Been doing a lot of reading of books about the countries in the southern part of Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, S. Africa, etc.), mainly to get a sense of what’s going on. Here are a couple titles that seem to me to be fair if not shocking and tragic windows into Zimbabwe, esp. since the time of independence and Robert Mugabe’s ascension to leadership. Highly recommend both of these.

• House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-torn Zimbabwe – Christina Lamb
• Where We Have Hope: A Memoir of Zimbabwe – Andrew Meldrum

I would love to hear from people who are living in Zim or have lived there at some point. Is it really as bad as it sounds? Are there other books that need to be read as well?

Have a special preacher this weekend. Nicolas Farelly is a friend of ours who is serving as a missionary in Paris, France with the Presbyterian Mission International. So we’ll be taking a break from Hosea to hear from Paul:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by [6] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Click here for the sermon audio.

Here’s the link to Nic’s ministry website.

Tomorrow we kick off our annual summer fellowship on the verdant shore of Lake Padden. Every Wednesday we will be gathering at 6:00 pm for BBQ, games, singing and fellowship. Even if you don’t attend Oikos, we’d love to have you come and join us as we enjoy the summer together.

1 Rejoice not, O Israel!
Exult not like the peoples;
for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s wages
on all threshing floors.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.
3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices shall not please him.
It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;
all who eat of it shall be defiled;
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord.

5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,
and on the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they are going away from destruction;
but Egypt shall gather them;
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;
thorns shall be in their tents.

7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come;
Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool;
the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
and great hatred.
8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
and hatred in the house of his God.
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.

Click here for the sermon audio.

New article by Conrad Mbewe in the latest eJournal.

What do you think?

This week we’re going to talk about the covenant that God makes with His people…hope you can join us:

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.

3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness, [1]
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.

Click here for the sermon text.

Cheryl and I had a great time in Vail again seeing old friends and meeting new ones, including Gerald Mwebe who is a church planter/pastor in Kampala, Uganda. Very encouraged about the state and the direction of the network as a whole and it seems as though some doors have opened up for some great things to happen regionally (i.e. NW Washington) as well.

Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic Monthly has contributed to the coverage of the recent chaos in Iran following last week’s election by posting not only video but also tweets from people on the ground in Tehran and other cities. Provided we can trust these, they paint a picture of an oppressive government that is more than willing to take extreme measures (including spraying the crowds by helicopter with chemicals) to maintain peace and order. I’m not going to even presume I know that the election results were fraudulent, but that in no way justifies the kind of brutal suppression of Iranian citizens that we are witnessing.

Please join me in praying for the Iranian people, esp. our Christian brothers and sisters.

New series beginning this weekend. Don’t forget that it’s also Father’s Day.

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, [1] for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, [2] for you are not my people, and I am not your God.” [3]

10 [4] Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children [5] of the living God.” 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Click here for the sermon audio.

Helpful op-ed piece by Roger Cohen re: the current chaos in Iran.