God has given us one book that can change the entire direction of our lives, the Bible.

And in this study, journeying through scriptures, we will take a brief big-picture look at every book of the Bible, tracing God's unfolding story

from Genesis to Revelation. Our prayer is that this journey will stir your heart to open God's

word daily. Let's join Scott Pauli for today's study.

There's no trouble like family trouble.

I'm telling you, when families have problems, it is one of the hardest things on earth to deal with.

Well, it's interesting, but the book we've come to in the Old Testament is a book of family

trouble.

It's called Hosea.

It's the first of the minor prophets. Now, they're not minor

in message. They're only minor in size. There are 12 of them, and they're smaller, for the most part,

than the five major prophets, but their message is big and as great and grand and glorious as

the love of God. And Josea is the perfect example of this, because

Osea is a very brief book about one family, and yet it's bigger than that. It is about the entire

nation of Israel and a great God who love them with everlasting love. Hosea has been called the

prophet of persevering love.

And let me tell you why.

You know, we've already studied the romance in Ruth.

We've studied the way marriage is a picture of our union with Christ and Song of Solomon.

So you'll understand that when you come to the book of Hosea,

God is using the story of one family as an object lesson of his relationship

with the nation of Israel. The message is given in symbol in chapters 1 through 3, and then in sermon

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