The 200's
A Snowy 2nd Sunday in Advent 2018 Greetings!
Pastor Josh & Sister Kristina 9 Dec 2018
In the early days of the church, Advent was a time of prayer, fasting & confession. Today, Advent is more a time of preparation & expectation of the coming of the Lord. Did you know the second advent candle has 3 different themes? Faith--to indicate the faith it took for Mary & Joseph to deal with the unexpected pregnancy & the trip to Bethlehem; Peace--for the peace promised to all mankind through the coming of the Savior; & the Bethlehem Candle pointing to the Savior's birth in a manger. He is coming again. Prepare!
Video 1
Covenant Bible Fellowship
a loving faith family, a home for seekers of truth, &​ a discipling church for an undisciplined world...
A Study in Hosea...
If you would like to just listen to the KJV version of Hosea, click on the title picture.
The Read Scripture Series has a great 7+ minute video that gives an excellent visual overview of Hosea. Watch & enjoy.
A modern film adaptation of the Story of Hosea, starring Sean Astin "Amazing Love"
As always, be a Berean and watch with your Bible open to the book itself... :-)
Hosea's time was during about the last 40 years of the Northern Kingdom. He began his ministry when Israel, under Jeroboam II was at the zenith of its power. He was a younger contemporary of Amos; an older contemporary of Isaiah and Micah. As a child he may possibly have known Jonah. The kings in whose reigns he prophesied were Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, in the country of Judah, Jeroboam II in the country of Israel. The approximate dates of these kings were as follows:
Kings of Israel, The Northern Kingdom
Jeroboam II (790-749) A reign of great prosperity
Zechariah (748) Reigned 6 months. Was killed by Shallum
Shallum (748) Reigned 1 month. Was killed by Menahem
Menahem (748-738) Unspeakably cruel. was a puppet of Assyria
Pekahiah (738-736) Was killed by Pekah
Pekah (748-730) Was killed by Hoshea. Galilee captivity (734)
Hoshea (730-721) Fall of Samaria (721) End of the Kingdom
Kings of Judah, The Southern Kingdom
Uzziah (737-735) A good king
Jotham (749-734) A good king
Ahaz (741-726) Very wicked! Galilee captivity (734)
Hezekiah (726-697) A good king. Fall of Samaria (721)
Some of these dates overlap, and are confusing. The maximum period, thus, in which Hosea could have prophesied would be 790-697 BC. and the minimum period about 750-725 BC. Assuming that his ministry extended into some considerable part of the reigns of both Jeroboam and Hezakiah, it would be safe, perhaps, to place him at about 760-720 BC.
His unhappy domestic life with his unfaithful wife, Gomer, was not only a preparation for his ministry, but a parable to the nation of its spiritual adultery in forsaking Jehovah and resorting to the worship of false gods. Hosea is one of the most evangelical of the Old Testament. He shows clearly that God is love and that Israel's sin of sins was not to have recognized the love of God. Hosea was thus the St. John of the Old Testament. "Hosea was the home missionary of North Israel, as Jonah was their foreign."
You can find the entire study on Hosea at http://www.zionfriedheim.org/biblestudies/Old%20Testament/hosea.htm
Hosea 10:2 Fallow Ground Pastor Billy Robertson 25 June 2017 sermon notes
Fallow ground--that's what Pastor Billy is talking about today, but what in the world is 'fallow ground'? Farmers and gardeners know -- "a field that has been sown with crops in the past and has yielded much fruit but has now been left unworked for a time. It is hard and full of ruts. It yields nothing but weeds now." How much of our life has become 'fallow ground"... we've gotten used to this church habit and it has become a rote tradition; we've lost the fire to witness but still carry the label of Christian; we've neglected reading the Word and consistent, heartfelt prayer but expect the blessings surrounding us to just be there. The spiritual land that was once productive has become weedy and forgotten, and we are riding on habit, not repentant on-fire heart... How fallow is your ground?