Monthly Archives: November 2022

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes on Isaiah 53:1-6 and Small Group Questions

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Summary Notes on Isaiah. This passage is quoted in more than one place in the New Testament, John 12:37-38 for instance. In these six verses, Isaiah identifies who Jesus is, how He was received, what he came to do, and who responded favorably.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Isaiah 53:1-6 (PRT)

v. 1 Who has placed trust in our announcement? To whom has the Lord revealed His strength?      

v. 2 For he shall sprout like a tender sapling before him and a root out of the parched earth; and when we see Him, we are not drawn to him because of  his appearance and good looks.

v. 3 He is despised and discarded, a man of sorrows on first-name basis with grief. We turned our faces away from Him; he was dishonored and counted as nothing.

v. 4 Certainly, he has lifted our sicknesses and carried our sorrows away; we considered Him overwhelmed, beaten, and humbled by God.

v. 5 But he was wounded for rebellion and broken for our sinfulness; for our peace, our punishment was on him and by his stripes and bruising we are healed.

v. 6 All of us have wandered away like sheep; we each have turned away to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him all our sinfulness.

Study Notes:

v. 1 Who has placed trust in our announcement? To whom has the Lord revealed His strength?

Who believes the report we give? The assumption is that some have believed. Discovered as in revealed or unveiled. The arm of the Lord. Who is the “hearer” in these verses? The nations? The people of God?  John 12:37-38 is the NT referencing of this passage. If the people of God, they are lamenting their blindness. They didn’t see Him when he came.

v. 2 For he shall sprout like a tender sapling before him and a root out of the parched earth; and when we see Him, we are not drawn to him because of  his appearance and good looks.

His handsome or winsome appearance are not what will draw us to him. The idea is that he will look like he’s gone through the trials of the desert.

He is a Savior unlike any would imagine. Instead of the “kingly” image of David, the Savior came in common form, with the weaknesses humanity has, breaking into the world through the pains of birth.

The lament of  the people of God is matched by the Gentiles seeing something never before imagined; a Savior who knows us and has the power to save.

The parched earth is the dry spiritual condition of Israel.

v. 3 He is despised and discarded, a man of sorrows on first-name basis with grief. We turned our faces away from Him; he was dishonored and counted as nothing.

Discarded and abandoned to the Cross. Despised by the nation he came to save. Grief is etched into the creases of his face. He wore his sorrow in ways that our capacity to understand causes us to look away.

v. 4 Certainly, he has lifted our sicknesses and carried our sorrows away; we considered Him overwhelmed, beaten, and humbled by God.

This verse is the turn in the passage. We turned away because of his sorrow-filled face; but we learn the sorrow was for us. He lifted the sicknesses off our bodies and the subsequent sorrows that come.

The weaknesses we carry look back to Isa 40. We are like the wildflowers and the grass. One breath and we wither. The words here point to the “taking on” of the sorrow, the debt, the weaknesses. And making the payment needed. He steps into my place.

v. 5 But he was wounded for rebellion and broken for our sinfulness; for our peace, our punishment was on him and by his stripes and bruising we are healed.

This is His work, His labor. He is not wounded by our sinfulness; he was wounded on behalf of our sin. He is punished because my sin required it; He substituted His holiness for my sinfulness.

Punishment that leads to our peace; bruising that lead to our healing. It’s the action of the Savior that brings the work of the Kingdom to forgive, bring peace, provide healing.

This passage points to the Cross. It is said that Isaiah had such clear foresight that is was as if he was standing on the ground below the cross looking up at the sacrificed savior passage also becomes a dividing point between Evangelicals and Pentecostals. The “by his stripes we are healed” has been taken to mean that healing is ours at the Cross to the same degree that Redemption is. When we align our lives by trusting what Jesus completed on the Cross and through His resurrection to provide forgiveness and a relationship of grace through faith, we also according to Pentecostal belief lay hold of healing.

Redemption is ours by faith and through His grace. As redeemed, Jesus is restoring us, empowering us, healing  us; it’s all based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Salvation is by faith through grace; healing is ours in a not yet, but already way.

v. 6 All of us have wandered away like sheep; we each have turned away to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him all our sinfulness.

We had lost our compass, our direction. Illustration: a compass that  doesn’t work wobbles and lurches around instead of a focused and steady presentation of direction. If you are on a ship or in a small plane, and the compass does this, the passenger is completely lost. We are pilgrims but not without direction.

Small Group Questions – Isaiah 53:1-6:

  1. What is your strangest experience with a GPS or navigation application?
  2. Who has wandered away and “left God’s path” in v. 6? What is God’ solution for this “navigational problem?”
  3. Our passages begins with a question: “Who has believed our message?” Who is vv. 1-3 speaking about? (Hint: The Gospel of John uses this prophecy. Read: John 12:37-39)
  4. The Savior whom God has placed “the sins of us all” (v. 6) brings healing, forgiveness, peace, and more (vv. 4-5).  From these verses, which speaks to a personal need you have for the Savior?
  5. How does our passage describe the Savior by looks? How does this change your own mental image of Jesus?
  6. One name Isaiah calls Jesus is “Prince of Peace.” Where do you need the Prince of Peace in your life today? How can we pray for you?

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes on Isaiah 40:1-11 and Small Group Questions

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Isaiah 40:1-11 Jesus Present Comforting Lives

Summary Notes on Isaiah. This passage begins the larger section of Isaiah that looks outward toward the future, toward the end times, toward the Parousia of King Jesus. It is said that Isaiah’s style and writing is at the height of literature and at the same time so planted in the events we know as history and he knew as done in God’s timing in the future that, when he spoke of Jesus’ suffering, “it’s as if he is standing beneath the Cross”, breathing the same air and hearing the same cries. In this passage, he hears the distance cry of the Baptizer “make way for the King.”

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Isaiah 40:1-11

v. 1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” God says.

v. 2 “Speak comfort over Jerusalem and declare to her that her battle is finished and that her sin and guilt are pardoned; for she has received double-payment for all her sins from the Lord’s hand.”

v. 3 His cries thunder in the desert places, “Make clear the way for the Lord! Ready the highway in the wilderness, straight and even, for our God.”

v. 4 “Every wadi and gorge will be filled in; every slope and summit will be leveled. The zigzags and detours will be straightened; the hazards and hurdles will be knocked down.”

v. 5 “The Lord’s glory will be revealed! Everyone, together, will see!” The voice of the Lord has declared it.

v. 6 The voice of the Lord commanded: “Cry out!” And he said: “What shall I cry out?” Cry this: “Everyone is quick to perish like the grass in the fields; all their fairness is gone like the wildflowers of the field.”

v. 7 “The grass shrivels and the wildflower withers and fades when the winds of the Lord blow through. Just like the grass in the field, so are people.”

v. 8 “Though the grass shrivels and the wildflower withers and fades, the word of our God shall stand firm for eternity.”

v. 9 “Get up on the high mountain, messenger of the Good News!  Lift up your voice with power, O Zion; lift up the Good News, O Jerusalem. Say to the cities of Judah, leave fear behind. See, your God is near!”

v. 10 “See, the Lord God will show up, mighty to reign in strength and his rewards and his deeds come with him.”

v. 11 “ Like a shepherd, he shall care for his flock, gather the lambs in his arm and support them in his lap, and for those who still nurse their young, he will lead gently to places safe and refreshing.”

v. 1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” God says.

This verse, and the following are the theme of the next 27 chapters. God is creator; therefore He comforts. The word for comfort means “cause to breathe again.” This is the declaration of the prophet to all prophets that come after. “God comforts because He created us and knows us.” Isaiah uses the present and continuous. Comfort now and keep comforting. Speak words to bring comfort from here onward.

v. 2 “Speak comfort over Jerusalem and declare to her that her battle is finished and that her sin and guilt are pardoned; for she has received double-payment for all her sins from the Lord’s hand.”

Speak could be declare or cry, or even sing. Because of the parallelism tendencies in Isaiah, probably speak/declare is proper. The warfare, the battle, the fighting against God is finished because they have surrendered and stand before the King. In His grace, he pardons and lifts life-long debt after double payment in sorrow. Illustration: the momentary pleasure of sin leads to multiplied sorrow. A seed sown in rebellion brings multiplied consequences in the form of a crop. And, yes, the Lord, in His position as Father, reprimands and disciplines His children. Otherwise, what kind of Father would he be? James 2

The anchor point in history for this passage and the remaining chapters of Isaiah is the captivity. God’s people are pilgrims, passer’s through, on the way to full identity with King Jesus. Bondage to no bondage, homeless to belonging, darkness to light. Danger and destruction to safety and care.

Double-payment means that their debt was so great that He saw its excess.

V. 3 His cries thunder in the desert places, “Make clear the way for the Lord! Ready the highway in the wilderness, straight and even, for our God.”

The voice of the one – now as we know, John the Baptizer – thunders and calls on the earth to make ready for its Creator-God. Another might be the call of the master to those who work to ready the paths for the Parousia of the Lord. Get the earth-movers and shovels out and make way for the King.

“His cries” is best translated “Voice.” No name; no identity here.

v. 4 “Every wadi and gorge will be filled in; every slope and summit will be leveled. The zigzags and detours will be straightened; the hazards and hurdles will be knocked down.”

Valleys are easier to travel; gorges, not so much. The hills and peaks will be flattened for the path. The curves and false detours (this word has a meaning of deception behind it) will be revealed and readied for the King. The rough places, like road hazards and boulders will be knocked down and leveled like they were a plain.

This is in command voice speaking to the wadi and slope, or to the ones responsible for making the way straight.

The parallel is for those very needs the Messiah-King comes to heal: the pride are brought down to humility, the humble are lifted up, the deceitful and crooked forgiven and given integrity, those who face extreme obstacles will be brought near.

v. 5 “The Lord’s glory will be revealed! Everyone, together, will see!” The voice of the Lord has declared it.

All the hard work of making the way for the King is for one purpose. To see the glory and honor of the King. The Lord is worthy of the worship that comes when He is revealed. Again, this is the Parousia at the end of times; and the Parousia as His Presence comes into the room. (Jesus steps into the room.)

In the “way-making” the glory of the King-Messiah is seen. What made the view difficult has been removed. This can be a map for prayer for our world. Make the way clear. Open eyes. Remove the obstacles. Straighten life to see His glory. Because His glory will be undeniable. Notice it doesn’t say all will bow to this glory; but all will, together, see.

The voice declares this entire prophecy, from comfort to glory.

v. 6 The voice of the Lord commanded: “Cry out!” And he said: “What shall I cry out?” Cry this: “Everyone is quick to perish like the grass in the fields; all their fairness is gone like the wildflowers of the field.”

This prophecy becomes a conversation; one prophetic dialog in answers and questions. The declaration is this: the life we so easily trust in, even glory in because of the gracious appearance we strive for, last but briefly, but God’s Word is rock solid in enduring.

v. 7 “The grass shrivels and the wildflower withers and fades when the winds of the Lord blow through. Just like the grass in the field, so are people.”

Like the grass that covers the fields or the wildflowers that, in bright color runs the folds of the hillside, it is beautiful today. But a dry wind blows and the beauty fades. So is it with me and with you.

v. 8 “Though the grass shrivels and the wildflower withers and fades, the word of our God shall stand firm for eternity.”

Our dilemma may be shared and universal, that we live briefly; but the provision of the Messiah-King is this, He comes in His glory to heal, to make a way. And he comes to  us for eternity.

v. 9 “Get up on the high mountain, messenger of the Good News!  Lift up your voice with power, O Zion; lift up the Good News, O Jerusalem. Say to the cities of Judah, leave fear behind. See, your God is near!”

Ascend to the mountain (Jerusalem is the city on a mountain) so the proclamation can be clear. God is here. Fear not. Good News has come. Say it with power. Declare it all around. Preach it. Publish it. Shout it from the mountains. The city of the King-Messiah becomes the evangelist.  

Illustration: Like the first person who sees the monarch on his horse or the pope rounding the curve in his pope-mobile, the news moves fast. In this case, the city on the hill is commanded to look from her heights and lift up the news. He’s here. The Parousia we’ve waited for.

This verse parallels the Great Commission. First, the city of Jerusalem is weighted with grief and guilt; but the God of eternity forgives and comforts and brings eternity; now the city that has been healed shouts it to the cities and villages. (Illustration: the hill towns of Italy and their towers.)

The appeal to leave fear in the dust is important. The disappointments of life can cause people to halfway believe Good News. The call is to discard what prevents us from knowing He is near.

v. 10 “See, the Lord God will show up, mighty to reign in strength and his rewards and his deeds come with him.”

Behold. Watch. The Lord comes in. His arm and shoulder are strong to reign. His wages and work go before him.

An interesting phrase: The Lord will come with his arm ruling for Him. The words emphasize his rule and his strength.

He will come to bring healing but He will act on the strength of His character. If one has rejected and will not acknowledge His glory, the deed will be punitive.

v. 11 “ Like a shepherd, he shall care for his flock, gather the lambs in his arm and support them in his lap, and for those who still nurse their young, he will lead gently to places safe and refreshing.”

The Lord is King and Shepherd at the same time. He never quits ruling. He never quits caring. Hold those two thoughts in mind when we feel abandoned or judged.

As if to emphasize “leave behind fear,” the prophecy expands the image of his rewards with him as Shepherd.

His sheep are scattered around the globe, sometimes in nations that seek to keep the roads crooked or the obstacles in place. He knows their names and he calls them to himself.

Small Group Study Questions:

  1. Who is the most famous person you’ve ever “run into” somewhere? Who was the first person you told?

Read Isaiah 40:1-11

  • These verses are all about communicating Good News. In vv. 1-2, the Good News is “comfort.” What, in your understanding, is another word for “comfort?” Why do we need “comfort?”
  • Who is the “voice” that cries in the desert? Hint: Read  vv. 3-5 along with Mark 1:1-4 Who does he prepare the way for?
  • One universal truth is described in vv. 6-8 that life is brief: we are here one day and gone the next. Read these verses. Where is the Good News of comfort found in these verses?
  • We get to “prepare the way” by declaring the Good News. What are some ways that our lives “shout” from the mountaintop the King is here? Who can to invite to experience the Good News this Christmas season?
  • Our series during Christmas is “Jesus Present.” Since Jesus is Present right now, what would you ask him for? Where do you need Him and His Good News of comfort?

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 with Study Questions for two week’s.

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

(PRT) I Thessalonians 5:12-28

v. 12 We ask you also, brothers and sisters, to get to know and look after those who are working hard among you who are devoted to leading you in the Lord and teaching you. v. 13 Appreciate them with high esteem and with love because of their work. Live in peace among yourselves.v. 14 We call on you, brothers and sisters, to caution those who don’t show up or cause discontent; comfort those who are discouraged in their spirit; support those who want to give up; show patience toward everyone. vv. 15-18 Make sure nobody has repaid one hurt or offense with another. Instead run after what’s  good and run toward each other in every kind of rejoicing. Don’t stop praying. Give thanks in every circumstance. For this is what  God in Christ Jesus desires for you all. vv. 19-22 Concerning the Spirit, stop smothering the fire. Concerning words of prophecy, don’t look down on or turn your nose up. Instead, test the soundness of everything; then stick with what proved trustworthy and run from all that is hurtful and wicked. v. 23 And may God, the God is that is fully of peace, set  you apart spirit, soul, and body, wholly and thoroughly without blame and kept safe at the returning presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. v. 24 The Faithful One who calls you will make this happen. v. 25-26 Brothers and sisters, pray also for us; greet everyone in the faith with a holy kiss. v. 27-28 Give me your promise: read this letter wherever the brothers and sisters meet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ go with you.

Study Notes:

v. 12 We ask you also, brothers and sisters, to get to know and look after those who are working hard among you who are devoted to leading you in the Lord and teaching you.

“Get to know” is an interesting turn here – the same word NIV uses “acknowledge”. Know your flock is the demand of the pastor; but know your pastor is essential, too. Get to know your pastor, worship pastor, small group leader, team leader. This seems like it hints at the beginnings of a laity/clergy class system; but in reality, this is the church recognizing the ministry and the time involved in that ministry and making sure he or she can continue. Honor those and lift them up if they are devoted to leading and teaching. Make sure they thrive in life and in continuing to lead and teach. Those who lead are those “who stand before you” to teach, to lead, to pray before the throne for you.

Those who are working beyond tired is the meaning of this older word to work hard.

The three-fold ministry here is: work hard, lead diligently, and teach with encouragement.

v. 13 Appreciate them with high esteem and with love because of their work. Live in peace among yourselves.

Hold them up with high regard and with love because of all that they pour into the work of God among them.  Esteem can be done from a distance; esteem with love is up close and personal. Get to know so you can esteem them. The meaning here is that people of God follow their leaders and serve alongside them. Eph4  – to lead as leaders in order to “equip the church to do the work of the ministry” – the “Everybody Gets to Play” model works.

v. 14 We call on you, brothers and sisters, to caution those who don’t show up or cause discontent; comfort those who are discouraged in their spirit; support those who want to give up; show patience toward everyone.

Live at peace with each other? Here’s how that will happen. Show up for each other. Don’t sow or give into discontent. Instead of feeding the discouragement, comfort and strengthen; when there are those with low willpower, support them instead of running them out. And patience? Yes, patience with all.

Caution is the word for admonish or redirect from a bad action. It has a military meaning – some hint of leaders dressing down a private.

Comfort, or encourage the fainthearted – discouraged in spirit.

4:11 says that some were making others’ business theirs. How does that cause discontent or discouragement?

And how does this first part of the verse cause the second part to happen? Don’t give into unruly and slack behavior. But continue to hold your cool, be patient with all. It is easier to speak truth and wisdom to someone who is weak in the spirit when we are patient and calm.

vv. 15-18 Make sure nobody has repaid one hurt or offense with another. Instead run after what’s  good and run toward each other in every kind of rejoicing. Don’t stop praying. Give thanks in every circumstance. For this is what  God in Christ Jesus desires for you all.

In a culture battle, don’t pay back, don’t wish it, don’t pray for it. Love you enemies, pray for God provision. This is our greatest weapon. Find joy in the journey. Love unconditionally. Pray without ceasing. Thank God for the outcome. Why? Because we love Jesus with all we are, then we love others with all we have to give.

What is God’s desire and design? No matter the conflict, the opposition, love unconditionally… etc. because out of that, you’ll not grow bitter, you’ll not give up, you’ll find good.

vv. 19-22 Concerning the Spirit, stop smothering the fire. Concerning words of prophecy, don’t look down on or turn your nose up. Instead, test the soundness of everything; then stick with what proved trustworthy and run from all that is hurtful and wicked.

Those things that are from God, but unexplainable, are important to our maturing. Not the unbridled spiritual weirdness that ignores the senses, but the attuned hearing of words from God’s Spirit that keep the flame alive and guides lives.

(we can smother or quench, we can grieve or hinder, and we can resist the Holy Spirit – all of these can shut down the activity of God’s Spirit in our hearts.)

Don’t diss prophecy – this word has both forth-telling and fore-telling potential. Both are essential. Sound Biblical grounding with relevant application and openness to God’s present guidance.

Illustration: Wilmore and Southwestern – the revival shut down. How can you smother the fire? By inattention or by over-attention. One the fire goes out completely; the other the fire becomes the reason for gathering. Jesus is our reason for gathering; but we want to give room for the fire.

Test or prove what is right and good; discard what is not. Illustration: bad pear, good pear.

This passage has such a wide interpretation: what is good, what is bad? If read in context, those things of the Spirit, those words shared in the Spirit, test and cling to what is helpful, brush off to the side what is not. “Every kind of evil” then, would be everything harmful that doesn’t pass the test of soundness. 1) Christian, respect the gifts and inspect the fruit of what is said and done. Even those who deliver a word or demonstrate a work of the Spirit, test our hearts to make sure we don’t, in our zeal to win someone over to our point of view, manipulate others to align with our word. Illustration: Naturally supernatural – when we give a word, we step back and let the Holy Spirit affirm it. We don’t have to talk louder or in KJV; we don’t have to work up emotion. God can confirm a word or a work in the heart of the one who needs it.

Paul balances the work of the Spirit in Parousia activity with truth taught and applied.

v. 23 And may God, the God is that is fully of peace, set  you apart spirit, soul, and body, wholly and thoroughly without blame and kept safe at the returning presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a little word that means “that is” of peace. This defines God as the God that peace is the defining element.  Not the gods who bring destruction, guilt, conflict, turmoil inside; the God that is filled with, and the source of peace.

There’s Parousia again. It’s his presence, not completely but soon to be completely.

This is the hinge verse: because you are set apart, do these things. This is what it looks like for a Jesus-follower to demonstrate faith. You are spirit, soul, body, but you are one wholly kept safe.

The God of peace contrasts with the turmoil of a culture gone awry as well as other Christians who might use the things of the Spirit to get their way.

v. 24 The Faithful One who calls you will make this happen.

Literally, “faithful one calling will also do it”

Ephesians 2:13 indicates that being sanctified is being brought near to the things of the Kingdom. We who were far and set apart and brought near. Philippians 1:6 agrees that He keeps us and finishes the work.

Note: set apart and safe are the two results of our willing embrace of God’s work and word. They go together.

v. 25-26 Brothers and sisters, pray also for us; greet everyone in the faith with a holy kiss.

Now that I’ve prayed for you, pray for us also. The kiss of brotherly love is a holy greeting.

v. 27-28 Give me your promise: read this letter wherever the brothers and sisters meet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ go with you.

“Grace with you” no matter where  you go.

The command here is “I adjure you, I charge  you to read this to all who are in the church.” Give me your word… let each home group get this out there.

Small Group Questions:

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28. Focus on vv. 23-28.

  1. How have you had to rely on God’s peace in your life this week?
  2. Paul reminds us that we belong to the God of peace. What ways do you make this identity of followers, or children of the God of peace, real and present in your life?
  3. What does it mean that God has sanctified you, or set you apart as His child and for His purpose, spirit, soul and body?
  4. When have you ever been called or felt blameless?
  5. How does v. 24 help us see this is a part of the “already and not yet” of being in the Kingdom (where we are, in His eyes fully complete, yet in our daily lives, we are still working on our faith walk)?
  6. What is your family practice to greet when you see each other? What do you imagine the greeting of the “holy kiss” meant in Thessalonica?
  7. How can we pray for you this week? Who do you need peace with or make things right with because of something you’ve said or done?

Small Group Questions:

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28.

  1. Have you ever had a mentor or apprenticed with someone? What were the keys to the success of this relationship?
  2. How important is it to be an encourager to those who “stand before you” and lead, teach, and pray for you? What ideas come to mind that will help  you “get to know and look after” those who work hard in the church?
  3. Discouragement is a real factor in the life of Christians. How does our passage tell us to deal with discouragement and people especially who are discouraged?
  4. How does Holy Spirit fire and the gifts of the Spirit help the church? How does it battle against discouragement? How does it help us run after Jesus together?
  5. Where in your life today do  you need Holy Spirit fire?