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The twelfth and last prophet, Malachi, brings a word of hope and repentance after Israel has returned from exile. The temple has been rebuilt and yet things are not going the way they should. Israel is still rebelling against God's covenant of love and peace - choosing instead idolatry and injustice. So God brings them back to his covenant love and reminds them of who he is, in order to point forward to the hope of the coming messiah, where God himself will enter into the injustice and idolatry and set things back right.

Zechariah takes a much needed turn to the hope of Israel and Judah's future restoration after exile to Babylon. He speaks to them in the midst of pain, sorrow, and unknowing–pointing forward to a future promise as a reason for covenant faithfulness with God. This is similar to the tension we also feel after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Where the present kingdom is not yet fully fulfilled until his return. We, too, can have the hope of our future resurrection with Jesus.

This week we have a special guest with us! Travis Mitchell is the Pastor of Montavilla Church, a multi-cultural and multi-generational church in southeast Portland! Travis walks us through the book of Haggai, looking at its history, as well as the challenge present in the book that we can apply today, the challenge to not misplace our priorities in the things that, even if they come from the right place, seem to easily distract us from what God has for us as his followers.

Zephaniah warns Judah of their complacency of faith. They have turned away from their dependency on God, and moved toward building their own kingdom of self-sufficiency. This has brought them out of right relationship with God, and Zephaniah is warning that God's judgment is coming to put them back to rights, and remind them of their dependency on God.

Habakkuk shows us how to faithfully embrace God through the difficult times of confusion and anguish. Waiting on God means solitude with him and hearing his voice, and praising him in the midst of ambiguity and confusion.

Nahum means comforter, and yet there is not much comforting about the words from the prophet. Yet upon further understanding, we realize that Nahum is speaking about the judgment of the violent nation of Assyria, which does end up being good news for the people of Judah. Nahum teaches us to be humble before God and trust that he is a just judge. He will put things back to rights in ways that we could never do on our own.

The prophet of Micah implores God's people to listen. Listening in the Bible is not passive, but active, as listening also includes obeying his command. This is what will lead us to righteousness with God, and right relationship with one another.

The story of Jonah invites us into contemplating our relationship with God and his sovereign mercy. Do we trust how God will be merciful to those that we do not believe should receive it? Or would we rather take it for our own gain?

The book of obadiah was written as a warning of a coming Judgement for Edom, a nation that had consistently been in conflict with Israel and played a crucial part in the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. This book is one that confronts us with the tension between Judgement, Forgiveness, and a hope for deliverence.

The third prophet in the book of the twelve is a humble shepherd that God called up to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to speak against their injustice and unrighteous living. God wants to put an end to their unrighteous living, and has given them countless opportunities to turn back to him, and when they refuse God sends his judgment upon them. God is trying to help them remember to seek him as the perfect measure of what it means to live righteously amongst one another.

The prophet of Joel is a short book of poems calling the people of Israel to repent and turn back to God and his righteousness. Joel points to past and future destruction as a reality in which we need to repent, and ultimately give our hearts completely to God in order to be transformed from the inside-out. God is faithful and he will deliver them from desolation, and we look to his true character as the hope of a new beginning.

As we begin our series in the Book of the 12, we start with Hosea. Hosea comes to the Northern Kingdom of Israel and urges them to confront that things are broken. We normally like to disregard brokenness and pretend that it isn't there, but in order for God to put things back together we have to trust Him and his process.

As we conclude our foundations series we come to the foundation of our faith: scripture. God has given us the gift of his communication with us through his written word, and when we come to it with reverence and respect we begin to grow deeper in our relationship with Him. Scripture is fulfilled in Jesus, so when we accept his invitation and go to Him, we receive the Spirit of truth that flows from Him.

God invites us into relating to Him through participation and action. Historically the Church has called this the spiritual disciplines or practices; where through prayer, fasting, worship, reading scripture, and other practices we become more like Jesus.

Now that we have established who we are as the church, we come to part two of our question: What are we called to do? Throughout history the Church has been those who serve God and their communities humbly, and as we look back to the formation of the Church, we can look forward with hope in what we are to continue doing as God's people.