Torn Between Justice & Love | Hosea 11

Sermon Guide for September 28, 2025

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How to Use This Guide:

These guides are designed to help you engage more deeply with my weekly sermon, no matter what stage of life you're in. Use this guide to prepare your heart to receive God's Word before worship, or to reflect on God's Word the week following worship.

Parents, use the information in this guide to have meaningful conversations with your kids that nurture their faith and help them grow in God’s love.

Finally, I’d love for you to leave a comment! My hope is that these posts spark intergenerational conversations, helping us all learn from and encourage one another.

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Scriptures Referenced in the Sermon:

Hosea 11:1-12

Main Idea:

This sermon explores the heart of God in Hosea 11, where Israel is portrayed as His child. Though they rebel, chase after idols, and ignore His care, God’s love remains steadfast, even as His justice demands a response. He is torn between judgment and mercy, yet promises restoration for His children. This tension finds its perfect resolution in the gospel: at the cross, Jesus bears the punishment for our sin, fully satisfying God’s justice while displaying His immeasurable love, so that all who believe may be reconciled and brought into eternal relationship with the Father.

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Kids (ages 5-12)

• Key Insight: God loves you like a parent loves a child—even when you make mistakes.

• Reflection Prompt: Think about a time you disobeyed or made a choice you shouldn’t have. How did it feel when someone forgave you or helped you?

• Action Step: Draw a picture of God’s love as a parent holding you. Then, write one thing you can do this week to show love or forgiveness to someone else.

Teens (ages 13-18)

• Key Insight: Even when we rebel or feel far from God, He is patient and desires to draw us back.

• Reflection Prompt: Are there areas in your life where you’ve ignored God or made choices that distance you from Him? What keeps you from returning to Him?

• Action Step: Make a “return list” of one thing you can do this week to reconnect with God or repair a relationship with someone you’ve hurt or who has hurt you. Pray over it.

  
  

Adults (ages 19-64)

• Key Insight: Even when we face the consequences of our choices or experience broken relationships, God’s love remains steadfast, inviting us to respond in trust and repentance rather than despair.

• Reflection Prompt: Reflect on a season where you experienced God’s correction, discipline, or guidance. How did it help you grow closer to Him?

• Action Step: Spend time each day reflecting on God’s faithful love in your life and journal ways you can extend that same mercy and patience to others, especially in difficult relationships.

Seniors (ages 65+)

• Key Insight: God’s faithfulness endures through all generations; even when His people are wayward, His love continues to pursue and call them back to Him.

• Reflection Prompt:

  • Look back on your life and identify ways God has pursued you, even when you turned away. How has His love shaped your journey?

  • How can your story encourage younger generations to trust God’s love and faithfulness?

• Action Step: Share a story with a younger person about a time God’s mercy or guidance was evident in your life. Encourage them in their walk with God this week.