JUSTICE

AMOS 5:21-23 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.

EMPTY RELIGION God hates empty religion God loves justice & compassion Observable Manageable No substance God loves justice & compassion How we treat others The true test of our faith Reflections of God’s character

AMOS 5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

DOING JUSTICE Justice Penal Justice Protective Justice Making wrongs right Treating people fairly and equally Penal Justice Punishes those who have done wrong Protective Justice Ensures fairness abounds Gives the vulnerable their due

PSALM 146:5-9 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God… who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

DOING JUSTICE The Paradox of Justice Pursuing Justice God forgives the guilty; sinners God is just and must deal with sin Pursuing Justice Oppressed Prisoners Blind (and Sick) Sojourners (Outsiders) Widows and Fatherless The Oppressed Think about someone in our church or neighborhood is experiencing vocational, financial, or relational hardship? How can you or our church address their needs? Prisoners Are there those in your community who are literally imprisoned? Not just those in jail, but perhaps housebound, or subject to domestic slavery? How might you and your church witness to the freedom of the gospel? How might you advocate for the well-being of those that society has chosen to forget? The Blind (The Sick) Who in your community or church is in need of physical assistance? Whether permanent or temporary, how can you help to alleviate their suffering, and help them back towards health in it’s widest sense? The Sojourners (The Outsiders) Are there those in your community who are not at “home” for one reason or another? They may be literally homeless, immigrating from another country, or simply a communal outsider. The question is: how can we make space for them in the warm, rather than leave them out in the cold? The Widows and Fatherless Who in your community experiences personal difficulty because of their relational situation? Are there single, divorced, or widowed people in need of assistance or friendship? Are there children who need physical, emotional and relational support and encouragement?

JAMES 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. How does this verse confirm that this (doing justice) is part of Christian discipleship?

JOHN 8:1-11 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

JOHN 8:1-11 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

JOHN 8:1-11 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

PURSUING JUSTICE How are you being called to make wrongs right in your community? Who around you is oppressed, imprisoned, sick, an outsider, widowed, or fatherless? Do you think people in our community would associate Fellowship Church with caring about justice?