Isaiah describes the work of the Servant and how his work will be received by the Lord, by the nations and by Israel.
08 Isaiah 53:7-12 Work of the Servant 2
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Latest Blog Posts from Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.
How to handle too many announcements
Runaway announcements seems to be a particular problem of running a women’s ministry. How do you handle it? What kind of limits should you put in place? After 25 years, in women’s ministry, here’s the policy I’ve found best.
Romans at a glance
The apostle Paul writes to explain the good news of Jesus Christ, who as Messiah is the Savior for all people; who as the Transformer of lives writes His Law on our hearts; and who as the Lord of history is carefully bringing this salvation to all nations — culminating in the restoration of Israel.
07 Isaiah 52:13-53:6 Work of the Servant 1
Isaiah describes the work of the Servant and how his work will be received by the Lord, by the nations and by Israel.
06 Isaiah 50:4-11 School of the Servant
The Servant will be equipped with divine speech as he goes through the school of suffering.
Isaiah: Servant Songs Overview
The exile raised the question, can we forfeit the promises of God? Can God’s people fail in such a way that God will abandon them? In the Servant Songs, God demonstrates that not only will He remain committed to His people, He will willingly choose to endure horrific suffering in order to free His people from their sinful hearts and make them righteous before Him.
05 Isaiah 49:1-13 Ministry of the Servant
The Servant will not only restore the people of Israel, He will also bring salvation to all the nations.
04 Isaiah 42:1-9 Foundation of the Kingdom
If God is truly sovereign, where is justice to be found? Where is justice to be found when terrorists plan attacks on tourists and innocent bystanders? Where is justice n the face of school shootings and other acts of senseless violence? Isaiah answers that question for the Jewish exiles in Babylon in the first Servant Song. The foundation of this new kingdom will be a suffering servant who will be everything Israel was intended to be and who will bring justice to the nations.
03 Isaiah 40:12-31 Power Behind the Kingdom
The exiles in Babylon faced three insurmountable obstacles: the nations, their rulers and their religions. These 3 obstacles dominated and permeated every aspect of their daily lives. How could they be overcome? In 40:12-31, Isaiah contrast these three formidable adversaries with the power of God as author and creator of history. He concludes this new kingdom God is announcing is so powerful nothing will threaten it and it will stand forever because it is build by the word of the Lord.
02 Isaiah 40:1-11 Announcement of the New Kingdom
The nation of Judah was facing exile, the destruction of their land, their community, their temple, and their religion. The critical question before them was: Have we forfeited the promises God made to Abraham and David? Into that despair and doubt, Isaiah announces the end of the exile, the birth of a new kingdom and the arrival of its King.
01 Isaiah 6:1-13 Servant Songs Introduction
Isaiah wrote these prophecies of the Servant about a time when all God’s people are scattered and the Davidic throne has disappeared into the sands of Babylon. Does the exile mark the end of the history of God’s people? Have they forfeited the divine promises made to Abraham?
17 Romans 11:1-32 Did God Reject His People?
Twice Paul raises the question: “Did God reject His people?” Twice he answers: “By no means!” In Romans 11:1-15, Paul gives five reasons why it is evident that God has not forgotten His people, the Jews.
16 Romans 10 Prayer & Legalism
In Romans 10, Paul is answering the question of why some people who have little knowledge are saved while some who have much knowledge are not saved. He gave part of his answer in Romans 9. All of us are born lost, and God in His mercy and grace chooses to call some people to him. Paul continues his answer into chapter 10. Taking religion seriously is not the answer.
15 Romans 9:14-33 God’s Sovereign Choice
On what is the basis does God choose the elect? Paul’s answer is that God — as God — has a sovereign right to choose who receives mercy.
14 Romans 9:1-13 Is the gospel too good to be true?
Romans 9-11 must be read as a unit that builds to a wonderful climax. It contains some of the most difficult material in the Bible.
Servant Songs of Isaiah
Isaiah gives us the fullest revelation of Christ in the Old Testament, most notably the Servant Songs. The exile raised the question: Can fail such that God will abandon us and we forfeit His God? In the Servant Songs, God demonstrates that not only will He remain committed to His people, He will willingly choose to endure suffering in order to forgive and redeem His people.
13 Romans 8:26-39 Confidence in Christ
Paul argues that because of the activity of the Spirit, we can have confidence that everything that happens to us is in our own best interests.
12 Romans 8:12-25 Grief over Sin
Paul argues that the Holy Spirit produces within believers grief over sin and eager hope for their inheritance.
Isaiah quotes in the New Testament
By my count, Isaiah is referenced (quoted or alluded to): 21 times in the Gospels; 25 times in Paul’s letters; 6 times in 1 Peter; 5 times in Acts; 4 times in Revelation; and once in Hebrews.
03 Understanding God’s Will in the world
While Miriam was more focused on getting glory than on doing good, Barnabas was more focused on doing good than on getting glory and in the process he changed the world.
02 Understanding God’s Will in the church
How do we deal with the fact that we serve and work in a local church where some people just seem to get a better deal than we do? Miriam had the same problem with her baby brother Moses. This talk looks at Miriam and how we go wrong when we focus on who gets the glory rather than doing good.
Isaiah Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Isaiah.
01 Understanding God’s Will for you
Sometimes we act as if finding God’s will is a version of the old 3-shell con game: where a marble is hidden under one shell and the con man moves them rapidly around the table and you have to guess which shell contains the marble. No matter which shell you pick you are always wrong. I would argue that the problem is not God hiding his will. The problem is the way we are looking for it.
16 things to do while your Bible study is on break
Make the most of your Bible study break with these practical and enriching ideas. From organizing past notes to preparing for your next study or exploring something new, discover meaningful ways to stay engaged in Scripture.
Understanding God’s Will
If we accept that fact that God loves us enough to send his son Jesus Christ to die in our place and pay the penalty for our sins while we were his enemies, does it makes sense that God would hide his will from us now that we are his children? I would argue that the problem is not God hiding his will. The problem is the way we are looking for it.
03 Interpreting the Psalms
Bill Wilder speaks on how and why to interpret the Psalms. Bill Wilder is the Director of the Center for Christian Study (www.studycenter.net)
10 Philippians 4:1-23 Rejoice in the Lord
Paul concludes his letter wrapping him up major themes of embracing the gospel individually and striving toward unity around that common belief and thanking them for their support and partnership in proclaiming the gospel.
09 Philippians 3:12-21 Understanding maturity
What do you do when you try harder and still struggle with sin? That’s the question Paul answers in Philippians 3:12-31. Paul pauses to clarify what he means by perfection and the goal of the Christian life.
Hebrew Poetry: How to understand psalms and wisdom literature
The key to understanding Hebrew poetry and Wisdom Literature is knowing that the “rhyme” of ideas is more important than the sounds. This “rhyming” of ideas is called parallelism.
08 Philippians 3:1-11 Count it all loss
With chapter 3 of Philippians, Paul begins a new but related topic. While his major concern is still that the Philippians sincerely embrace the gospel and so find eternal life, he now warns them against the false teaching of the Judaizers. While warning against legalism, Paul explains his view of his own “accomplishments” under the law.
07 Philippians 2:14-30 Not running in vain
Paul concludes this first section of the body of the letter by again encouraging them to persevere in the faith and telling them of 3 ways he hopes to communicate with them.
06 Philippians 2:12-13 Work out your salvation
Philippians 2:12-13 is one of Paul’s most famous statements and it’s one we forget to place in the context of the letter. At first reading, it looks like Paul is highlighting a paradox of YOU work out your salvation because GOD is working in you. But in context, I think Paul is still concerned that the Philippians are living their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel (1:27) and are motivated to do so for the right reasons.
05 Philippians 2:5-11 Have this mindset
Philippians 2:5-11 is traditionally associated with the doctrine of the Trinity. However, I think the context suggests that Paul’s main point is not to teach the doctrine of the Trinity. From an interpretative standpoint, I believe the context suggests that Paul intends to teach something about unity and our attitude towards other believers, and he uses Christ as an example to make that point. If we also learn something about the Trinity, that is icing on the cake.
04 Philippians 1:27-2:4 Stand firm in one Spirit
Philippians 1:27 begins a new section in which Paul urges his readers to live a life worthy of the gospel. Living such a life does not mean that you will live a perfect life. Rather if we actually believe the gospel is true, we now see the world differently and, we begin to view some things as right, proper and good, and begin to view other things as wrong, selfish and evil. And we choose accordingly.
03 Philippians 1:12-26 To live is Christ
What are we to make of Paul’s joy that selfishly ambitious teachers are proclaiming the gospel? And, what can we learn from his famous statement “to live is Christ, to die is gain”?
02 Philippians 1:9-11 Paul’s prayer
Paul’s opening prayer in Philippians reflect what he hopes and confidently expects God to do in the lives of his readers and it introduces the main theme of his letter. From this short prayer, we can learn what we ought to most want for ourselves and for each other.