Come Sojourn with Us
This is where you will find sermons and updates for our church. Our mission is to preach expository sermons focusing on the gospel of Christ. We are a church that is tied to the reformed tradition and seeks to submit to the scriptures so we walk in the Lord’s wisdom rather than our own.
We would love to have you join us on our Christian sojourn if you are in the Belgrade, MT area. If you are not in area then join us by listening to our bi weekly free sermon podcast.
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Hosea tells us that the people have turned away from the Lord, looked to other nations, and sinned openly. He warns that Israel will be exiled for their sins, but offers hope by calling them to return to the Lord. We're reminded not to test God's grace, but also assured that it can reach even the darkest places. We are ultimately assured that the Lord will heal our apostasy and brokenness.
The Lord's people have lost their fight for the Lord. In fact, Hosea rebukes Israel for turning away from the Lord. They do not want to turn back to the Lord, but continue to plunge headfirst into their sin. They have failed to build the model and replica of heaven on earth. Now, the Lord comes against his people. Does this mean that the Lord is too weak to save? We find out that God really is gracious. He does not go back on his promise even as National Israel will be exiled from the land.
Hosea rehearses the Lord's case against Israel. They have failed him, they have pursued Baal, and they have failed to have an exclusive relationship with the Lord. This prophet is warning us that we might think that we are fine because we can trust in everything other than the Lord. This is why John the Baptist calls Israel to turn away from their confidence and to turn unto Christ. Hosea is fundamentally exhorting God's people to find their contentment and fulfillment in the Lord and His kingdom.
We can wonder as God's people if God is for us or against us. We should see that Israel is certainly a unique place in covenant history. They model heaven on earth, but demonstrate that we need a savior. Israel shows that despite the Lord's redemptive mercy their hearts can still wander from the true God. Israel is the model of heaven on earth, but communicates we will never bring heaven on earth. Israel also reminds us that the Lord can discipline his people. We might feel as if God is distant, but Hosea reminds us that the Lord is shaping his people even when he feels distant.
There is the warning to Israel that they are going to be carried off. They will be yoked and carried off. We might think that the Lord's purpose is finished. However, Christ exhorts us to put on his yoke that is light and easy. We need to see that coming under Christ's domain is freeing rather than domineering.
The Lord was refreshed by his people. He found them as a needy people needing redemption, and the Lord took pity on them, nurtured them, and loved them dearly. However, Israel crossed the line failing to see that God truly can protect his people. It sounds as if the Lord's purpose is concluded for his people, but we need to realize that redemption only comes through death. It is through death that there is true everlasting life.
Hos. 9:10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow;
but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.
14 Give them, O LORD—
what will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.
Hos. 9:15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
all their princes are rebels.
Hos. 9:16 Ephraim is stricken;
their root is dried up;
they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will put their beloved children to death.
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations.
Hosea gives a warning that Israel will not be celebrating their feast. The feasts are supposed to communicate Israel fellowshipping with God. They are in the presence of the most high God, but what do they do? They celebrate division, and feast in the presence of false gods. Truly, idolatry is a very irrational sin. It is a sin where we protect the gods we serve rather than seeing our God protects us.
The Lord protected his people as an eagle hovering over its young. The Lord saw to it that he continued to protect his people so that they survived their wilderness time. The Lord is the great protecting Eagle. However, the Lord now uses the nations to come against Israel. They are the eagle poised to attack God's people. We might think that God has given up his purpose for his people. However, Hosea gives a subtle reminder that the Lord will use Egypt again to reshape and mould his people.
Hosea continues to prove and prosecute the sins of Israel. There is a lot of immorality in the midst of Israel. They are a people who claim to return to God, but they are not really willing to repent of their sin. Hosea reminds us that as Christians we continually seek to pursue the Lord as we die to self.
We hear the apostle Paul exhort us to live as living sacrifices before the Lord. David confesses that the Lord does not want burnt offerings and Hosea echoes David's confession. So, how do we live as living sacrifices and honor our God? We will see that our God calls us to live before him with a sincere heart tuned into his purpose.
Jacob declares that Christ is going to be the lion of Judah. This is a lion who is going to fight on behalf of his people. However, what happens when his people lose the sight of God? Is he merely vindictive seeking to destroy? We will see that God is not vindictive, but seeks to shepherd his people even in the midst of discipline.
We can attack the Lord and accuse him of many things. This is not right, and our accusations are not justified. However, human beings continue to attack God. We do not realize that God publishes many warnings, God is very long suffering, and ultimately God is merciful even though we may deny this reality. This is not a call for us to question God, but a call for us to reevaluate how we view God. Notice, this is not saying that God has changed, but a call for us to change. We can see that even in the midst of his judgment his mercy is manifested.
When Satan stood before Adam and Eve in the garden of eden he gave them the seduction and the allure of freedom. They could be like God and God would have to bow to their will. Adam and Eve discovered that Satan is a liar in that moment. We also discover that sin's appetite is never exhausted and it can never be quenched. Hosea gives the examples of this from Israel's depravity, but also teaches us that God's redeeming mercy can reach deeper than our depravity and sin.
People say that they want Christianity, but they do not want the religion. There is no doubt that there have been many hypocrites in the church who have done atrocious things in the name of Christ. However, we fail to ask, "Is that Christianity?" This is what Hosea addresses. Hosea warns a very religious people to stop trusting in their religion, and trust in their God.
Hosea is commanded by the Lord to go and bring his adulterous wife hom. Hosea must pay the cost to buy her back. We might wonder what God is doing through the prophet until we realize that Israel is not a distant people, but it is a picture of us. We continue to desire the false gods, but it is the Lord who continues to overwhelm us and woo us to him. Praise be to God that he redeems such a people and may we not push the boundaries of his grace.
#expositorypreaching #hoseasermon #gospelpreaching#expositorypreaching #hoseasermon
The Lord promises to transform his people. This is not some outward makeover, but internally. We will move from being people enslaved to Baal's ownership and idolatry to a people transformed by the Lord. How much we need to take comfort in the Lord showing his mercy and compassion to us in Christ Jesus. #expositorypreaching #hoseaseries #gospelpreaching
Hosea speaks the word of the Lord to God's people. The Lord calls God's people to one last time of repentance and reformation. They are facing another time in the wilderness. We might think that all is lost as Israel wanders through the dry and dusty land because the Lord's purpose has failed. This is not the case because the Lord will walk with his people in the midst of their testing.
#expositorypreaching #hoseaseries #lifeinchrist
It seems that the Lord's purpose has failed. His people that he has promised to redeem he calls not his people. They are no longer the Lord's special people where the Lord communes in their midst as the Lord promises to send them into exile. If the prophet Hosea ended at verse 9 we would have a hopeless story of redemption. However, the Lord remembers his promise. The Lord teaches that his people need to be born from the heavenly reality. The Lord needs to bring in a new creation so that his people have life. The Lord vows to rename Hosea's children assuring us that the Lord's purpose is not complete.
#hosea #hoseaseries #expositorypreaching #oldtestamentsermon #oldtestamentstudy
The prophet Hosea is called to take a woman that is unfaithful. He is to take a wife who will undermine the institution of marriage. This seems to be a contradiction to the Lord's purpose. However, we know that the Lord is communicating to us the truth of the gospel. How can this prophet communicate to us the truth of the gospel when these words seem so hopeless?
#hosea #hoseasermons #expositorypreaching #redemptivehistoricalpreaching #preachingchrist
We are a bible believing church in the Belgrade, MT. We are a Reformed Protestant church who desire to build one another up in love as we sojourn under the sun.
