In only two weeks we're finishing the prophet Amos! 

This week Amos will continue to call Israel to repentance, as well as brutally trash-talk another wayward prophet. But our main focus will be on what Amos feels the Israelites' key sin was: a failure to worship properly.

According to Amos, behind Israel's sin of social injustice is a failure to worship the way God wants. What does it mean to worship God, then? And why does God require basically say, "Worship me, or else!" Isn't that a little bit manipulative or abusive?

The answer to all these questions has something to do with understanding idol worship and how we, as Christians, in a strange way, are supposed to learn to worship from the example of idol worship in the ancient near east.