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Isaiah 40-55
Contributed by Garrett Tyson on Jan 24, 2024 (message contributor)
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1. The Return Of Our God (Isaiah 40:1-11)
Contributed on Jan 24, 2024
God calls on his divine council (simplified: angels) to build a road for Him, because He is very shortly returning to Jerusalem, leading/carrying his exiled people. All Israel is invited to keep their eyes open for God's return.
Last week, I introduced a new series we are beginning that covers Isaiah 40-55. If you missed last week, I think today will still mostly make sense, but you might want to get a copy of last week's sermon from me. Today, then, we are just going to dive in to Isaiah 40. This chapter opens by ...read more
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2. Questions That Need An Answer (Isaiah 40:12-31)
Contributed on Mar 7, 2024
The questions push people to believe what they know: God is great; problems (and human empires like Babylon) are small.
Our passage today is built around a series of questions. You might find these questions comically easy to answer. Parts of this might feel a bit like Sunday school when you were very little. But work with me this morning. Multiple times, I'm going to ask you the question the prophet asks. ...read more
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3. God Takes The Nations/Idols To Court (Isaiah 41:1-29)
Contributed on Mar 18, 2024
God makes his case that He, not idols, are running the world. Mystery dude from the east, is God's servant sent to bring his people home.
In my introduction to Isaiah 40-55, I talked about how one of the challenges to teaching on this part of the Bible, is that these chapters divide up into bigger chunks of material than we can comfortably handle all at once. And honestly, I find that kind of stressful. I can feel myself getting ...read more
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4. God's Servant, The Justice-Bringer (Isaiah 42:1-9)
Contributed on Mar 28, 2024
God commissions and empowers his servant to produce "justice" for the nations. "Justice" here= "God's desired way of life." It's done, through gentle, careful teaching. The servant is Israel, Jesus, and the church.
This is going to be a pretty ambitious sermon today, so let's dive right in. Isaiah 42:1: (1) LOOK! My servant, [Isaiah 41:8, 9; 34:10; 44:1, 2; 45:4], I am upholding him, [Isaiah 41:10] my chosen one [Isaiah 41:8, 9; 43:10; 44:1, 2; 45:4], my soul/inner being has delighted in [or: ...read more
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5. When God Forces Himself To Not Help (Isaiah 42:10-17)
Contributed on Apr 17, 2024
We can choose to live in a way where God will restrain himself, and resist the urge to help his people. God describes himself as a woman in labor, who has been fighting the urge to push.
Imagine today that the prophet of Isaiah 40-55 stands up in the midst of God's exiled people in Babylon, and he gives them a new word from God. He speaks out in a loud, clear voice. And this is what he says, verses 12-13: (10) Sing to Yahweh a new song; his praise from the end of the earth, ...read more