Few experiences can compare to the pain of adultery—and God knows this better than anyone. God’s people were wedded to him alone, but they betrayed him. They left him for other lovers and forgot him. But how will the story end—in restoration or tragedy? How can a promise-keeping God abandon his chosen people? On the other hand, how can a holy God be reunited with sinful people? The Bible gives us some answers in the words of the prophet Hosea. Join us as we plumb the depths of God’s love—and in the process learn something about ourselves.

Sunday, September 23, we begin our sermon series going through the book of Hosea. If you’re like me, you might be familiar with the first few chapters of the book, which describe the prophet’s rollercoaster of a marriage to the adulterous Gomer, but you might not remember much beyond that. The drama of this opening narrative is certainly memorable, but it’s meant to help us remember the message that permeates the rest of Hosea’s writing—a message of urgent warning and profound hope, an exploration of the heart of God as well as the heart of man. It’s this message that we want to share with you each Sunday in our series on Hosea. Before we dive in, I want to answer a few questions that may be on your mind:

We just went through Amos…why another prophetic book?
Hosea prophesied in a similar time and place and addressed many of the same problems, but he did so from a unique perspective. It’s as if we’re switching to a different camera angle on the same scene; in doing so, we get a fuller understanding of what’s happening. We hope this series helps you see that God gave us both angles for a reason: that we would better know him, know ourselves, know the depths of his grace found in our Lord Jesus Christ, and respond in faith.  

Will the Hosea series be appropriate for children?
Yes! While reading through Hosea, you may notice some themes that aren’t quite “PG,” including adultery and prostitution. We don’t censor the words that God has given us in the Bible, some of which are meant to shock us in order to convey important truths. But we will handle these mature themes in a tactful and kid-appropriate way. However, parents should be prepared to explain them to their children if questions arise.

What can I do to prepare?
1) A good place to start is the Bible Project video on the book of Hosea. This will give you an overview of Hosea’s message and help you to see how each section fits into the whole book.

2) Just read it! You might try reading or listening to the whole book in one sitting or reading a few chapters to prepare you for each sermon. (You can hear the audio for any passage at esv.org).