Key Truth: God desires a relationship with us born of our steadfast love for and knowledge of Him as opposed to a commodified relationship that hardens us toward Him.

Introduction:

Q: What are the characteristics of a relationship that affirms and blesses you?

The Call to Relationship Born of Steadfast Love for and Knowledge of God:

Hosea 6:4-7:1

“There is a disposition in every man to substitute external observances for the devotion of the heart; and to rest satisfied with rendering to God some easy services, while they are utterly averse to those duties which are more difficult and self-denying. But God cannot be deceived, nor will he be mocked. He will look at the heart, and not at the outward appearance only; and will mark with indignation the partial obedience of the hypocrite, no less than the open disobedience of the profane.”

Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae, Vol. 10: Hosea to Malachi

Q: How have you grown in your steadfast love for and knowledge of God? What are some ways in which the means of grace (the Word read, studied, sung, prayed, preached, and made visible in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper) have helped you to grow in your steadfast love for and knowledge of God?

The Half-Baked, Silly Political Pursuit of Lesser Lovers:

Hosea 7:2-16

“How better describe a half-fed people, a half-cultured society, a half-lived religion, a half-hearted policy, than by a half-baked scone?”

George Adam Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets

Q: What are some ways in which you have been hardened toward the Lord making yourself unstable and vulnerable to be inflamed by destructive passions? What are some other things in which you have sought help and healing instead of the Lord?

Hosea 6:4-7:16 teaches us that:

-we should seek a relationship born of steadfast love for and knowledge of God as opposed to offering heartless religious rites

-commodified relationships harden us to the Lord and make us unstable and proudly inflamed in our destructive passions

Benediction:

Hosea 10:12