We exist to know Christ and to make Him known. As a church we must renew our commitment to reach out to our community. The FORCE Sunday School classes are a tool to assist in this renewal. These classes are best explained by using the following acrostic:

Fellowship – Growing in our faith together
Organize – Planning to include everyone
Reach – Sharing our faith as a part of our life
Care – Serving others for the cause of Christ
Equip – Learning to teach others also

     The book of Amos is the topic for this quarter's FORCE Sunday School. Amos' message is somewhat different from that of many modern preachers and certainly unlike the message of our culture. Amos preached to a prosperous Israelite nation that such prosperity often leads to a false sense of security. The Israelites of that day mistakenly interpreted their high standard of living as a sign of God’s blessing when, in fact, they were under the impending judgment of God because of their overt sinfulness. To make matters worse, the Israelites were outwardly religious. This nation thought that their religious activity was enough to excuse their otherwise sinful, materialistic lifestyles. Amos’ message overturned their fallacious thinking. This book is a challenge to God’s people today as well. Our righteousness before God cannot be based on our ease of life. Our righteousness before God is not established by our outward religious ceremonies or conduct. God sees past our façades and sees our heart. May we be challenged to look past our own ease, possessions, and outward religion and see ourselves for who we really are. We are God’s people on the basis of Christ’s work on our behalf. Because of this privileged position we must abandon our own agendas for our life and live a life of praise toward our Redeemer and serve Him with a pure heart.