The Book of Joel

Imagine being suddenly awakened in the middle of the night by the piercing sound of a smoke alarm. Disoriented and half-asleep, you stumble through the darkness, trying to identify the danger before it is too late. The book of Joel is God's urgent alarm to a people who had drifted from Him and could no longer recognize their true spiritual condition. Yet His warning is also an expression of patience, mercy, and love, because God pursues us and calls us to return before destruction comes. This Sunday, we will ask whether we are hearing the alarm and how we should respond when God calls, "Return to Me with all your heart."