Posts with the tag “isaiah”

Hope In Crisis Normally on Thursdays, I introduce the text of the upcoming sermons with a few guiding questions.  Today, I’m going to step back from that format and talk about hope.We are the church. ...  Read More

Hope by Emily Dickinson How do words of this famous poem relate to what we have been learning in Isaiah?Is Dickinson talking about the same kind of hope as Isaiah?  How do you know?According to the po...  Read More

Watchman, Tell Us of the Night The hymn below is based off of Isaiah 21.  How do the tone and the movement of the song reflect the text?  This song is often sung during the Christmas season.  Do you h...  Read More

Babylon is Fallen The link between poetry and song is strong; both lend themselves to the other.  Take, for instance, this traditional poem, which has been song in various dialects and languages aroun...  Read More

Who Am I? “Whom have I in heaven but you and having you I desire nothing upon earth” Psalm 73.Where is our identity linked?  Our bank accounts, our health, our health insurance, our families, our job...  Read More

The Second Coming This poem by W.B. Yeats is one of my favorites; I love the language, the imagery, and the allusions.  That said, it is an often-misunderstood poem; The Second Coming, from the title ...  Read More

Righteousness This Sunday, Don will preach on Isaiah 15:1–20:6, emphasizing the difference between success and righteousness. In preparation for the sermon, you may read the text HERE.  Before you beg...  Read More

Darkness and Light The book of Isaiah covers a good bit of darkness and destruction.  It can be overwhelming and, quite frankly, depressing sometimes.  Just like looking at the news or feasting on soc...  Read More

James Weldon Johnson Some of the language in this poem may sound dated to our modern ears, or a bit odd to those unaccustomed to a southern (North Florida) dialect.  If, however, you are from the Sout...  Read More

Isaiah 13:1-14:32 Take some time to read through the sermon text for this week: Isaiah 13:1-14:32which you can read HERE.Before you begin reading, pray and ask for God’s wisdom.This is a noisy passage...  Read More

Seeking False Glory Typically, in Grace Everyday we focus on the sermons; today we are going to look at a Gospel.  Part of our discipleship plan is to read a portion of a Gospel and ask ourselves thre...  Read More

Open the Eyes of My Heart Join me in listening to this Michael W. Smith song as we prepare for worship on Sunday.  I had never before considered the connections to Isaiah in this song. What do you not...  Read More

Isaiah Spring by Sarah Clarkson Several years ago (in 2019), Sarah Clarkson found herself driving between Nashville and Kentucky for an intensive Bible Study on Isaiah.  The Spring of the year brought...  Read More

Can I hear from God?  "In my many years of discipling others, I have seen for myself how very much God's people want to hear from him. [In the passages we have recently read], God promised Israel that...  Read More

In the Eye of the Storm Some trust in chariots and some in horses,    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.Psalm 20:7We may not trust in horses and chariots anymore, but we often misplace our ...  Read More

Confronting Evil A famous quotation often credited to Edmund Burke states: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” At first blush, all of us affirm this, but ...  Read More

Who is exalted? The text of this week’s sermon is Isaiah 2:1-4:6 which you can read HERE. As you prepare for Sunday, take some time to read and pray with the scripture.  Ask God for His wisdom and un...  Read More

The Proud Will be Humbled   Grace Discipleship: Pray for Unity in the ChurchLord God, Almighty, and Eternal Father:We come before you from many and diverse stations in life. Grant us, Lord, that, desp...  Read More

Who is God?  Who are we? As we learned from the sermon yesterday, the text of Isaiah 1 is about a people in decline.  It is a difficult message to hear, for God is speaking not only to the religious ...  Read More

Isaiah 1 In preparation for the sermon today, or in reflection, you may choose to listen to this song. ......  Read More

When & Where An important concept to grasp when studying any book of the Bible is context: when was the book written?  Where was the book written?  To whom was the book written?As you look over the do...  Read More

Isaiah Overview Isaiah is an Old Testament book with 66 chapters, which are not arranged chronologically, but topically.  The book is essentially a collection of Isaiah's sermons and mentions, more th...  Read More

Introducing Isaiah On Sunday, Don will begin a sermon series on the Old Testament book of Isaiah.  Over the next few days, I will be providing some context to help us understand when the book was writ...  Read More