What do Easter and Heaven have in common? Everything.  During Easter, Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, from the dead. The Bible teaches that Jesus’ rising is both a doorway into and a trumpet blast announcing life after death—heaven.  A life which, it turns out, is everything we truly wanted on earth.

The Kingdom of the Servant

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A recent University of British Columbia study concluded that good news produces better people: When people were exposed to good news, they responded with acts of generosity and sacrifice. But to generate results, the news needed to be “uncommonly good.” In Isaiah 61, the Servant of the Lord brings good news so uncommon that, for those who receive it, the effect is life-changing.

The Good News of the Servant

When some people hear the phrase “Jesus died for you,” their response may be, “Who’s Jesus? And while I’m sorry to hear of his death, what does it have to do with me? ” Isaiah 53 centers on this very question as the prophet unfolds the suffering of the Servant of the Lord.

The Suffering of the Servant

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Courage is supposed to be the norm for God’s Kingdom people, but if we are honest, we must admit that we are often entangled in fear. How do we overcome the many fears that confront us each day? Isaiah gives us hope, showing us that the pathway to courage is through the cross.

04.03.11 The Courage of the Servant.pdf

At some point in our lives, we dream of being the sort of person who lives and stands for the truth. Yet, either because of our own hypocrisy or because it doesn’t seem worth the effort, we often fall silent. There is a way be that person we once dreamed of being–a person like Isaiah’s Servant of the Lord.

03.27.11 The Word of the Servant

The longer we live, the more complicated we make success. The list of things we need to do to consider ourselves successful grows longer, the pressure builds, and it becomes harder to remember the basic relationship between God and success. Isaiah 49 supplies a fresh approach for re-orienting our understanding of success.

03.20.11 The Success of the Servant

“What if there isn’t a God?” Humankind has been haunted by this question, but perhaps there’s a more haunting question: What if there is a God, but he just doesn’t care? What if God is sitting passively in the corner of the universe, unmoved and unconcerned. In Isaiah 42, the God of the Bible answers this question by pointing to his Servant–who is nothing short of “God-on-a-Mission.”

03.13.11 The Mission of the Servant

Israel is at a place we are well familiar with: feeling like a barren landscape. Their relationship with God is at a low point morally and spiritually. Injustice is rampant. By way of the prophet Isaiah, they have just learned that they will be sent into exile as severe mercy. However, almost in the same breath, they learn of God’s intention to forgive, restore and renew them.  And these grand promises are attached to one who is referred to as “The Servant of the Lord.”  In Isaiah 40 we learn of this Servant’s compassion.

Generic Sermon Discussion Guide

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