Episode Summary:Have you ever been on a journey where you only wanted to look out one side of the window? In this episode, we explore the jarring contrast between the luxury we often seek and the reality of the world we often ignore. Drawing from a personal story of a Jamaican honeymoon and the sobering warnings found in Amos chapter 6, we discuss the spiritual danger of "arrogant complacency." Join us as we look at how the loss of empathy can turn justice into poison and what it means to truly follow the example of Jesus, who entered into the pain of others rather than buffering himself from it.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Jamaican Honeymoon Metaphor: How resorts on the left side of the bus hide the abject poverty on the right, and how we often live our lives with that same selective vision.

  
  

• The "Woe" of Amos 6: Understanding why God’s warning was directed at both Israel and Judah for their comfort-driven detachment.

  
  

• Defining Arrogant Complacency: Exploring the Hebrew word Shahnan—not just a lack of movement, but a death of empathy that looks down on those in need.

  
  

• The Poisoning of Justice: When empathy dies, righteousness and grace become "bitter pills" to those who feel they have earned their comfort.

  
  

• The Empathy of Jesus: A look at the shortest verse in the Bible—"Jesus wept"—and why his response to Lazarus’s death is the ultimate model for Christian identity.

  
  

• Modern Buffers: Identifying the "lotions" and "wines" we use today—media, busyness, or even ritualistic religion—to numb ourselves to the world’s heartache.

Call to Action:Are you looking out the right side of the bus? We challenge you this week to identify one area where your empathy has been replaced by a "buffer" and to take one tangible step to walk alongside someone in need.

Scripture Reference:

• Amos 6:1-14

• John 11:35 (Jesus Wept)

What if your worship is empty? What if God looks at your religious life — the songs, the prayers, the offerings — and says, I hate it?

That's exactly what Amos tells Israel in chapter 5. And it's just as much a word for us.

In this episode, we work through the heart of Amos's prophecy — a funeral dirge for a nation that was religiously active, politically thriving, and spiritually lost. The diagnosis is sharp: they were not seeking the Lord. And the evidence? Justice was being trampled. The poor were being taxed into the ground. The courts were rigged. And the people couldn't wait for God to show up and fix everything — while quietly placing their real trust in kings, politicians, and the structures of power around them.

Sound familiar?

In this episode:

• Why Amos opens chapter 5 singing a funeral for people who are still alive
• The two words at the core of Amos — tzedakah (righteousness) and mishpat (justice) — and why they're inseparable
• What ancient Israel's straw tax has to do with modern America
• The danger of longing for the "Day of the Lord" while trusting in princes
• Why God says he hates religious festivals — and what he wants instead
• How we read Amos differently on this side of the cross

Key Passage: Amos 5:4, 21–24

"Seek me and live... But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream."

Series: Amos

Acts 13 Network meets Sunday evenings in Ypsilanti, MI. Learn more at acts13.net.

Chosen: On Empty Worship and the God Who Loves Too Much to Let Us StayBeyond Sunday School | Amos 3–4

What does it mean to be "chosen" by God? In this episode, we dig into Amos 3–4 and discover that the Hebrew word for chosen isn't primarily a theological category — it's the language of intimate, covenantal love. The same God who says "I have something against you" opens with "you are mine."

From there, Amos builds a devastating case against Israel's empty religion. They were prosperous, comfortable, and deeply religious — sacrificing constantly, tithing faithfully, announcing their offerings loudly. And God says: you're missing the point entirely.

In this episode we explore:

• Why God's discipline of Israel flows from love, not wrath
• Who Amos was — a shepherd and fig-tree pruner called out of ordinary life to speak uncomfortable truth
• The difference between performing religion and being transformed by grace
• Why Jesus, like Amos, keeps moving toward the edges — and what it means to follow him there
• The Chinese pastor's question that every American church needs to sit with: "Where is Jesus?"

Scripture ReferencesAmos 3:1–2 | Amos 3:3–8 | Amos 4:1–5 | Amos 4:13 | John 4:19–24