Forge Church

The second Servant Psalm helps form the backbone for Isaiah'e Book of Comfort in chapters 40-66. Here, the Servant of God speaks of failure, rejection by Israel.....700 years ahead of Isaiah's writing. Here both exegesis and theology come together to help us grasp how the Servant responded to that seeming failure, and how Yahweh sent Him forward to a greater commission....not just israel, but all the nations.

The 1st Servant Song in Isaiah 42 has the LORD addressing all mankind to introduce His Servant, then He turns to describe the service that He is guaranteeing that the Servant will accomplish in the earth. Out of this passage comes a New Covenant for both Israel and for the nations, mediated through the Servant. We are called to likewise serve, the establish by Holy Spirit was is the LORD's justice in the earth.

This is an introduction to the Servant Songs of Isaiah. In following podcast episodes we will be studying God and His Servant, a series of prophetic statements spoken by God Himself. 700 years will pass before some of these statements come to pass, and some are yet to come. Jesus arrived in the fullness of time, as will His 2nd Coming.

There are many ways to engage the Bible using this spiritual discipline of study. The point is not to do it to amass knowledge.....it is to pursue intimacy with God Himself.

Two additional forms of prayer need to be drawn in and practiced. Petitionary prayer, done in the Biblical order, acknowledges that God already knows what you need, and He rejoices when you ask aright. Intercessory prayer is outward focused, both on micro and macro needs, as the Lord the Spirit prompts us and our compassion.

Empires and nations have been overturned by the consistent outpouring of the discipline of Service. We need this discipline in the teeth of this culture that keeps hammering away at "It's all about me." themes Instead, Jesus modeled a different Kingdom, one in which servants rule, and rulers serve. Take that to heart, and listen to be prompted by the Lord Of Service, moved to lay aside our priorities, and pick up the towel, like Jesus.

Lectio Divina, or "divine reading" has been a scriptural reading practice in the Western church for 1700 years, but in the last 50, the ongoing search for more and more Bible knowledge has wrung some Evangelicals dry. It is for more intimacy with God that some, like myself, have take a confessional leap to include Lectio Divina in their devotion to God and Scripture. In this podcast, we will practice this spiritual discipline,

The two spiritual disciplines of frugality and simplicity are entwined together, and call us to seek heaven's counsel for life priorities. This 21st Century makes for difficult choices as to how we spend, invest, play, and work-as-worship. Lord God wants to walk us through the choice making process so that we begin to live quietly, live with "enough" and then listen for how to use resources in the Kingdom.

This week, we look at one of the spiritual disciplines of engagement, of action, that flows from thanksgiving and gratefulness.....it is gratitude, and gratitude has a face.

Our days are often filled with sighs, grumbles, self talk. In this podcast, we look at Luke 18, and the parable Jesus spoke about the 2 men who prayed in the Temple....one rehearsing his view of himself in comparison to others, and the other man crying out to God for mercy. From that parable came the Kyrie, and the Jesus Prayer. The breath prayers we embrace can focus and correct us, and even enhance our praise.