The Roaring Lion and the Nations

Devotional thought:
God's judgment begins not with God's own people, but with the cruelty of Israel's neighbors. His holiness demands justice for all. Notice how the list slowly circles in, ending with Judah and Israel. God's people are not exempt from judgment, rather they are held to a higher standard.

Spiritual Practice:Examine Your Circle.

 Prayerfully consider your family, community, and nation. Where do you see injustice or oppression happening "out there"? How are you, or your community, complicit through silence or inaction?

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos:

Amos said God's voice was like a lion's roar. When you hear a scary noise, what do you do? Amos says the roar of God's justice is a warning that should make people stop doing wrong and choose what is right.

A Plumb Line for the People

Devotional thought:
You only have I chosen... therefore I will punish you for all your sins." Privilege brings responsibility. God reveals His standard, a plumb line, against which His people are found crooked. Even His discipline is a call to return.

Spiritual Practice:The Plumb Line.

In prayer, hold your life, choices, and commitments against God's perfect standard of justice and love found in Christ. Don't just measure outward actions; ask God to reveal the condition of your heart.

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos:

A plumb line is a tool to see if a wall is straight. If God used a "heart plumb line" on our family, what would it measure? Would it show kindness, honesty, and sharing, or something crooked that needs fixing?

Seek Good, Not Evil: Focus on 5:14-15, 21-24

Devotional thought:
This chapter contains the book's most famous call: "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" God rejects hollow worship: festivals, songs, and offerings, when it is disconnected from right living and care for others.

Spiritual Practice: Worship Audit. 

Reflect on your recent acts of worship (prayer, singing, giving, communion). Are they expressions of a life lived justly and mercifully throughout the week, or are they a substitute for one? Offer a prayer of realignment.

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos: 

God told people He was tired of their songs because they were being mean to others. What does it mean for us to "sing with our lives"? How can our kindness be a song God loves to hear?

Complacency & Consequences

Devotional thought:
Amos condemns the complacent elite who are "at ease in Zion," uncaring of the ruin around them. Their comfort is a prelude to exile. Even as Amos intercedes, God's patience has its limit, and the plumb line decree stands.

Spiritual Practice:Identify Complacency.

Where in your life are you "at ease" while ignoring a need for justice, repentance, or growth in your community, church, or own heart? Confess this comfort and ask God for a heart that is disturbed by what disturbs Him.

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos:

The people in Amos' time felt safe and comfy on their fancy beds while others were hurting. When you have a cozy blanket or a favorite toy, how can you remember to share and care for others who might not feel cozy or safe?

The Basket of Ripe Fruit & The Famine

Devotional thought:
The vision shifts: Israel is not just crooked but rotten-ripe for judgment. The coming "famine" is not of food, but of hearing God's words. A terrifying picture emerges: there is no escape from God's searching judgment.

Spiritual Practice: Cherish the Word. 

Spend extra time in grateful, attentive Bible reading today. Thank God for the profound gift of His accessible Word. Pray for those who live under regimes or in contexts where this Word is scarce or forbidden.

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos: 

Amos saw a basket of perfect, ripe fruit, but God said it meant the people were "ripe" for punishment because they were so mean. What does it mean to be "ripe" or ready to show God's kindness instead?

The Promise of Restoration

Devotional thought:
After the unrelenting warnings, a glorious dawn breaks. God's final word is not destruction but hope. He promises to restore the fallen tent of David (a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ) and bring about a permanent restoration where His people dwell in secure blessing.

Spiritual Practice: Hope in Christ. 

Read Acts 15:13-18, where James links this passage to the inclusion of the Gentiles through Jesus. Praise God that the ultimate "repairer of broken walls" (from Isaiah) is Christ, who makes all things new and secures our eternal future.

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos:

The story ends with God promising to fix everything and plant gardens where there were ruins. If God gave you seeds to "plant" something good in our family or neighborhood today, what would you want to plant?

Reading: Review a key verse from each day or skim chapters 5, 7, and 9.

Devotional Thought:

Amos leaves us with two pictures: a society crumbling under the weight of its own injustice, and a future kingdom flourishing under God's righteous rule. We live in the tension between the two, called to be agents of God's justice and bearers of His hope.

Spiritual Practice: Justice & Hope Commitment. 

Based on your week in Amos, write down one concrete, sustainable action you will take to pursue Godly justice (e.g. ethical consumerism, advocacy, generous giving, reconciliation). Also, write down one truth from Amos 9:11-15 that anchors your hope.

Conversation Starter with your Kiddos: 

The book of Amos is about being fair and kind because God loves justice. What is one way we can be "justice helpers" as a family this week? Let's pick one thing and do it together.

• Sit with the Conviction
  Spend a week reflecting on a specific point of personal conviction from Amos (e.g., about consumerism, inequality, religious hypocrisy). Journal or pray through what repentance and new action might look like for you, personally.

• Study the Historical & Cultural Context
  Use a study Bible or online commentary to dig into the specifics of 8th-century BCE Israel, such as the roles of Jeroboam II, the city of Bethel, or the denouncement of “wool garments and wine” in chapter 6. Better understanding the original setting sharpens the text’s challenge for today.

• Compare Amos with a New Testament Parallel
  Read the Book of James, which shares Amos’s emphasis on combining faith with deeds, caring for the oppressed (James 1:27, 2:14–17), and the dangers of wealth. Note New Testament connections, such as the Jerusalem Council quoting Amos 9:11–12 in Acts 15:16–17.

• Connect to a Current Justice Issue
  Prayerfully research a local or global justice concern (e.g., food insecurity, housing inequity, wage fairness). Use Amos’s call to “let justice roll down” as a lens to learn, pray, and discern if there is a practical, sustainable way you can engage.

• Study another Prophet
  Move to a longer prophetic book like Isaiah (especially chapters 1–39) or Jeremiah, which expand on themes of covenant, social justice, and divine judgment. Alternatively, read Micah (a contemporary of Amos) for a similar message with the memorable summary in Micah 6:8.

• Reflect on the Nature of True Worship
  Amos 5 highlights that religious rituals are in vain without justice and righteousness. Spend time evaluating your own patterns of worship, corporate and private, asking how they might lead to more just action in the world rather than become a substitute for it.