Hope

October 25, 2020

Main idea: Hope looks up and out.

Isaiah 40

  • Comfort (Isaiah 40:1-2)
  • Voice (Isaiah 40:3-11)
  • Questions (Isaiah 40:12-31)

2020

Hoping in the Lord

  • Look Up
  • Look Out

Icebreaker

What Bible verse or meme do you think best represents 2020?

Digging Deeper

"Isaiah 40 opens with a different setting, tone, and message than what we’ve encountered in chapters 1–39. This is because God gave Isaiah a vision of Israel’s future post-exile.

Historically, the gap envisioned between 39:8 and 40:1 spans about one hundred and fifty years—from around 701 BC in chapter 39 to around 550 BC in chapter 40. During that span of time, the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians and replaced them as the dominant world power. God’s people in Judah and Jerusalem eventually fell to the Babylonian army in 586 BC.

Most of the survivors of that catastrophe were taken to Babylon as slaves and lived in exile for about seventy years, until the Babylonians fell to the Persians around 540 BC who began letting the Israelites return home." (Explore the Bible)

  1. Read Isaiah 40:12-31.

    • Highlight all of the rhetorical questions.
    • What is the answer to each question?
    • What is the effect of all of these rhetorical questions?
    • What rhetorical questions might you add?

  2. Read (again) Isaiah 40:18-20 where Isaiah takes particular aim at idols.

    • While we might not be tempted to bow before a wooden pole, what distinctly 21st century idols do we have? (Hint: Consider the impact of technology and social media.)
    • How would you define an idol?
    • How can control be an idol?

  3. Restate Isaiah 40:31 in your own words.

  4. How is Jesus the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:31? That is, how does God give us hope through Jesus? Further, how does God strengthen us through Jesus?

Next Steps

  1. As a group, memorize Isaiah 40:31. Speak this to yourself and others this week as a practical means of encouragement.

  2. On Sunday, we discussed our church. If you were present (in person or online), what did you learn about our church?

  3. Of the ways to practically hope in the Lord, which caught your attention and why?

    • If you were challenged by the "Look Up" examples, consider reading and discussing this article about the challenges of personal Bible reading during this pandemic or this article about congregational worship.
    • What were your thoughts about the "Look Out" portion in which Birong and Andy shared about the church plants?

  4. If our church disappeared, do you think anyone would notice?

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