Isaiah 52:13-53:6 | The Gospel According to Isaiah | Trent Hunter

Things are not always as they seem. Jesus did not seem to be all that much to those who looked on him in his life. When he was young, he wasn't that special. Who would expect a boy to be the answer to the world's problems? His sufferings in life only seemed to confirm the obvious: that this was not our man. Some said he was a blasphemer. Some said he was a common criminal. Others said he was a troublemaker. To some who hoped for more, he was another failed prophet. But his rejection by us turned out to be a rejection for us. Who would have known? None of us apart from the revelation of God concerning his Servant in Isaiah 52:13–53:6.

Isaiah 50:4-11 | The Gospel According to Isaiah | Trent Hunter

We don’t just need an innocent savior who can take away our sin by taking our punishment. We need a positively obedient savior who can give us his righteousness, who can show us the path of obedience. As Isaiah 50:4-11 teaches, Jesus is such a Servant for us. His obedience is the beginning of ours.

Isaiah 49:1-13 | The Gospel According to Isaiah | Trent Hunter

It matters for every Christian if Christ truly is our salvation according to the Scriptures. If the Bible's story of salvation is not a unified story then Christ is not salvation for us. He's just another first century man laying claim to the role of messiah. This week brings us to the second of four "Servant Songs" at the heart of Isaiah's message. The first song dealt with the servant's mission. This song in Isaiah 49:1–13 deals with the servant's identity. This servant, "Israel," is both the nation and an individual who restores the nation and incorporates the nations into the people of God.

Isaiah 42:1-9 | The Gospel According to Isaiah | Trent Hunter

There is always more to see of Jesus. In Isaiah 42:1–9, we come to the first of four "Servant Songs" as they are often called. With this passage we begin our journey into the heart of Isaiah's "good news" story. The story of this servant will unfold in several steps revealing who Jesus is for us and what he has done. But that revelation will not come in one step. In fact, Isaiah, a good preacher, may even trip us up along the way to a clear vision of our savior.

Isaiah 1-2:5 | The Gospel According to Isaiah | Trent Hunter

The book of Isaiah is long, expansive in the timeline it covers, and filled with obscure names and places. It's also the book in our Bible from which we get our most familiar verses. In fact, it is that Old Testament book from which our New Testament authors and even Jesus himself derived their clearest grasp on the person of Christ and the meaning of his death. So it is to Isaiah that we turn, a book that begins with a vision of two cities, one in ruins and one in righteousness. How does the city in ruins become the city of righteousness?

James 5:19-20 | Undivided: Grace for Change from the Book of James | Trent Hunter

James has written his letter with a central driving concern: to see wanderers brought back to God. He has been kind and he has been severe. He has addressed us as beloved brothers and he has called out our spiritual adultery. In all of this he holds out the prospect of God's forgiveness and grace. James 5:19–20 brings us to the concluding words of James' letter, a call to come to the rescue, to seek out those who are wandering, and to bring them back. How do we know when someone is wandering? How can we bring them back? These are the questions we will explore together with James' capable help.

Matthew 28:20 | The Sign of Baptism | Trent Hunter

Baptism is an act of obedience. That is true. But what if I told you that baptism is also a sign of a new life of obedience? Would that sound like a contradiction? Didn't Jesus die because we don't obey? Yes. But he was raised so that we would walk in newness of life. Obedience has a bad wrap. That Jesus came that we might be obedient to him sounds like a bait and switch. But that is only because we have no idea how great a master Jesus is for us or how great a life he came to give. We go under the water with Jesus in baptism to go on with Jesus in a life of obedience. This message is embedded at the very end of Jesus' famous great commission in Matthew 28:20. This new life is part of the good news we picture in the sign of baptism.

James 5:13-18 | Undivided: Grace for Change from the Book of James | Trent Hunter

In James 5:13–18 James turns his attention and ours to the matter of prayer. God wants to hear from us in every circumstance of life—when we're suffering and when we're cheerful. We need him when we're suffering, lest we turn against him in bitterness or from him in despair. We need him just the same when we're cheerful, lest we forget the source of our blessing. This encouragement is to be expected from the Apostle. But then he tells us to call the elders when we're sick in order that they would pray over us, anoint us with oil, and to pray in faith that we would be healed. This passage will require some work to understand in order to protect us from confusion in our sickness and in order to help us when we are in sin.

James 5:7-12 | Undivided: Grace for Change from the Book of James | Trent Hunter

James began by speaking of trials, the need for endurance, and reward that awaits those who wait for the Lord's coming. Now, in chapter 5:7–12 he returns to these themes as he brings his letter in for a close. James understands full well the difficulties that his readers face for Jesus' name. He minimizes none of their troubles. But neither does he accommodate their sin. For under such pressures they are tempted in many ways; tempted to grumble against one another, to deceive one another, to give up on the Christian life altogether. For their encouragement, James holds out the coming of the Lord as an answer for every form of impatience.

Psalm 1 | Jim Knauss

The turn of the calendar brings new goals, ambition, and hope. We look to the new year with wide eyes as we commit to new ways to bring about our desired end goals. Perhaps we get a gym membership, start a Bible reading plan, or maybe we pick up the phone to reconcile a relationship that’s been neglected for far too long. As we begin new paths in a new year, let us look to the Scriptures when deciding which way we take. Our prayer will be to spring forth into this new year with a path that is forged and blessed by God’s Word.