Have Hope

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon Notes

1) We're afraid to hope when circumstances are dire

2) We're afraid to hope when we can't control the outcome

3) We're afraid to hope because it might not come true

Reflection Questions:

1. When have you struggled to have hope? What was the situation?

2. In that situation, did you wrestle with hope more because the situation seemed so dire or with the fact that you were helpless to do anything about it?

3. How might you still have hope despite those challenges to the situation you face?

4. What do you wish was different in your life right now? How do you wish it changed? Are you afraid that it might never happen?

The Virgin Shall Conceive: Immanuel

Isaiah 7:1-17

Sermon Notes

1) The Call to Trust, vv. 1-10

2) The Refusal to Trust, vv. 10-13

3) The Consequences of Distrust, vv. 12-17

4) The Comfort amidst Distress, v.14 and Matthew 1

Reflection questions:

1. Why does Isaiah bring his son (Shear-jashub, or “a remnant shall return”) when he speaks to Ahaz? Is the idea of the remnant an encouragement, a discouragement, or a call for realism? Also see Isaiah 6:8-13.

2. Read 2 Kings 16:1-8. What kind of king was Ahaz before this moment in Isaiah 7? How does 2 Kings 16:7-8 help you understand why Ahaz declines God’s offer of a sign (Isaiah 7:10-13)? Where was Ahaz’s trust? Would that trust pay off? See 2 Kings 16:9 and Isaiah 7:17ff.

3. Would it be hard for you to believe that a virgin could get pregnant? Do you think it was hard for Mary and Joseph to believe? (Matthew 1:18-20; Luke 1:26-38, especially vv. 34, 37-38)

My Eyes Have Seen The King

Isaiah 6

Sermon Notes

What did Isaiah see? And what should you see?

1) Seeing the Fullness of God’s Glory, 1-4

2) Seeing the Foul-ness of Man’s Sin, 5

3) Seeing the Forgiveness of God’s Atonement, 6-7

4) Seeing the Forecast for God’s Prophet: Sobering, yet Sure, 8-13

Reflection questions:

1. What are the first words you think of when you think of Christmas? What about sin, forgiveness, and holiness? Should we associate those with Christmas? (See Matthew 1:20-21)

2. How would you describe the scene in Isaiah 6:1-4? How would you have felt if you had been standing there? (Also, ask the same question of Revelation 1:12-18) Do you think Isaiah’s response (Is. 6:5) is understandable?

3. Reflect on (or discuss) the following quotes:

“The more we know of God, the more sinful by comparison we feel ourselves to be.” (Derek Thomas, God Delivers: Isaiah Simply Explained, p.64)

“Until our sin be bitter, Christ will never be sweet.” (Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance, p.63)

One Greater Than Jonah

Luke 11:27-32

Sermon Notes

1) Who’s Blessed? 27-28

2) Who’s Condemned? 29-32

Reflection questions:

1. Was Jesus’ mother blessed? Why was she blessed? Because she had a baby who turned out to be Jesus? Because she came to understand that God looks upon the humble and the lowly? (See Luke 1:37-49) Is the greatest blessing that Mary received also available to you?

2. Why did Jesus not provide a sign when the people asked for a sign? Had received other signs before? What else does Scripture say about demanding signs and rejecting the signs that God has given? See I Corinthians 1:22 and Luke 16:19-31, especially vv.30-31.

3. Was Jonah a good prophet? Did Jonah understand God’s attributes and God’s mercy? (See Jonah 1:9, 12; 2:8-9; 4:2-3.) Was Jonah’s problem a lack of knowledge? A lack of something else?

4. Why is Jesus greater than Jonah? Compare Matthew’s account: Matthew 12:38-42.

Jesus and Beelzebul: The Debate about Demons?

Luke 11:14-26

Sermon Notes

1) Their Accusation: Discrediting the Demon Slayer because of Doubt, 14-16

2) Jesus’s Response: Divided Houses Are Doomed to Failure, 17-19

3) Jesus’s Alternative: Divine Intervention Explains Everything, 20-23

4) Jesus’s Ultimatum: Indecision Leads to Demoniac Domination, 23-26

Reflection questions:

1. Is doubt always a bad thing? Read Psalms 42-43; how do you see the Psalmist being honest about his doubts? How do you see him take his doubts to God, instead of using them to turn away from God?

2. Can you think of other times when Jesus presented the Gospel as an ultimatum, a choice that required an urgent, decisive response? See Luke 18:18-27 for one example.

3. Read 1 Peter 5:6-11. What does this passage tell you about Satan’s power? How should we respond in light of Satan’s power? Is God trying to scare us, sober us, encourage us (or all of the above, or something else) through these verses?

Our Heavenly Father Who Wants to Give Us Good Gifts

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon Notes:

1) The Pattern: Pray like this, vv. 1-4

2) The Reason: Because your father loves to hear the voice of prayer, vv. 5-8

3) The Plea: Ask, Seek and Knock, vv. 9-10

4) The Reason: Because your father loves to give good gifts, vv. 11-13

Reflection questions: 

1.       Do you ever use the Lord’s Prayer to guide your prayer time? Why or why not? Do you think it’s too hard to pray like this? If so, google “Martin Luther, A Simple Way to Pray,” a prayer guide that includes the Lord’s Prayer, which Luther wrote when his barber asked him for advice on prayer. (If you get lucky, you might find a free copy online)

2.       Do you “play” at prayer, or are you persistent? Is there anything in your life that you’ve stopped praying for, because you think God is not going to answer the way you want? Do you (or anyone you know) have a story about a long-time prayer request that God finally answered? 

3.       How you approach your Father when you pray? Like a miser, who might give you something good once in a while if he really feels like? Or like a Prodigal Father (Luke 15:20ff) who runs to meet his runaway son while he is still far off, like a father “who is able and ready to help us?” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q100)  

The Greatest Commandment

Luke 10:25-27, 38-42

Sermon Notes

1) The Picture of Two Good Things, 38-39

2) The Distraction of Many Things, 40-41

3) The Necessity of One Thing, 41-42

Reflection questions:

1. Does Jesus ever say which “one thing is necessary?” What does the story seem to imply that the “one thing” is?

2. What one thing does Jesus focus on in Matthew 6:25-34? And what does He tell us not to focus on? (And why shouldn’t we focus on it? See Mt 6:32; Mt 6:8.)

3. What one thing does Paul focus on in Philippians 3:10-15?

4. What one thing did David seek in Psalm 27:4? Compare Ps 84, especially vv. 1-2, 10.

The Good Samaritan and the 2nd Greatest Commandment

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon Notes

1) The Standard, 25-28

2) The Self-Absorbed Sinner, 28-29

3) The Story of the Samaritan, 30-35

4) The Searching Question, 36-37

Reflection questions:

1. The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” But he seemed to really want to know who wasn’t his neighbor. Do you ever try to limit the definition of neighbor? Who is hard for you to love?

2. How in depth should we apply God’s law? Meditate upon these words (part of Westminster Larger Catechism 99): “A. For the right understanding of the Ten Commandments, these rules are to be observed: 1. That the law is perfect, and bindeth every one to full conformity in the whole man unto the righteousness thereof, and unto entire obedience forever; so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin. 2. That it is spiritual, and so reacheth the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul; as well as words, works, and gestures.”

3. What are better questions we can ask than, “Who is my neighbor?” Here’s one example for you to answer: What do you think it means to be a neighbor?

Rejoicing in Salvation

Luke 10:17-24

Sermon Notes

1. A future-focused joy (17-20)

2. A God-focused joy (21-22)

3. A personally-relevant joy (23-24)

Questions for Reflection:

1. What is the difference between Joy and Happiness?

2. How can temporary success distract us from our eternal purpose and destination?

3. If we base our happiness on our own achievements, how could that set us up for disappointment and sadness in the future?

4. In what ways do we also get to see what the "prophets and kings desired to see?"

Generous, Hard-Working Servants

Exodus 25:1-8; 35:4-5; 36:2-7

Sermon Notes

1) Our Generous God, 25:1-8; 35:4-5

2) A Generous People Who Gave Their Best, 25; 35; 36

3) A Generous People Who Gave More Than Enough, 36:2-7

Reflection questions:

1.       Read 2 Corinthians 8, and focus on v.9. How did Paul motivate the Corinthians to give? Guilt? Or God’s Generosity?

2.       Read Exodus 25:1-2; compare it to 2 Corinthians 9:7. What similarities and differences do you see? Why were they giving? (Cf. I Cor. 16:1-4; Romans 15:25-31) What is similar about the way they gave?

3.       What else did God’s people give besides their possessions (“treasures” according to Phil Ryken)? See Exodus 35:25-26, 30-35; 36:1-2. Compare to Romans 12:1-13.