theway church
  • HOME
  • About theway
  • Visit
  • Members
  • GIVE
  • Sermon Prep

December 27th- January 2nd 2022

1/11/2022

0 Comments

 
​
1. Write Isaiah 40: 31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.

3. Write your takeaways from Sunday’s message.

4. Do some research and write down a few facts about the book of Isaiah.

5. Watch the following videos: 

https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/player/video/181310?session=189110

https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/player/video/181310?session=189111


6. What are the two views of the words in chapters 40-48 of Isaiah regarding the author?


7. Discuss the difference between divine neglect and divine orchestration as presented in the second video.


1. Write Isaiah 40: 31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.

3. The ministry of the prophet Isaiah was to Judah and spanned
the reigns of the kings of Judah - Uzziah (or Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz and
Hezekiah (2 Kings 15-20; 2 Chron 26-32). This was a time of turmoil for Israel
and Judah, and for the region as well. It is during this time that Assyria
became the super power of the day. God then used Assyria as an
instrument of His judgement upon the northern tribes of Israel by sending
them into exile for their apostasy around 722 BC. Judah was in danger of
following suit, and during the reign of Hezekiah we hear about a new
power rising in the east – Babylon. It is into this situation that chapters 40-66
speak - Northern Israel has been exiled, and Judah had better watch
themselves, otherwise they too will find themselves in exile rejected by God.


Why would the words of Isaiah 40 be words of “comfort” for the people
of ancient Israel/Judah?



4. In what way does Isaiah 40 speak about the return of the Lord to his
people? When is this prophecy fulfilled (see Mark 1:1-3)?


5. Answer the questions asked in vv. 12-14, 18, and 25. What does this
teach us about God?

6. One of the foundational truths about God that we will see numerous times in Isaiah 40-66 is that God is the creator. Why is this so important for understanding who God is and who we are as His people?

7. Read Isaiah 40:28-31. “Waiting upon the Lord” has been defined by some as:
1) Slowing down;
2) Listening to God’s Word
3) Working with God, not for God (following His agenda).

Discuss each of these definitions. 

Which of these do you struggle with the most? What can you do to walk closer?






1. Write Isaiah 40: 31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.

3. Prepare your takeaways for discussion. Be pointed and purposeful in what you desire to say. Remember several people would like to speak so work on what you want to say. Write it down. You are not being asked to discuss everything you write down from your takeaways. You are being asked to discuss something the Lord used to speak to you clearly. Share what God leads you to share. Be confident to share as He leads you, as it will impact others and perhaps open their eyes to clarity and strength. With that said let us be efficient in our delivery and purposeful in what we say. Let us be prepared. God anoints preparation….BE PREPARED!

Even though we do not meet at church tonight, I would like for you to prepare what you would like to say tonight and send it to me. If you have already sent your takeaways then that is great. If you have not then now is your chance to take care of that. 


4. Three times the word 'that' or 'for’ (because) is used in Isaiah 40:2. These are the three reasons he is told to say what he is supposed to say. What are the three reasons for this promised comfort?

5. Explain each of these three reasons. Remember that Isaiah is in true prophetic style stating that the words from Isaiah 39 will come true, but as it happens, His people will realize it has a purpose and a time limit. God is overseeing His plan.

6. Read Isaiah 40:3

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.

Discuss the word straight, define it, what is the Hebrew word for it, what is its meaning.


7. Now focus on the word highway. Discuss what this word means and how it is used here.





1. Write Isaiah 40: 31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.


3. What does waiting on the Lord mean?

Consider how waiting implies “longing for God.” 

Read Psalm 62:1 David says “My soul waits upon God; from Him cometh my salvation.”

David is in distress. David has some industrial-strength problems, and he’s saying, “O God, I need You. You are my hope, my salvation.” Do you believe that, or do you believe that you are your salvation? Do you long for God to do a great work in your life or do you long for a solution? What is the difference?

4. Consider how waiting implies “listening to God.” Look at Proverbs 8:34 “Blessed is the man that hears Me, watching daily at my gates, waiting,
waiting at the posts of my doors.” He’s there at the gate when the Lord comes out, like a servant. The reason that many of us are stressed is we’re doing things God’s never assigned us to do. And the reason we’re doing things God never assigned us to do is we haven’t been listening to God. We have not been waiting upon the Lord. Do you have a daily quiet time? Do you have a time when you listen? Do you “report for duty,” or are you doing things that you’ve assigned yourself, or others have assigned you, but you’re not doing what God wants you to do?






5. Consider how waiting implies “looking to the Lord.” In Psalm 104:27 speaking of the animals, the beast of the field. “These wait all upon thee,
that thou mayest give them their food in due season.” The little animals, they look to the Lord by instinct. They all wait upon God. Do you look to the Lord? Do you look to the Lord first for your source of supply? Discuss how you do and how you do not.






6. Consider how waiting implies “living for the Lord.” Proverbs 27:18 “Whoso keeps the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof; so he that waits on his master shall be honored.” Now what does it mean to wait on your master? It means to serve him. Do you live to serve the LORD or self? What are some signs that you are not waiting on the Lord?

physical signs
emotional signs
spiritual signs
relational signs


7. Do you consider yourself to be patient or impatient? How could the lessons of Isaiah 40:27-31 improve your attitude and behavior?













1. Write Isaiah 40: 31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.


3. Why is waiting difficult? How do you usually respond if you are forced to wait? Remember waiting can involve time and trust.


4. Write about a time when you embraced waiting as part of God’s will. What was the end result? How were you changed?


5.  Do you feel like you are in a waiting season right now? What are you waiting for? How do you feel about waiting and what is it doing in your
relationship with God?


6. What does God promise to do for you if you wait upon Him? How is waiting on Him met by God’s character?

7.  What is the gospel in Isaiah 40:27-31?

























1. Write Isaiah 40: 31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.

3. Read Verse 27 – Have you ever felt like your way was “hidden from the Lord”? Or that your cause had been “disregarded” by God? Why do the people of Israel feel this way at this point in their history? What causes us to feel that way?

4. Read Isaiah 40:28-31 – What is the answer to the complaint of the people? Examine how each description of who God is helps us relate and have confidence in God.

Everlasting Creator
Tireless Never weary
Full of understanding


5. Read Isaiah 40:31 – What does it really mean to soar on wings like eagles? Have you ever trusted in God and experienced that in your life? Discuss. 

6. Write the books of the bible in order.

7. Pray for service tomorrow. Be ready to recite the memory verse for this week. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your church family. Pray for all who volunteer each and every week. Walk worthy of the calling today! Talk with someone about your preparation this week! Write the mission statement of theway church. 




















1. Write Isaiah 40:31.

2. Read Isaiah 40.

Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.

2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.

11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?

14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?


15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.

20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.




21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.



26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.



30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,


31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

3.    Pray for the service today.
4.    Say the memory verse for the month to someone in your family.
5.    Recite the mission statement of theway church to someone this morning.
6.    Listen to praise and worship music on the way to church.
7.    ATTEND SERVICE TODAY WITH A HEART OF JOY!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

  • HOME
  • About theway
  • Visit
  • Members
  • GIVE
  • Sermon Prep