For the summer of 2020, our Trinity Reads selection will be the biblical book of Amos. Please join us in reading this classic prophetic book.

Why Amos? Two summers ago we read the Gospel of Mark together, and it was a great way for us all to dive into the scriptures. This summer, as we emerge gradually from our COVID isolation and find ourselves in a world on fire with cries for justice, it seems appropriate to go to one of the classic prophetic words from God to a people struggling with injustice and idolatry. It might seem counterintuitive to turn to the roar of God’s righteousness in a time when we feel like we need comfort and relief, but our conviction at Trinity is that the judgment of God is safer than the kindness of any idolatry.

Dr. Denton has invited Trinity parent and Old Testament professor Brent Strawn to join him for a series of short conversations and communications each week to help us as we make our way through this book. Dr. Strawn writes, “Amos is one of my top five favorite books, and I recently accepted a contract to write a commentary on the book for a series devoted to justice matters. In my view, Amos is so crucial, as it is really the quintessential biblical statement of the judgment of God. We can’t have a functioning biblical lexicon without working through that issue.”

Reading the prophets with young children is an interesting challenge. We will talk more about this in coming weeks, but here is a short doodle from the Bible Project that might be a good introduction for children (and their parents, too). Let's all join in reading along, one chapter per week. Families may want to read this book together out loud.