whereas the females only 3ft 3 in.

• (3). Lions are generally inactive for 20 hours a day.

• They tend to spend 2 hours walking and 50 minutes eating.

• (4). A group of lions is known as a pride, and consists of around six related females, multiple cubs of both genders and up to two males.

• (5). Male lions have manes.

• Male lions are often excluded from the pride when they reach maturity.

• (6). Females are the hunters of the pride as they are smaller,

• Swifter, more agile and do not have heavy warm manes.

• (7). Prey is often killed by strangulation, and not their sharp teeth.

• (8). Lions have the loudest roar of all big cats and can be heard up to 8km away.

• (5 miles away).

• TRANSITION: The title for my talk is: ‘The Lion Has Roared’:

• And Amos uses that expression and lion imagery in his book:

• i.e. chapter 3 verse 4:

• “Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey?”

• i.e. chapter 3 verse 8:

• “The lion has roared – who will not fear?”

• i.e. chapter 3 verse 12:

• “Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey?”

• i.e. chapter 3 verse 13:

• “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth…”

• i.e. chapter 5 verse 19:

• “It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear,”

• So the title for my talk on the book of Amos is ‘The Lion Has Roared’:

• And again and again you will see that lion imagery in this book.

(1). THE SUBJECT.

• The main subject of the book of Amos is:

• ‘God’s judgment will fall on prosperous Israel for its social and religious sins’

Ill:

• Charles Dickens starts his classic novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities' with the memorable line:

• "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

TRANSITION: That line would also be a good description for this book:

• ‘It was the best of times’:

• For Israel business is booming and boundaries are bulging;

• And peoples optimism is soaring, life is good!

• ‘It was the worst of times’:

• Below the surface of Israel’s wealth, was:

• Greed, injustice, hypocrisy, oppression, and arrogance.

• And hypocritical religious motions have replaced true worship.

Amos was sent by God to prophesy against the northern kingdom;

• Amos was an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah

• His major themes in this short book;

• Are of social justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment

(2). THE TIME.

• This small book was written 2700 years ago,

• We are going back in time to approximately 760 B.C.

Ill:

• We are able to date this book with accuracy;

• Because of the information he gave us in chapter 1 verse 1.

“The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa – the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.”

• Jeroboam II reigned over Israel from 793-753 B.C.

• And Uzziah reigned over Judah from 790-740 B.C.

• And Amos also gives us some other helpful information:

• He mentions an earthquake in verse 1,

• And archaeologists have calculated that took place about 760 B.C.

• These dates make the Book of Amos;

• The first biblical prophetic book to be written.

(3). THE MAN.

• All we know about Amos the prophet;

• Is what we have written in this little book of the Bible,

• We have no additional information.

• And in these nine chapters of his book;

• We are only told four things about the prophet himself.

FIRST: HE WAS FROM TEKOA.

• Chapter 1 verse 1 tells us where he lived in Tekoa.

• Tekoa, was just a few miles from Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

• About 11 miles south of Jerusalem and the same distance west of the Dead Sea;

SECOND: HE WAS A SHEPHERD.

Ill:

• There is a story told about a group of tourists;

• Who were sightseeing in the Holy Land.