Talk about wrapping up the series today. Next week we start the new series “the new normal”
Spend some time talking about Romantic Comedies. Talk about how I am generally not a big fan of them, (I know that shocks you!). Talk about how the general plot of all of these movies is really the same. Boy and Girl meet, Boy and Girl overcome amazing circumstances to form a relationship, Boy or Girl has something from their past that comes back to haunt them and drives a wedge between them. Boy comes back to fight to win Girl back. Boy and Girl live happily ever after.
The funny thing is we all know this is basic outline of every Romantic Comedy ever, but if it doesn’t end the same way, we get rather upset.
Introduce the unusual love story we are going to talk about today. Briefly talk about who Hosea was, prophet to the northern kingdom, King Jeroboam II, the north was very prosperous, but they decayed morally and began to follow baal.
#1 God’s Uncommon Example of Love
Read Hosea 1:2-9 ~ Hosea was a prophet, and God used his life as a living example. Talk about the kids that were born, point out how it only says the first one was his (we don’t know about the others.) Talk about how bad this was.
God asked Hosea to marry Gomer to make the comparison between Hosea and Gomer’s relationship and God and Israel’s relationship. For years the nation of Israel had cheated on God. They stopped worshipping God and started worshipping idols. Some didn’t leave God wholly alone, but thought they could straddle a religious fence.
We are just like Gomer we “marry God and then cheat on him with the world! We start off our Christian walks with great intentions, and high hopes and standards and then we cheat on God! The amazing thing about all of this is that God knows about it and still takes us in!!
Read Revelation 3:16 ~ We have all become lukewarm!
#2 I’ll Never Let You Go, and I’ll Always Take You Back
Read Hosea 3:1-5 ~ If Hosea had let her go, it would have been like everyone else saying I love you, only to let weakness, and unfaithfulness break the bond. But Hosea said I will not let you go. And proved it. Also talk about how Hosea bought his wife back for next to nothing, about $185 and 10 bushels, she wasn’t worth much. He spent all he had to buy back his own wife,
Talk about the fact that no matter what we have done God will take us back!
Read Ephesians 3:17-19 ~ talk through “wide” “long” “high” “deep”
Where ever you’ve been, no matter how you’ve turned your back on God’s love. He still says to you, I’ve never let you go and I’ll always take you back.
Closing:
Read Romans 5:6-8
Talk about the story of the prodigal son. We can never outreach his love!
Lost and Found ad - Lost dog, brown fur, some missing due to mange, blind in one eye, three legs, slightly arthritic, goes by name of Lucky.
Most of us are like this dog, used, broken, dirty, not wanted by most people in the world, but we are still wanted by God.
