Scripture: Isaiah 11 and 12

I. You have hope of a coming king.

A. Who is this branch of vs. 1 who would bear fruit? Jesus. He is a shoot from the stump of Jesse, King David’s father. God had made a great promise to King David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

B. Jesus would be anointed with the Holy Spirit (vs. 2). What gifts would Jesus have as king because He was filled with the Spirit? Verses 2-5 say Jesus would have the gifts of wisdom, power, reverence for God, faithfulness and righteousness. In short, Jesus would be the perfect king. And Jesus would come not just as Judah’s king. He would come to fight for Judah as a warrior (vs. 4-5).

II. You have hope of a curse reversed.

A. Jesus would bring with him a kingdom that would restore and secure the harmony of the Garden of Eden, before Adam and Eve and all of humanity fell into sin. In Isaiah 11:6 we see that Jesus will bring peace to all of creation – even animals. Jesus would come as the new Adam. In Genesis 1:28 God had commanded the first Adam to be fruitful, to fill the earth and subdue it and to rule over the animals. Jesus the King is now putting that mandate back on track.

B. God is angry with humans because of our sin and rebellion against Him (Isa. 12:1). But God’s anger has turned away from His people. The angry God has become your Savior. The curse has been reversed! How? At the cross, God’s anger and God’s judgment fell on Jesus for your sin. And when you trust that Jesus died for your sins, you can sing with God’s people the words of Isa. 12:2: “Behold, God is my salvation.”

III. You have hope of a cosmic joy and peace.

A. There was hope for the whole world in Isaiah’s message. In Isa. 11:10, the prophet says that “in that day, the root of Jesse (King Jesus), who shall stand as a signal for the peoples – of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” People then from every nation, all the nations listed in Isa. 11:11, will rally around the flag of King Jesus. Who are we making God’s great deeds of salvation known among? The peoples (Isa. 12:4). We learn in Isa. 12 that worship is mission and mission is worship. Worship leads to you telling other people about Jesus.

Application:Let us live then with faith not fear, with hope not despair, with trust in God and not in man.

Sources:The BibleCommentaries by J.A. Motyer, Tim Chester, Derek Thomas and David Jackman.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) How does the description of the Branch in Isaiah 11 focus our hope? What are the characteristics of the Branch and how are they true of Jesus?

2) In what ways does the rule of Jesus reverse the curse of the Fall of Adam and Eve? How and where does God’s anger get removed from humanity?

3)  What will the worship of Jesus necessarily lead to? What can Jesus do for all those who feel like they are living in exile?

Scripture: Isaiah 8:11—9:7

I. As a Christian of faith, you live with a distinct trust.

A. King Ahaz of Judah gets some bad news in Isaiah 7:2: “Syria is in league with Ephraim.” The heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. But Ahaz would not trust God for help with these 2 nations. He would trust Assyria for help. When we get to Isaiah 8:11 then we read God warn Isaiah, “not to walk in the way of this people.” Don’t be afraid like King Ahaz is afraid. Be distinct. Be different. Trust God.

B. Isaiah reminds God’s people, “The only thing we have to fear is God himself.” If we all have fears, what makes Christians different? We live with an unanxious peace because we fear God above everything else. Isaiah gives us a good picture of what trust in God looks like in Isaiah 8:17: “I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.” Trust looks like patient waiting on God and confidence that our trust will be rewarded.

II. As a Christian of faith, you live with a distinct guide.

A. During this time of fear and insecurity, who were the people of Judah looking to for guidance? “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isaiah 8:19).

B. Our biggest threat is death. And dead people have already lost that battle with death. Dead people are not the ones you want to seek guidance from about how to make it through life! You should seek guidance from someone who came back from the dead – from someone who defeated death: Jesus. When the Bible is your guide for life, you have light along your path (vs. 19-20).

III. As a Christian of faith, you live with a distinct Savior, who is both God and man.

A. In Isaiah 9, we learn more about the child Immanuel who was to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). The child, Jesus, would bring light and remove gloom to Galilee (vs. 1). Luke 1:26-27: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.” Matthew 4:13: “And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Jesus combines God and man in one person (vs. 6) as our Savior.

Application:Trust your Savior Jesus and you can live without fear and in peace.

Sources:The book of IsaiahCommentaries by J.A. Motyer, Tim Chester, Bob Fyall and David Jackman.

Sermon Discussion Questions

Scripture: Isaiah 6

I. When you have a fresh encounter with God, you know God as king.

A. In Isaiah 6:1 we read the historical setting for Isaiah’s encounter with God. King Uzziah of Judah had died that year. Everything feels uncertain and insecure. And what does God do for Isaiah? He gives Isaiah a vision of Judah’s true king: God. God has ascended to his throne, and He rules over all things. God and God alone is supreme in power over Judah and over the Assyrians and over the whole earth.B. The train of God’s robe fills the entire temple in heaven (vs. 1). It wraps around and around, and it fills up the entire space in the temple. Why is the train of God’s robe so long? It emphasizes the supreme majesty and ultimate power of God. God, and only God, rules. The Lord God Almighty is still on the throne – just like He was in the year King Uzziah died. God the King can never die, and His throne will never be empty.

II. When you have a fresh encounter with God, you know God as holy.

A. God is so holy that for the only time in the Bible, we see three words used back to back to back to emphasize something about God. Who is God? Holy. Holy. Holy (vs. 3). God is the holiest of holiest of holy beings. All of Isaiah’s senses experienced God’s holiness. He sees the holiness of God in the long train of his robe in the temple. He hears the holiness of God in the cry of the seraphim. He then feels holiness as the thresholds in the heavenly temple shake (vs. 4).B. Isaiah even smells the holiness of God when smoke started to fill his nose (vs. 4). Isaiah saw God’s holiness like Israel saw God’s holiness at Mt. Sinai when God gave the 10 commandments. In Isaiah 5, Isaiah had said, “Woe to you” 6 times to the people of Judah. But when Isaiah sees God with his own eyes, woe to you quickly changes to woe to me (vs. 5). When you see God in His holiness, you will see yourself for who you are.

III. When you have a fresh encounter with God, you know God as gracious.

A. Where did the burning coal come from (vs. 6)? The altar in the heavenly temple. The altar was the place of sacrifice. A person’s guilt was symbolically placed on an animal, and the animal died in the person’s place. Isaiah’s sinful lips were touched by this coal from the altar, and so Isaiah’s guilt was taken away. There would still be life left in the stump of Judah. Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” A Messiah, a descendant of Jesse’s son David, would come from this stump.

Application:The holy God will meet your guilt with His grace when you confess your sin. 

Sources:The BibleCommentaries by J.A. Motyer, Tim Chester, Bob Fyall and David Jackman.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) Have you ever had a sense of woe before the holy God like Isaiah had? What do you learn about yourself when you encounter God’s holiness?2) When Isaiah saw God on the throne, he and the nation were full of fear for their future. How did this vision calm Isaiah’s fears?3) When God removes your guilt by His grace, what should be your response? What was Isaiah’s response?

Scripture: Isaiah 5

I. God’s heart breaks when we don’t produce good fruit.

A. By grace God had given Israel a good land. God had left nothing undone for His people. God expected good fruit to come from His people. But the vines only yielded wild grapes (vs. 2, 4). Literally, Judah produced stink-fruit. Judah produced a stinky crop of death and decay. Whose fault was it? God’s or Judah’s? We get the answer in verse 4 when a broken-hearted God asks the question: “What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?”

B. Judah had wasted every opportunity and despised every privilege given her by God. So, what was God going to do to His people, His vineyard? He was going to destroy it (vs. 5). What kind of fruit is your life producing? God gave you the Holy Spirit to give you the power to produce good fruit that we see in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

II. God’s hand is raised in judgment when we don’t produce good fruit.

A. Since Judah produced stink fruit, God announced a series of six woes. Woe means that great sorrow or distress is coming. Rich people in Judah had defrauded the poor by adding house to house (vs. 8). What was God’s judgment? Many houses shall be desolate (vs. 9). If you take a house from the poor, God will send foreigners to take all your big houses. The only thing that got Judah out of bed was wine. They were self-indulgent. How would God judge them? They would lose their land and go into exile (vs. 13). They would go to Sheol, the land of the dead (vs. 14).

B. Judah was a slave to its sinful appetites (vs. 18). Another woe is pronounced in vs. 20 on those who call evil good and good evil. They turn moral values upside down. Another woe in vs. 21 is spoken to those who are wise in their own eyes. They put themselves in the place of God and exalt their own opinions. Finally, in vs. 22-23 a woe is given to those who are heroes at holding their liquor and who corrupt the justice system by taking bribes and convicting the innocent.

C. God can whistle for nations to judge His people like one might whistle for their dog (vs. 26). When God whistled, Assyria would come very quickly in judgment. Isaiah 5:30 has two references to darkness. What is going to win? Will it be light? Or will it be darkness? On the day that Jesus died for our sins, darkness fell. Matthew 27:45: “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.” But because Jesus went into the darkness for us, we can now walk in the light and enjoy the sunshine of God’s love and presence.

Application:Ask God to fill you with His Spirit to produce the sweet and delicious fruit God wants. 

Sources:The BibleCommentaries by J.A. Motyer, Bob Fyall and David Jackman.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) Why does God sing a sad song over His vineyard? What has gone wrong? What is going to happen?2) What is the essence of each sin that God speaks about in His six woes to Judah? How does God respond to His people’s sins?3) What response does God want from Judah when He tells them of the upcoming Assyrian invasion in vs. 25-30? How does the threat of God’s judgment bring hope to us?

Scripture: Isaiah 1

I. You regain God’s gracious privileges by repenting of political sins.

A. Isaiah prophesied to 4 different kings of Judah (vs. 1). Isaiah begins by telling Judah what is plain to everyone: our country is broken. Judah has rebelled against God (vs. 2). They have sinned. They of all people, the ones who had received gift after gift of grace from God, had rebelled against Him. Judah looked like a beaten up, broken slave (vs. 5-6). There was no health in this nation – just bruises and sores and wounds. The land of Judah was desolate (vs. 7).

B. Four words show the privileges Judah had received: they were God’s nation, people, offspring and children (vs. 4). Four negative words describe Judah now: sinful, full of iniquity, evildoers and corrupt. The church’s privileges are like Judah’s. 1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

II. You regain God’s gracious privileges by repenting of religious sins.

A. Deliberate sin is the opposite of faith in God. Judah was guilty of too much religion (vs. 11). Their sacrifices were vain offerings. They meant nothing to God. God hates religion that is just going through the motions. In verses 16-17, God offers a solution to the problem of Judah committing religious sins. God is calling His people in these verses to do something that he mentions in one word in vs. 27: repent.

B. To repent means to turn: to turn away from sin and toward God. When God by His grace convicts you of sin, you need to repent. Judah needed to turn away from violence against people (vs. 15). They were doing evil to helpless and hopeless people. They were oppressing some of God’s chosen people. Judah, your sins they are many. But God’s mercy is more. God’s mercy is greater than all your sin. He can and He will pay for your sin by redeeming you (vs. 27).

III. You regain God’s gracious privileges by repenting of social sins.

A. God’s goal for Jerusalem is faithfulness (vs. 21 and 26). After God restores His repentant people they will be called once again the faithful city. Jerusalem had become unfaithful to God in the way that they treated God’s people (vs. 21-23). Jesus redeems repentant sinners. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

Application:If you know you are far from God today, repent. Trust that Christ alone can make you clean.  

Sources:IsaiahCommentaries by J.A. Motyer, David Jackman, and Bob Fyall.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) What are the charges God brings against Judah and Jerusalem? Why were God’s people in such a predicament, and why was this such a shock to them?

2) What is the solution to Judah’s problem? What is the choice God puts before Judah (Vs. 19-20)?

3) What is the future for those who persist in sin and rebellion? What alternative does God offer His people (vs. 27-31)?

Scripture: Titus 3:1-2 & 9-15

Submit to Authorities

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.” (v1)

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1)

Avoid Quarreling and Slander

“to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” (v2)

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

Submit to Authorities

“Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” (Titus 2:15)

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” (Hebrews 13:17)

Avoid Quarreling and Division

“Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” (v9)

“Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers . . . avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.” (2 Timothy 2:14-17)

Scripture: Titus 3:3-8

I. The good news begins with bad news about you.

A. Paul goes straight into the bad news about you in Titus 3:3. He lists seven characteristics of Christians before their conversion to Christ. You might call this list the slimy seven. In summary, without Jesus our relationship with God was a mess. It was not just our relationship with God that was a mess. Our relationships with other people were also a mess. We either wished that bad things would happen to people or we wished that good things would not happen to people.

B. Paul writes about we ourselves (vs. 3), as in, Paul and Titus. Even the best Christians then, the missionaries now completely devoted to Jesus, lived slimy lives apart from Jesus. What is the only thing that the gospel says can save your soul? The death of Jesus, the Son of God, on the cross. I could not save myself by my own good works (vs. 4). Only God could save me. It was necessary for Jesus to die to save me (vs. 6). There was no other way.

II. The good news for Christians is that God saved you.

A. Before Jesus entered our lives, we were living in darkness. People act despicably. But how does God act? God acts kindly toward people who are rebelling against Him. He is so kind to them that He saves them. And God shows love toward people who hate Him. We are reminded of God’s incredible saving love toward us in the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 5:8: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

B. How does God save us? God does not save us because of works done by us in righteousness (vs. 5). God had to take the initiative in saving us. God saved us because of His character and virtue, not ours. All three persons in our one Triune God save us according to Titus 3:4-6. We are justified by God’s grace (vs. 7). Justified is a courtroom word. It means to be declared righteous by God the judge. God says you are not guilty. You are instead righteous.

III. The good news for Christians is that God gives you a wonderful, eternal life.

A. Because we are now justified, we receive life. Paul writes in Titus 3:7: “Being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see that we need Jesus to save us. We then put our faith in Jesus alone to save us. Because you are united with Jesus in being justified, you will be united with Jesus in having eternal life. You will be heirs with Jesus (vs. 7) of heaven as part of Christ’s own family. Because of your relationship with Jesus by faith, you are now an heir of heaven and eternal life.

Application:Are you sure that you have and will have eternal life?

Sources:The letter to TitusCommentaries by Andreas Köstenberger, Denny Burk, Tim Chester and Robert Yarbrough.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) How do you think about God now that you have studied Titus 3? How has your thinking changed?

2) How do you know that God has been kind to you? What were you like before Jesus entered your life according to vs. 3?

3) How do you answer these questions: Are you trusting in your good works to save you or are you trusting in Jesus alone and His work on the cross to save you? Do you want to do good works for God? Has God given you the power to do good works?

Scripture: Titus 2:11-15

Grace Redeems

“For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people.” (v11)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness . . .” (v13-14)

Grace Reforms

“. . . training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” (v12)

“For those whom (God) foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. . .” (Romans 8:9)

“. . . and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (v14)

Grace Rewards

“waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (v13)

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:18-19)

Scripture: Titus 2:1-10

I. You live a wonderful life by discipling other Christians.

A. Paul ends Titus 1 by talking about the rebellious false teachers in Crete (Titus 1:16). Paul opens chapter 2 by writing to Titus, “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” This is teaching that leads to spiritual and emotional health and to a wonderful life.

B. Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” We are to make disciples as we teach by word and by example (vs. 7). Who do we disciple? People at all ages and stages of life (vs. 2-8). Older people in the church are to disciple younger people. Find someone to disciple you, and find someone to disciple.

II. You live a wonderful life by self-control.

A. Did you notice how often Paul mentions self-control in Titus 2? See vs. 2, 5, 6 and 12. When Christians mature in their faith in Jesus, fickleness, rash passion and impulsiveness become things of the past. What does self-control look like for a Christian? It looks like being able to keep your emotions under control rather than being under the control of your emotions.

B. What are the temptations that cause men and women to lose their self-control? Old men can be tempted to be grumpy rather than steadfast (vs. 2) in faith. Old women can be tempted to use their words to be slanderers (vs. 3) rather than building other women up. Young women can lose self-control by being discontent with working at home (vs. 5). This does not mean women can’t work outside the home (See Prov. 31). But young women must not be frustrated or feel worthless if lacking a career. Young men can lose their self-control (vs. 6) in lust, ambition and impatience.

III. You live a wonderful life by submission.

A. Twice in Titus 2 Paul tells certain people to submit. In verse 5 Paul writes that wives are to be submissive to their own husbands. And in verse 9 we read that bondservants or slaves are to be submissive to their own masters. In marriage, submission for a wife means living in line with a husbands’ loving leadership. Submission does not mean that husbands have a license to suppress or oppress or abuse their wives. Employees are not slaves, but they should follow Paul’s direction to slaves to be faithful in their work and honor authority (vs. 10).

Application:A wonderful life means discipling other Christians into the likeness of Jesus.

Sources:The BibleCommentaries by Andreas Köstenberger, Denny Burk, Tim Chester and Robert Yarbrough

Sermon Discussion Questions

Scripture: Titus 1:10-16

I. You need leaders who will silence rebellion.

A. The rebels in the church of Crete are described in vs. 10. They were actively spreading false teaching in the church (vs. 11). Disorder then had entered the church. They deceived the people in the church by giving the impression that they were following Jesus and the Gospel while actually the rebels were leading people away from Jesus. What exactly was the false teaching of these rebels? Jesus plus teaching. You need Jesus plus something else to be right with God.

B. 1 Timothy 4:1-3: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith… who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” Jesus plus teachers added manmade rules to the truth that we are saved by Jesus alone. The false teachers said you needed Jesus plus other rules to save your soul. “Silence them!” Paul taught in Titus 1:11.

II. You need leaders who will rebuke rebellion.

A. Paul tells Titus why he should rebuke the people in the churches of Crete in vs. 12. They were worldly people. They were not living lives that gave evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. “Rebuke them sharply” Paul tells Titus in vs. 13. The goal of these strong words from Titus was so that the people would be sound in the faith (vs. 13). He wanted to win the people in the church over to the truth of the Gospel and to live godly lives.

B. One command of people (vs. 14) taught that Gentiles like Titus had to be circumcised if he wanted to be right with God. But Paul said Jesus alone makes us right with God. Manmade rules, manmade commands, cannot make anyone right with God. Legalists and rebels ask God, “How much must I do?” The right question is, “How much can I give?” You are declared right with God not because of anything you do but because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross.

III. You need leaders who will identify rebellion.

A. What does rebellion look like? It’s harder to spot than you think. Verse 16 says that the false teachers in Crete “profess to know God.” But the grace of God is meant to change our lives so that we turn away from sin and live godly lives. We see this in Titus 2:11-12: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Real Christians produce real fruit and not continued rebellion against God.

Application:Silence and rebuke and identify rebellion, both in your home and in your church.

Sources:The letter to TitusCommentaries by Andreas Köstenberger, Denny Burk, Robert Yarbrough and Tim Chester.

Sermon Discussion Questions