BH Bulletin - Wednesday 25 August 2021

Thought for the Day by Stephen Demetriou
​(Youth Minister)

Hosea 1:3-9
At Rooted recently we asked the young people to come up with a name for Matt & Steph’s baby. There were some cracking names out there: Matt Jnr / Fern / Ruth / Isaiah – strong contenders (Matt, Steph, take note!!)

And then there were some more interesting names thrown out… Zin? Alex/Alexandra? (from Alex Forrest...!)
 
Baby names are super important. Biblical baby names are SUPER SUPER important!
So back in Hosea, look at the baby names we’re given:

So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
Remember; Hosea is a miniature of what God has done with His people and in chapter 1 of Hosea, the focus is squarely on the babies! Just like Hosea was called to be an object lesson to the people so to the children – and these are not nice and fun lessons.
 

• Baby 1: Jezreel [2 Kings 9 & 10] the place where an entire royal house of Israel had been slaughtered. Jezreel; that cute bundle of joy is a stark warning: this is what God will do to Israel.
• Baby 2: Lo-Ruhamah means not pitied; no compassion. And did you notice that this child isn’t Hosea’s? When Jezreel is born, we read Gomer conceived and bore him [Hosea] a son… that’s not said for Lo-Ruhamah. She is a product of adultery; with a name no compassion, she is a fitting sign to God’s people. They are people of spiritual adultery and there are consequences.
• Baby 3: Lo-Ammi means not my people. Another child born of Gomer’s infidelity. Just like Hosea would look at this child and every time think; that’s not my boy… so too God when He looks at His people; they have become children of the times around them.

 
Three babies of judgement depicting what would happen to God’s people for their spiritual infidelity.
 
These weren’t just words to Hosea. This was a painful message with feeling and the whole community would know. The whole community would see this family living out their story.
The pain Hosea felt is a bit like the pain God feels, sin cuts deep.
Often, we jump too quickly to the good news, but today, I want to let these three babies of judgement sit with us.
Sin is serious and has serious consequences. Again, a reminder for us to flee far from it, and to not entertain or flirt with sin for a second. It is deadly!
This judgement was going to become a reality for Israel.
Within that generation of people who would have heard Hosea’s message, judgement would come, Assyria would wipe them out.
 
See the babies here are warning shouts of what could happen, they are not sentences set in stone, let Hosea 1 be a warning shout for any of us who have not turned from sin, who have not turned towards the babe of Salvation, the Lord Jesus, there is a greater judgement than Assyria coming, please don’t delay, come back to Him, there is a way to escape judgement. 
Stephen

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BH World Mission Awareness Month

​BH World Mission Awareness Month
is coming up in October
 
We've got some great guest & home preachers lined up to teach us what God says about our Mission Statement at BH & to inspire us to consider what part God wants us to play.

We hope to have other mission focused events throughout the month
such as prayer meetings for our MPs & workshops over lunch with our guest speakers.
 
More details to follow in September but for now 'save the date' and get praying.

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Fran and Martin Russell August Newsletter

russells_pdf_bh_11th_august_2021.pdf
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