isaiah 2018

God is full of grace to mankind. Sometimes He shows this in an explosive way and sometimes as a cascade in our lives. We are called to be Heralds to tell other people about this grace. This grace allows us to wear the best robe - His robe of righteousness. God is glorified, we are stretched and others are changed as together we show God's grace to the people we meet.

The foundations of the nation of Israel were built on prophecies. Isaiah 53 is a brilliant prophecy about Jesus. His blood is powerful. This Talk helps us to consider several aspects of His sacrifice. Do what God says even if it doesn't make sense at first.

It’s really good to look at the structure of Isaiah whether you believe one person wrote it or several. Chapter 40 is a turning point in the book. It’s the beginning of Isaiah’s second statement about/from God.Three themes in chapters 1-39:1/ God is the God of all nations – not just Israel2/ God is the God of the individual and not just the nations.3/ The Assyrian army is close and threatening.Our hope and future is in the grace, love and comfort of God – just like the two divided Kingdoms of Isaiah’s time.

God makes a barren desert blossom. What is our part in this? Are we prepared to toil and labour for God with everything that we have - time, energy and ideas? What is our character like? Does it reflect what is written in Galatians 5:22, 23? Will we decide to be full-time lighthouse keepers for God? Do we have a sense of urgency? All of the PowerPoint slides for this Talk, as well as John's notes are on our website.