Pastor Ralph

Q7. (Isaiah 59:1-2) How do disobedience and lack of repentance prevent our prayers from being answered? According to verse 2, who is causing the separation from God? How can it be corrected?

Q6. (Isaiah 58:13-14) In these verses what positive actions align themselves with a true keeping the Sabbath? What negative actions should be avoided in a true keeping of the Sabbath?

Q5. (Isaiah 58:9b-10a) In what ways are people injured by backbiting, judgmental attitudes, and harsh criticism? How are they injured by false accusations and slander? How can we change our church cultures to banish this kind of behavior? What would it require of us to really “spend ourselves in behalf of the hungry”? What would this look like for an individual? For a congregation?

Q4. (Isaiah 58:6-7) What kinds of injustice does Isaiah condemn in these verses? What excuses do we use to rationalize not being generous to the poor – in our communities or in our families? In what ways is “tough love” important to help people? In what ways could it hurt them?

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse? What is the great paradox here? Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite? Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

Q2. (Isaiah 56:2) Why does keeping a sacred day of rest honor God? Christians practice this in different ways: (1) Sabbath worship and rest, (2) Sunday worship and rest, (3) Sunday worship, no rest, or (4) no worship, no rest. Which of the various options might best honor God? Which of these might dishonor God? Which of these keep the spirit of one “who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it”?

Q1. (Isaiah 56:3-8) What is the significance of God’s welcome of believing and ethical foreigners and eunuchs to full status in his temple? What are the implications of that for the church? Who does your congregation tend to exclude from its fellowship – if not explicitly, then by emphasis and focus? What could you do about this?

Q5. (Isaiah 53) Which single New Testament passage best sums up for you the lessons of Isaiah 53? Why did you choose this passage? (Select from Matthew 26:38-42; Luke 22:37; John 1:29; Romans 3:24-26; 2 Corinthians 5:20-21; 1 Peter 2:24-25; 1 Peter 3:18; Philippians 2:5-11 – or any other passage you can think of.)

Q4. (Isaiah 53) In addition to our sins, the Servant also bears the punishment deserved by sinners. In what sense, if any, did Jesus bear the punishment due you when he died on the cross?

Q3. (Isaiah 53) Isaiah 53 teaches what theologians call “the substitutionary atonement.” In what sense does the Servant act as a substitute to bear our sins? Put it in your own words.

Q2. (Isaiah 53) Which New Testament parallels to Isaiah 53 convince you that Jesus himself saw his own mission and destiny spelled out in Isaiah 53? If you aren’t convinced, what stands in your way?

Q1. (Isaiah 53) From how large a group of people does God remove sins in Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12? In what sense is this a universal sacrifice of salvation? In what sense is Jesus’ sacrifice wasted on some people?

Q9. (Isaiah 55:6-9) What does seeking the Lord entail? If God’s ways and thoughts are different than our own human way of thinking, what are the implications of this for success in our lives? Why is repentance necessary to this process? Why is humility necessary? What happens to us if our seeking is shallow? What happens if we put off seeking the Lord when we hear his invitation? Is it ever too late to seek the Lord? Can any real success be found by other means than seeking the Lord?

Q8. (Isaiah 55:1-3) Why do people “spend” their lives doing things that they know won’t satisfy them deep down? Where does hedonism or a love of pleasure lead? What are the gracious elements of Yahweh’s invitation in this passage? What is the cost of accepting the invitation? Will this invitation be perceived as “good news” to those who hear it? How can you issue this invitation in today’s vernacular?

Q7. (Isaiah 54:16-17) What does the promise mean that no weapon formed against you shall succeed? Does it mean we won’t have to conduct spiritual warfare through prayer and faith? What then does it mean?

Q6. (Isaiah 54:1-8) In what sense was Jerusalem “barren” without God’s favor? What does it imply when Isaiah says “your Maker is your husband”? What does the husband do in this analogy? In the New Testament “bride of Christ” analogy, who is the wife, who is the husband? What is expected of the wife?

Q5. (Isaiah 52:7-9) Why is a messenger or carrier of good news so beautiful? What is the original historical context of these verses? How does Paul apply this verse in Romans 10:15?

Q4. (Isaiah 50:10-11) How can you trust the Lord to guide you when you can’t see where you’re going? Have you ever experienced fear in this situation? How do you continue? What is the danger of creating your own “light” to substitute for the invisible God?

Q3. (Isaiah 50:4-9) Who does Isaiah seem to speak about in our passage? In what way is he open to the Lord? In what way does he suffer? When was the Messiah vindicated in history? How will he be vindicated at the end of the age? What character quality is necessary for believers when their vindication doesn’t seem to happen soon enough?

Q2. (Isaiah 49:14-50:3) Paul teaches that “all Israel will be saved.” According to Isaiah in our passage, what will happen to the scattered Jews in the Last Days. Does God seem to love Jews who haven’t trusted in Messiah Jesus yet? How can you show your love for Jews?

Q1. (Isaiah 49:1-13) Why do people tend to disregard or even discriminate against aliens in their country? How can you increase your love for people of other nationalities? God’s people are called to be a “light to the nations.” What might that entail for the church in your community? In your country?

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

Q6. (Isaiah 45:1-4) How can Cyrus be called by name more than a century before he was born? In what sense is Cyrus “anointed” by God? How can an unbeliever accomplish God’s purposes? What does this tell us about God? About being humble in our judgments of others?

Q5. (Isaiah 43) This chapter tells us specific purposes that God’s people have been created for. How can you fulfill your purpose to show God’s glory (verse 7)? To be his witness (verses 10, 12)? To proclaim his praise (verse 21)? What are the obstacles you are facing in fulfilling these purposes? How do you benefit from fulfilling God’s purpose for you?

Q4. (Isaiah 42:18-25) According to this passage, in what ways is God’s “servant” blind? Why? Who is the “servant” in this passage? How would you assess your own degree of spiritual blindness in the last 5 or 10 years? How effective is a blind servant in accomplishing his master’s purposes? How effective have you been?