All of human history points to and culminates in the person of the Servant. The entirety of the Bible up to the point of Isaiah asks the question,“Who is the Messiah? Who will save us?” , and the book of Isaiah itself leads up to this point where the LORD introduces His Servant to His People. This Servant is in the exact nature of the LORD Himself: gracious, just, merciful, powerful, and accomplishes the LORD's purpose to establish His Kingdom.

Application Questions

1. What would it look like for you to“sing a new song” to the LORD and His Servant?
2. What are ways that Jesus needs to be more in the foreground in your life, and less blurry and in the background?
3. How could you grow in praising Jesus this week?

As the book of Isaiah transitions to the message God gave the exiles for the time when they would inevitably be taken into exile, we find a powerful message of comfort. In the depths of sorrow, when dreams have been destroyed and lives have been turned upside down, God reminds us that he is near, he is holding us close, and he has the power to bring about his promised redemption.

Application Questions

1. Is comfort something you are currently longing for from God? If not, in what ways do you think keeping the message of his comfort in your pocket will be helpful?
2. When can you remember having experienced God gathering you in his arms and holding you close?
3. How does God's power make the promises of God's redemption truly comforting?
4. Where are you tempted to look for comfort, asking“are you my god?”
5. What truths do you need to remember in order to be able to truly trust God and wait on his perfect timing and redemption in your life?

We are an increasingly restless people, constantly busy and always working on various parts of our lives. Humans have always naturally tried to work our way to strength, stability and security. In Isaiah, we've seen the the LORD is the only rational place to put our trust and hope for the future. But the people of Israel—and us today—turn instead to other ways of managing our fears and desires. Nevertheless, God is faithful to continue to show mercy, and we see it in a climactic way in Jesus Christ. When we turn to the LORD and see his faithfulness, we can find a deep rest for our souls that is available nowhere else.

Application Questions

1. How do you experience tiredness and restlessness in your life? How does it affect you?
2. Where do you look to find rest and blessing in your life?How have those things still left you restless?
3. What would it look like for you to rest in the Lord? How would your life change if you trusted the Lord exclusively?

The LORD reveals Himself through the prophet Isaiah as the God who is victorious. No other god, no other person, no other thing will ultimately have HIs plan or purpose accomplished in the world, except for God. His victory now in our lives is not exactly the same as His ultimate victory when He will create a new heavens and a new earth, but His victory is real now, and will be secured and assured forever.

Application Questions

1. What does the word“victory” mean to you?
2, How does God's definition of victory in the“now” differ from what you thought victory should be?
3. How often do you think about God's future victory? Why do you not think of it more?

Judgment is an uncomfortable idea. Why would you ever want to listen to a sermon on judgment? In this sermon, we explore why we, in fact, ought to be deeply comforted and assured by God's judgment. God's perfect judgment brings about the justice that our souls crave in a rampantly unjust and unfair world. More than this, the more we come to understand God's perfect judgment, the more we come to comprehend the sheer magnitude of his grace. Isaiah pronounces judgment upon the nations of the earth, and upon the entire earth itself. Yet, in the midst of this focus on judgment we continually find hope, joy, and grace in the promise of a future Messiah.

Application Questions

1. In what ways do you find your soul longing for justice in our fallen world?
2. How does God'sjudgment of both the nations and individuals reflect the perfection of his character?
3. How does studying Isaiah help us to combat the false characterization of the God of the Old Testament being a God of judgment and the God of the New Testament being a God of love?
4. What is an aspect of God's judgment that you normally don't think about that you should probably strive to remember more regularly?
5. How does considering the reality of God's judgment help you to appreciate the magnitude of his grace?

Isaiah's call to ministry teaches us the pattern of true spirituality. Isaiah is overwhelmed by God's holiness and then met with undeniable grace. After that, he commits his entire life to God's service. This same process happens not once but regularly for anyone who relates to God. Today we face the same question the nation of Israel faced in the times of Isaiah: will we distance ourselves from the reality of God or acknowledge his reality and embrace his holiness and grace?

Application Questions

1. Do you underestimate God's size and holiness in your daily life? What impact does that have on you?
2. How have you experienced the connection between God's holiness and his grace? How might you cultivate an understanding of God'sholiness so that you can understand his grace more deeply?
3. Are there any ways you push away the reality of God in your daily life? How can you cultivate the reality of God's holiness and grace instead?

Isaiah lived in a time of major social upheaval and personal struggle. In the midst of it all, he receives a vision of the LORD, and begins a ministry of telling everyone that the LORD is the central factor to everything in life. In the first chapter of the book, Isaiah teaches us about the LORD, his wayward people, and his plan to save them. At the center is the LORD's character, goodness, and love, which we see ultimately in Jesus.

Application Questions

1. How is the God of the Bible unique? Are there ways your default ideas about God don't line up with the way the LORD describes himself in the Bible?
2. Can you relate to Isaiah's description of human beings rebelling against God's desires and being hurt in the process?
3. Have you ever used religious activities to pretend that you love God when really they are just ways to do whatever you want and still feel spiritual?
4. What would change about your life if you understood the LORD is the biggest, the best, and loves you the most? How can meditating on the gospel remind you that it's true?

Should I stay or should I go? When talking about living out the Great Commission, that seems to be the choice that is put before us. But what if “staying” is more about remaining faithful to the person and purpose of Jesus than it is about a location? What if the choice we think of between staying and going isn't a choice at all? Staying is what we do when we go, whether we go out into West LA or West Africa, because it's about staying with Jesus on His mission by prioritizing disciple-making in our lives.

Application Questions

1. In what ways have you been thinking of staying and going as opposing options? How have you been challenged to rethink what it means to stay and go?
2. What is the place/priority of disciple-making in your life? What changes do you need to make to place disciple-making in a higher priority than it currently is?
3. How can you engage with your community group to help each other think about where God wants you to stay?

The great commission doesn't just require some of us to go to spread the gospel in new places. It also requires the rest of us to send those who go in a manner worthy of God and his gospel. Instead of seeing missionaries as“having missions covered” , we are to understand ourselves as fellow workers with them by the way we support them before they go, while they are gone, and when they return.

Application Questions

1. Why do you think it's necessary for the church to send missionaries? How have you thought about that need personally in the past?
2. Do you resonate with the idea of being a fellow worker with missionaries by sending them?
3. What are some ways you can participate in sending missionaries at Cornerstone?

Before Jesus departed this earth, he gave His church her marching orders: to go and make disciples of all nations. But if the Bible calls us as Christ followers to be his witnesses in all the world - to be part of the Great Commission that one day will result in people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation worshiping Christ before his throne - we have to acknowledge that some will need to go to the ends of the earth to bring the good news of the gospel to those who have never heard. Although the task is monumental, Christ does not send us out alone to fulfill His mission. Instead, He graciously sends us with His authority and His very own presence.

Application Questions

1. How does your identity as an ambassador of Christ (2 Cor 5:20), called to proclaim His excellencies (1 Pet 2:9), impact your life right now? What are ways you can actively grow in these areas?
2. In light of the Great Commission, have you considered whether God has called you to a new home for the primary purpose of making disciples among those who are under-reached or unreached by the gospel? If so, what has that process looked like, and what did God teach you through that process? If not, what has prevented you?Is“going” to the nations something you actively pray about? How could a proper understanding of the Great Commission change your prayer life?
3. How are you affected by the reality that Jesus gives us His authority and His presence for the fulfillment of the Great Commission? Do you consider these things in your everyday life?
4. As part of the local church, how can you help and be helped by your fellow brothers and sisters to actively participate in the Great Commission?