Amos

Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of God's laws. He spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor, and his major themes were of justice, the supreme power of God, and divine judgment.

Notes about Amos

Amos was a minor prophet like Hosea and Joel - this didn't mean he was less important, but just that he just wrote less. Where major prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel wrote many, many chapters in their books, Amos only wrote nine.
Amos was a prophet of God, but he was also a herdsman and a farmer, too. He farmed figs.
In Amos' book, the Lord spoke to Amos about how many cities and nations were not following him, and that there would be consequences for the lives they were living. These cities included Damascus, Gaza, Tyrus, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Israel.
In talks that Amos gave, he told the people to stop treating the poor people badly, to stop doing the things that pleased only themselves, and to return to the LORD. Amos said that God had stopped the rains which resulted in famines because He wanted the people to repent, but the people would not.
The people were stubborn, had forgotten God, and did not pay attention to Amos' warnings. God told the people that a famine was coming, but it would not be a famine of food. There would be a drought coming, but it would not be a drought of water. This famine and drought spoke of a silence from God - both of his word, and his voice - which the people would begin to long for again and try to find. They would wander from sea to sea, from north to east, and run to and fro, but they would not find the Word of God. Still, the people did not listen to Amos.
Amos also said that God would not completely destroy Israel. There would always be a remnant of God's people who loved and served Him with their whole heart. For that remnant, there would be good things to come.

Source: Children's Bible Lessons

Activities

Bring in some figs for the children to taste

Preschool farming activity

Media

A great video about the prophets - good for providing context and background information.

Five visions of Amos

Amos frees the slaves

Overview

BibleProject - Overview: Amos

BibleProject: Amos overview poster. Download for free here