Helmut Thielicke had lived on the borderline between life and death enduring a life-threatening illness in his youth and confronting the perpetually present carnage of World War Two. He ministered to a skeptical generation that teetered on the borderline between faith and unbelief.
John prepared the way for Jesus with his preaching and subsequent arrest and death. But then the plot flips and we find hope in the fact that Jesus prepares the way for John (and for us).
In my experience, no theological topic causes more existential angst than the truth that God has predestined people for salvation. When such a weighty doctrine is broached, what is a preacher to do?
The message of Amos comes home to us as we reflect on the prosperity in our land, our good life, our comparative comfort which are no guarantee that God looks favorably on our ways of living.