Table of Contents
PRAYER
Our main goal in this time together is to build relationships and learn to walk alongside one another in all that God has called us to be and do. Let’s start by praying for each other.
Does anyone have prayer requests or personal stories of how God has been moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
RETURN TO ME TOPICS
THIS WEEK
We’re in a new series called Return to Me: The Heart of God Through the Minor Prophets.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll walk through the short but powerful messages of 12 prophets whose names might be unfamiliar, but whose words reveal just how deeply God cares for His people.
This week, in a message called When Mercy Confronts You, Pastor Alvin Brown teaches from the powerful message of the prophet Joel, showing how God’s mercy doesn’t always show up as comfort, but sometimes, it comes as a much-needed wake-up call in the form of confrontation.
To start our time together, let’s begin with the following questions:
When you hear the word “confrontation,” what comes to mind, a place, a person, a moment? Why?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SCRIPTURE
Have someone read Joel 2:1-2, 11-14 aloud. As you listen, notice any words or phrases that stand out, and ask the Holy Spirit to highlight something for you.
Joel 2:1-2, 11-14
1 Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.
11 The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
What if God’s mercy doesn’t always feel like comfort, but like confrontation?
The Horrors of the Day
In the opening chapters of Joel, the prophet doesn’t begin with comfort. He opens with a confrontational message straight from God.
Israel was living through a devastating crisis: a swarm of locusts had wiped out everything. But Joel makes it clear: this wasn’t just a streak of bad luck. It was a wake-up call.
Like a flashing check engine light or a controlled burn used to protect a forest, God’s warning through Joel is a form of mercy. It’s meant to grab our attention, confront the sin that’s eating away at us, and call us back into relationship with Him.
Joel urges the people not just to feel the weight of the moment, but to remember it, tell others about it from one generation to the next, and be changed by it for the better rather than the worse.
Only when we’re willing to confront the devastation of our sin can we fully receive the mercy and hope that God offers.
What kinds of “locusts” do you see slowly eating away at people’s lives today?
When have you felt like God was trying to get your attention about where you were spiritually?
Why do you think God wants us to remember hard seasons, not just move past them or forget them altogether?
Is it hard for you to see confrontation as a form of mercy? Why or why not?
How do you tend to respond when truth challenges your comfort?
The Hope of the Day
Even in devastation, Joel reminds us that God’s mercy isn’t just confrontational, but also redemptive. It’s meant to rescue us from the destruction our sin brings.
Joel calls Israel to return to God, not through outward performance, but with real, honest hearts. Through fasting, prayer, and repentance, God invites them to clear out what’s been quietly eating away at them and make room for healing.
And when they respond, God promises restoration. He says He will redeem the years the locusts stole, the years lost to compromise and spiritual complacency. The same God who confronts sin is also the One who restores in Jesus and Jesus alone.
Jesus’ mercy makes a way for hope, not just someday, but right now. Sin doesn’t get the final word. God’s mercy does.
What does Joel mean to return to God “with all your heart”? How is that different from just trying to “do better”?
Why does God link repentance with things like fasting, weeping, and prayer?
How do you recognize the difference between shame and guilt that pushes you away from God in condemnation versus conviction that draws you back to Him?
Have you ever experienced God restoring something you thought was lost for good? What did that process teach you?
How does knowing Jesus is the ultimate source of restoration change the way you view your past or present struggles?
CLOSING THOUGHT
If we’re completely honest with ourselves, the message of Joel isn’t the easiest to sit with, but maybe that’s the point.
It reminds us that God’s mercy isn’t always warm and fuzzy. Sometimes it’s reality that stings. Sometimes it appears in the midst of loss or disruption, not to punish us, but to alert and wake us up to the reality of our heart’s spiritual location.
As Joel spoke, the locusts, the fire, and the warnings weren’t random. They were God’s way of saying, “I still want you. Come back to Me.” And He’s not asking us to get it all together first. He wants our whole heart, genuine and honest, even if it has to be broken.
So, let’s not be so quick to brush past confronting the hard stuff in search of comfort. Pay attention to what God might be revealing.
And remember, the same God who calls us out of sin is the One who calls us home into His love. In Jesus, there’s always hope for our hearts to return home.
Let’s close in prayer: God, thank You for loving us enough to tell us the truth. Even when it’s hard to hear, we know You speak to wake us up, not to push us away. Help us not to ignore the areas we’ve grown numb to or comfortable in. Teach us to return to You with real hearts, not just good intentions. And remind us that even in the mess, You’re a God who restores. Teach us to confront and repent of our sin, trusting your grace and mercy more daily, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Alvin Brown, the Lead Pastor of Mosaic Church Fort Worth, brings over a decade of pastoral ministry experience and more than 20 years of operational and technical leadership expertise. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunications Management from DeVry University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. He enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Mallary, and their three children and contributing as a writer to various media outlets.
