In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that, “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Right before the famous and beloved text of John 3:16 we find Jesus connecting...
Scripture shows us that God is not only good, wise, sovereign, but also surprsing. He does new things which are often unexpected and astonishing but full of wisdom far beyond what we could ever imagine. This new and surprising way of working is what God’s word of comfort to his...
After the promises made in Isaiah 44:1-5, the Lord Yahweh speaks once more to remind Israel of his uniqueness, that he is the one and only God, and to reassure them there is no one else who can be their sure foundation. Rather than be like the nations, who seek...
The Lord had declared a message of comfort for his faithless servant, Israel: He would end their exile and bring them home. But Israel would need a greater liberation than this. For God’s glory to fill the earth through the genuine worship and faithful witness of his people, they would...
It has always been God’s intention to bring his blessing to the world, to fill the earth with his glory, through his people. This was why God chose Israel to be his servant. However, as we saw last week, Israel too failed to do this. But Isaiah aims to remind...
In Isaiah 42, we’ve heard how the servant of the Lord would bring justice and light to the nations so that God’s praise might fill the earth. But this wasn’t currently happening. And not only were all nations not singing praise to God, even his people Israel had failed to...
In Isaiah 42:10-17, God continues his interrogation and humiliation of Israel’s idols by revealing Himself as the prophesying man of war and shepherding King who commands praise from all of creation. In this sermon, Pastor Joel shows how scripture identifies all of God’s attributes with Jesus Christ. Jesus is both...
In this sermon, pastor Keith walks through the text to answer the question, “Who can contend?” in two ways. First, who can contend with God? No one. Second, who can contend with this broken idolatrous world? God’s Anointed One. He answers those two questions with the two “beholds” of the...
In chapter 40, Isaiah established the fundamental principles about God to assure Israel of God’s power and eagerness to save them. Now in chapter 41, Isaiah brings these principles into clearer focus. This section begins and ends with God addressing the nations, but in between is a lengthy section of...