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Oct 27, 2019

Come What May

Come What May

Passage: Isaiah 52:1-54:10

Speaker: Patrick Lafferty

Series: Isaiah: The Story Beneath the Story

Though we’ve grown accustomed to stories that paint a bleak and bruising future, we still long for those that end in joy--especially those where estrangement gives way to reconciliation. This song in Isaiah is for a people who thought love was lost to them forever. His gift is his song--and this one’s for you.

Order of Worship

Pre-Service Text: Revelation 21:1-2
Call To Worship: ​Psalm 100
Corporate Confession of Faith: Selections from the Heidelberg Catechism
New Testament Reading: Revelation 21:1-8
Sermon: Come What May
Central Text: Isaiah 54:1-10
Benediction: Ephesians 3:20-21
Post-Service Text: Isaiah 54:10

10.27.19 Sermon Notes

Illustration:

Moulin Rouge - Come What May

Readings & Scripture:

Pre-Service Text: Revelation 21:1-2
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Call To Worship: ​Psalm 100
LEADER: 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

PEOPLE: 3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

LEADER: 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

ALL: 5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Corporate Confession of Faith
Selections from the Heidelberg Catechism

LEADER: Christians, what do you believe?

PEOPLE: We believe that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is our God and Father because of Christ his Son.
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and saves us from our sins. We believe that salvation cannot be found in anyone else; it is futile to look for any salvation elsewhere.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is eternal God and that He has been given to us personally, so that, by true faith, He makes us share in Christ and all his blessings, comforts us, and remains with us forever.

New Testament Reading: Revelation 21:1-8
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Central Text: Isaiah 54:1-10
Is. 54:1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.

Is. 54:4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the LORD has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD, your Redeemer.

Is. 54:9 “This is like the days of Noah to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Benediction: Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Post-Service Text: Isaiah 54:10
“For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Related Scriptures:

  • Genesis 2:24
  • Exodus 34:12-16
  • Deuteronomy 32:21
  • Isaiah 62:4, 5
  • Hosea 2:7
  • Romans 2:4
  • Romans 8:5-6
  • Ephesians 5:31-32
  • Revelation 21:1-4

Discussion Questions & Applications:

 

  1. Do you have an experience of estrangement that gave way to blessed reconciliation? If so, what occasioned the distance? What was that like? What led to the reconciliation? What did it take?
  2. Go back and read the chapter prior--the chapter we heard from last week. How might that chapter relate to this passage?
  3. What are the promises being made, and by whom? On what basis are those promises being made? What is meant to rise up in those to whom they are made?
  4. Are wrath/anger and love opposites? Why or why not? To what do those “postures” of God toward Israel refer in the historical context of Isaiah’s book? 
  5. How do we see those postures of God in and through the person and work of Jesus? What are the differences and similarities? How is there at least one similarity when it comes to the basis of God’s promise?
  6. What is God saying to Israel in that passage that He is also saying to anyone who looks to Jesus?

 

Quotes:

  • I sometimes think that shame, mere awkward, senseless shame, does as much towards preventing good acts and straightforward happiness as any of our vices can do.
    - C.S. Lewis

Sermons/resources:

Books:

  • The Soul of Shame, Curt Thompson, M.D.

Related Media: