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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes on Isaiah 6:6-8

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Isaiah 6:6-8

vv. 6-7 Then one of the seraphim took a set of tongs, carried a glowing coal from the altar, then flew to me and placed it in my mouth. He said, “See: this live coal has touched your lips and now your guilt is removed and your sin is canceled.”

Seraphim are a class of angel. In this case, he is the bringer of fire for both cleansing and calling. The live, or glowing, coal came from the altar of God. At the touch of the coal to Isaiah’s lips, the guilt and sin are removed. The coal is symbolic of the fire of the Holy Spirit sealing us from the sin and guilt we carried until we invited Jesus to save us.

Guilt in this verse can also be sin or depravity. Canceled can be forgiven here. The word is foundationally “covered” as in the mercy seat covers our sin.

Remember that, Isaiah is in the Temple of the Lord, heaven’s own Temple. And it is here that God has brought him “in the Spirit” (v. 1). His glory filled the Temple. The Temple is the place of perpetual worship, led by angels, before the God who is holy. It is from the altar of this Holy Place and from the throne upon which the Holy God reigns that the live coal comes.

It is in the Holy God’s presence that Isaiah sees himself – unclean, unworthy, undone. v. 5

It is this posture of need, of openness and honesty, of worship, that our passage meets Isaiah.

Interesting that the outcome of looking on the Holy God with one’s eyes is death. But God provided from His holiness to sustain Isaiah; it’s the same for us as we require His holiness to sustain us in our own lives.

Note that both sin and guilt are covered, are paid for here. We sometimes carry the guilt long after God has forgiven the sin.

Symbolic of the Holy Son of God who baptizes with fire is the burning coal to Isaiah.

Seraphs are angelic beings who are associated with attending to the throne of God, His holiness, and the altar fire.

v. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord and He asked, “Who will I send? Who will go for us?” And I said, “See, I’m here. Send me.”

Note that it is the Lord speaking both in the singular for Himself and in the plural as for the Triune God. John 12 indicates that Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord Jesus in the Temple. The Spirit of God took Isaiah to the heavenly Temple. God Triune is Present.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes on Isaiah 9:1-7

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Isaiah 9:1-7

(PRT)

v. 1 For those who were in heartache and desperation, the sorrow and darkness is removed. In the past,  he disregarded Zebulon and Naphtali; but in the future, he will raise up and honor international Galilee, the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan .

v. 2 The people who walk in darkness and sorrow have seen a great and intense light; for those who live in the land of death’s shadow, the light has shined.

v. 3 You have enlarged the nation and expanded their joy. They rejoice in your Presence with the gladness of harvest-time or the uninhibited rejoicing at the sharing of victory’s  bounties.

v. 4 For you have lifted the heavy burden and shattered the slave’s bar from across their shoulders and broken the scepter of the oppressor just like what happened during Midian’s defeat.

v. 5 For the warrior’s combat boots and garments covered in blood  in the heat of battle will be thrown into the fire for fuel.

v. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the rule shall rest on his shoulders; and He will be proclaimed Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God,  the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace.

v. 7 The greatness and abundance of his reign of peace shall never end; he will establish his kingdom on the throne of David and strengthen it with justice and righteousness from that moment and forever. The zeal of the Lord of the angel armies will make this happen.

v. 1 For those who were in heartache and desperation, the sorrow and darkness is removed. In the past,  he disregarded Zebulon and Naphtali; but in the future, he will raise up and honor the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, in international Galilee.

The word for anguish is only used in one other place – in Job, to describe how with a breath, the waters of the earth are frozen. Zebulon and Naphtali surround the sea of Galilee and are the areas that saw the activity of the Kingdom of God through Jesus’ ministry (and John’s way-making ministry.) The word for disregarded means to make light of or cause a bearable pain. This is juxtaposed with the high honor the land will experience with the Parousia.

It should be noted that this verse is restorative. For those in deep dark places, hurting from life’s consequences, the coming Messiah lifts the shadows, turns bleak into joy, persistent depression toward wholeness.

In the context of v. 1 is the final verse in chapter 8 and the gloom they are destined to endure.

The promise is: the darkness won’t last. And the promise is for the lands that had been disregarded previously. For those marginalized, the light comes. There is a hint that the greatness of the honor will relate to the depth of the shame. This is the land by the sea, the part of Galilee that abuts the pagan nations and they were the first to be attacked and subjugated when invaders came. Guess where Matthew 4 tell us Jesus came: the land of Zebulon and Naphtali.

The honor and raising up will happen in the moment and last on.

v. 2 The people who walk in darkness and sorrow have seen a great and intense light; for those who live in the land of death’s shadow, the light has shined.

The muddling through life barely surviving, living with one foot in the grave because of the grief and sorrow, light has brought new life, restored hope, fresh purpose. Those who live in the international land of Galilee, who were in hopeless cycles of a broken religion, are set free to know and walk with the Savior. Darkness comes before the light.

v. 3 You have enlarged the nation and expanded their joy. They rejoice in your Presence with the gladness of harvest-time or the uninhibited rejoicing at the sharing of victory’s  bounties.

These two images may get lost on today’s readers. We don’t harvest and most of us don’t take plunder and booty from the battle. But we do sow our lives into our dreams, into the people we love, into the mission we are called into; and we do face the battles of life and the victories we enjoy bring benefits of lessons learned and peace discovered.

Enlarge the nation means to multiply or increase and there is a sense of restoration here, too. The capacity for greater joy and uninhibited rejoicing in the moment. The word for rejoicing is rooted in the word “to spin.” Yes, the dance of joy is real. The small nation of Israel become a multiplied host of people.

v. 4 For you have lifted the heavy burden and shattered the slave’s bar from across their shoulders and broken the scepter of the oppressor just like what happened during Midian’s defeat.

He uses two different words for “staff” or “rod” in this passage. Both are rendered ineffective by the Lord’s rule. Both are tied into the concept of the tribe and is translated that in many instances. The oppressor’s authority and the oppressor’s punishing rod are both involved.

Midian’s kings oppressed the people of God for seven years; when Gideon was victorious their kings were killed and the people of God were victors. Keep in mind that Gideon was prevented from taking his whole army into battle; he only had 300 warriors. Give me a handful of warriors in prayer who have tasted victory, and ministry is powerful.

v. 5 For the warrior’s combat boots and garments covered in blood  in the heat of battle will be thrown into the fire for fuel.

One of the words for battle is literally military sandal or boot. The feet fitted ready with the Good News of Peace, is essential to the battles we face. The weapons of the enemy are destroyed by the Good News of the Kingdom.

v. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the rule shall rest on his shoulders; and He will be proclaimed Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God,  the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace.

Rule, reign and government are all in this word. Isaiah is the only writer of the Bible to use this word and only twice here in this passage. It’s used outside the Bible and means “to turn the head” as in the person who turns the heads of the people to his or her leadership. Perhaps “the right to rule” may fit better here.        

Call is better declare or proclaim.

v. 7 The greatness and abundance of his reign of peace shall never end; he will establish his kingdom on the throne of David and strengthen it with justice and righteousness from that moment and forever. The zeal of the Lord of the angel armies will make this happen.

The Lord of hosts will accomplish the firm establishing of this throne restored from the designs of God that they saw in David’s rule. But, the Lord’s justice and righteousness will strengthen and support his rule.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes and Small Group Questions on Isaiah 32:1-8

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Summary Notes on Isaiah.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

(PRT) Isaiah 32:1-8

vv. 1-2 Pay attention! A King shall reign righteously! His leaders shall judge justly. Each will be like a place of safety from the wind and a shelter from the storm; like streams of water in the desert and like the shade of an immense rock in a thirsty land.

vv. 3-4 Eyes that are dim will see; ears that need to hear will listen. The heart of the reckless will see wisdom; the stuttering voice will be quick to speak clearly.

v. 5 Do not hand out nobility on the foolish nor wealth on the swindler.

v. 6 For the foolish will speak foolishness and his soul will be busy practicing wickedness and muttering mockery against the Lord; willfully, he withholds food from the hungry and drink from the thirsty.

v. 7 And for the swindler, the tools of the trade are evil and he designs plans for harm to derail the humble with slander and lies, even when the cause of the humble is fair.

v. 8 But the unselfish and the generous make bighearted plans and live generously.

vv. 1-2 Pay attention! A King shall reign righteously! His leaders shall judge justly. Each will be like a place of safety from the wind and a shelter from the storm; like streams of water in the desert and like the shade of an immense rock in a thirsty land.

Because the King reigns in righteousness (unlike the kings people have to endure and have come to expect in their whims and selfishness) and his governors and leaders are fair and just, the people will find them to be a safe place when storms come and a refreshing source when times are dry. This is a picture of the King who, just like the Shepherd, leads his people to places of safety and plenty, even when the world deals us the opposite.

vv. 3-4 Eyes that are dim will see; ears that need to hear will listen. The heart of the reckless will see wisdom; the stuttering voice will be quick to speak clearly.

If it is unexpected and “upside-down” that the King would rule with righteousness and his leaders would be fair, it would be just as unexpected that eyes once dim would see the King’s good rule clearly, ears stopped up hear truth, the rash and impetuous see wisdom and the one who cannot speak, bring truth clearly. The heart is the soul in this passage. The very ones who are weak and unexpected are the ones who see and  hear and speak truth and wisdom.

v. 5 Do not hand out nobility on the foolish nor wealth on the swindler.

Wisdom and caution are still in order. The foolish and the cheats are still around; don’t bestow wealth and power on either. Noble character instead of noble blood.  This is the beauty of the Kingdom, when the King rules. No longer will the culture honor the wicked or the foolish. The deceptive and the swindler, the foolish, will no longer be lifted up as examples of heroes or noble.

v. 6 For the foolish will speak foolishness and his soul will be busy practicing wickedness and muttering mockery against the Lord; willfully, he withholds food from the hungry and drink from the thirsty.

Unlike the life of those under the rule of the King, the fool will choose to practice what harms, will scoff against the Father and find pleasure in depriving the basics of life from others in order to meet his own needs. Illustration: the child of the King demonstrates and proclaims Good News – Jesus is our model in this; the fool demonstrates wickedness and mutters vanity and vitriol against the things of the Kingdom.

v. 7 And for the swindler, the tools of the trade are evil and he designs plans for harm to derail the humble with slander and lies, even when the cause of the humble is fair.

The deceiver is bent on evil to gain benefits. The tools of the trade, the craft he chooses in deception and duplicity. When the King comes, he continues to undermine the good in the culture for selfish gain. At times, he causes harm just to watch the pain others experience.

He delights in derailing the work of the righteous and the humble.

v. 8 But the unselfish and generous make bighearted plans and lives generously.

When the King in here, we can aim high on what we ask God, aim big in our plans for the Kingdom, and live generously.

Small Group Questions:

  1. Read this passage. How would you define “Living generously?”
  2. This passage says that, when the King comes, he will rule with righteousness. How does His rule in your own life bring refreshing and security to your life?
  3. Isaiah notes four kinds of people: the Reckless (Hotheads), the Thoughtless (Stammerer & Stutterers) are two of them. How does God rescue the Reckless and the Thoughtless? Has He ever rescued you because of this?
  4. The other two kinds of people are the Foolish and the Deceiver (Scoundrels and Swindlers). What dangers do they bring if they are in your life?
  5. When the King comes, we can “make big-hearted plans” and live generously. What can you do this week that is big enough to need God’s help and what can you do to live generously?

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?