012 Hosea 3:1-5

In this week's message, we see God telling Hosea to go and buy back Gomer, who has returned to her former ways and is now a slave up for auction to pay her debt. This is the redemptive story of Israel, God's people, as they left the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to worship other Gods. Despite Israel's unfaithfulness, God pursues them and is waiting for their return.

This is our story now, too. We wander away from God to worship other things. We pursue things that don't build toward His kingdom in the age to come. Instead, they build our kingdom in the present day. God is patient with us and longs for us to return to Him. He longs for us to “come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness.”

Talk with your group about this illustration and how you see it play out in your life. Talk about times when you have been faithful to God and times when you have failed. Are there things in your life right now that are distracting you from this truth?