Sermon Series: Micah: From Warning to Hope

Sermon – “One Who Changes Everything”  - Micah 5:1-15

A God Who Rises from Small Places (vv. 1-2)

  • Verse 1 speaks to the kind of things the Israelites did to appease a god for attention, and it falls flat in the face of Yahweh. Their practices were counter to the way of Yahweh. In other words, they will try what they can to “make it work,” only to realize it was vain. 

  • We begin to see language in verse 2 that alludes to the kind of one who will come and bring restoration and life, and it will happen in the least expected places: Bethlehem Ephrathah, a small town, out of the way, and insignificant. This fits the pattern of a God who raises up the insignificant and relatively unknown for purposes with great possibility. 

  • The forgotten places and people discover a God who brings purpose and life. 

A Shepherding Messiah (vv. 3-5a)

  • The messiah that will come will bring about genuine care and concern for the people. The Shepherd-Messiah brings about a security that invites a cooperative response so that change may happen in the world. 

  • It’s an invitation to go against using the language of Christianity and labels that make us feel comfortable and safe in our own faith status. It’s an invitation to embody and live out what it means to follow the way of the one true King Jesus. 

  • This deepened living is a holiness of heart and life that goes beyond an anemic faith and into a way of being that brings peace.

God Empowers the Faithful (vv. 5b-9)

  • The chaos will come amid disobedience to the way of Yahweh. It will be temporal and won’t last forever. Amid the chaos, there will be those who are faithful to this way of Yahweh despite the chaos brought all around. 

  • We are able to make this life in our world because of what the Spirit of God makes possible in us. A deepened faith increases our strength, makes us holy, and effective in a world caught up in the rhythms of chaos. 

Purifying Us From Idolatry (vv. 10-15)

  • A deepened faith life invites us to surrender the people and things that can so easily entangle, distract, and move us away from a life that experiences God in fullness. 

  • It’s a movement away from the things that keep us comfortable and in the lie of perceived peace. 

  • This life is made possible because of what the Shepherd-Messiah Jesus has done for us to bring about a life we never knew possible. 

(Resources provided by David W. Baker, James Limburg, and ChatGPT)


Discussion Questions:

  1. God moves among the small and insignificant. How have you seen this in your own life? 

  2. Why is the imagery of a Shepherd so pivotal in the scriptures to describe Jesus and his relationship to us? What does a shepherd do that would warrant understanding for us?

  3. Titles, labels, and identity mean nothing unless it is lived out. How has the Good News of Jesus gotten tarnished in our world? How can it be more robust in the future?

  4. Seeking a holy life is a deepening of faith beyond just “going to heaven when we die.” How can we become a holy people beyond just “saying a prayer?”

  5. The work of purification can be painful, but it is a necessary part of our faith journey. What or who needs to be purified in your life that can so easily bring about comfort that hinders a holy life?