Great discussion in LG on Saturday. So glad that we have a LG where people talk about real issues and have a desire to participate in the discussions.
Isaiah started this passage by telling others, or praising God. We used his list and added our own praises to get the following:
Provision, Kindness, Blessings, Protection, Hope, Steadfast Love, Compassion, Strength, Peace, Grace, Faithfulness, Goodness, Mercy, and Love.
Just as the Israelites praised God when they remembered the Good Old Days, we should take time to talk to each other and tell stories to our kids about what God has done for us.
Challenge: Remember what He has done and then praise Him.
Be intentional.
Travis
LIFE GROUPS: You don’t have to be a member of the church to join one of Lake Pointe’s small groups called Life Groups…it’s “the church within the church”. Life Groups are made up of people with similar ages or family structures meeting together for: •Living For Others | Mission/Ministry •Interactive Bible Study •Fellowship •Encouragement This is where real, life-enriching relationships can form and develop.
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Weekly Challenge: Be Like Joe
LG Family and Friends:
Our passage of study last week was Isaiah 61:1-9. We read how God the Son was stating He was Anointed (Hebrew -Messiah, Greek -Christ) by God the Spirit and will bring good news to the poor, bind and heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, release the prisoners of darkness, comfort mourners, etc.
It is a great passage of hope and encouragement.
This is the same passage Jesus read in church as described in Luke 4:14-21. Someone handed Him a scroll to read, he read this passage out of Isaiah (of His own words), and then told the audience that He read about Himself! Awesome.
We ended with a story about a guy named Joe who lived a very hard life. Then he decided to follow Jesus, changed his life, had a new purpose, and began serving others. The people he served did not know Jesus. But they knew Joe and they saw how he changed and they wanted to be like Joe.
My challenge to you this week is to be like Joe. When you are around your family, friends, and enemies during Thanksgiving, be like Joe. Help people see Jesus through you.
Be intentional.
Travis
Our passage of study last week was Isaiah 61:1-9. We read how God the Son was stating He was Anointed (Hebrew -Messiah, Greek -Christ) by God the Spirit and will bring good news to the poor, bind and heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, release the prisoners of darkness, comfort mourners, etc.
It is a great passage of hope and encouragement.
This is the same passage Jesus read in church as described in Luke 4:14-21. Someone handed Him a scroll to read, he read this passage out of Isaiah (of His own words), and then told the audience that He read about Himself! Awesome.
We ended with a story about a guy named Joe who lived a very hard life. Then he decided to follow Jesus, changed his life, had a new purpose, and began serving others. The people he served did not know Jesus. But they knew Joe and they saw how he changed and they wanted to be like Joe.
My challenge to you this week is to be like Joe. When you are around your family, friends, and enemies during Thanksgiving, be like Joe. Help people see Jesus through you.
Be intentional.
Travis
Monday, September 28, 2015
Weekly Challenge -Isaiah 45
Life Group community:
· If you were on trial, would you be convicted of being a Christian?
Quick summary of the last few weeks:
Chapter 43
–God says you are my redeemed. You are
my witnesses. Gave us a message of
comfort, protection, hope, steadfastness.
We will be tested, but God will remain faithful.
·
The
question to you is, are you a good witness for God?· If you were on trial, would you be convicted of being a Christian?
Chapter 44
–Idolatry is a lie. Recognize
that God is the Creator, and that He has not left His creation to determine its
own path. God is continually working
within creation. Though the events, powers, and strategies of the world may
hide God’s work, God has made promises to His chosen people Israel to remind
them that God has not abandoned them.
Chapter 45
starts off with a big intro to Cyrus. He
was mentioned in 41 but now we see more detail.
The surprise to the Israelites is that Cyrus is called the Lords
shepherd and his anointed. For Cyrus
himself was a pagan idolater! God may
disapprove of idolatry but use an idolater for some good purpose. The fact that
he uses someone in a specific way does not mean that he approves of that
person’s total lifestyle. That is great
news for me. It means that He can still
use me even though I have idols in my life!
In Isaiah 45, God is explaining why idols get in the way
of allegiance to Him. So my challenge to you this week is to
repeat the challenge from last week.
Spend time identifying what you place more importance than your
Creator. Where is your security? Where is your control? What can you not live without? Where, what, or who do you go to for rest,
hope, security, etc.?
Be intentional.
Travis
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Weekly Challenge -Isaiah 43
Life Group family:
Those were comforting words from God to the Israelites, and us, in chapter 43. Words of protection, love, steadfastness, comfort, control, holiness, etc.
Those words were for a group in captivity (Israelites) back then, and are for groups in captivity today such as the 30 million people involved in human trafficking today. 80% of them are female. 50% of them are children. God can deliver them as he delivered the Israelites.
I enjoyed the discussion on the trial imagery that God and Isaiah brought in this chapter. We are His witnesses and must tell others about God. We can do this by the way we live, but that has to be combined with us telling people how God loves us and how we have been changed by living for Him.
We can also do this by how we live and act while being tested by the water and fire (as Isaiah described in verse 2). We should have hope, living for the eternal, and still finding ways to love and help others.
My challenge to you this week is to spend some quiet time and ask God to show you the worries (water/fire) which you need to give away to your sovereign Lord. Then share with your spouse and family.
Be intentional.
Travis
Those were comforting words from God to the Israelites, and us, in chapter 43. Words of protection, love, steadfastness, comfort, control, holiness, etc.
Those words were for a group in captivity (Israelites) back then, and are for groups in captivity today such as the 30 million people involved in human trafficking today. 80% of them are female. 50% of them are children. God can deliver them as he delivered the Israelites.
I enjoyed the discussion on the trial imagery that God and Isaiah brought in this chapter. We are His witnesses and must tell others about God. We can do this by the way we live, but that has to be combined with us telling people how God loves us and how we have been changed by living for Him.
We can also do this by how we live and act while being tested by the water and fire (as Isaiah described in verse 2). We should have hope, living for the eternal, and still finding ways to love and help others.
My challenge to you this week is to spend some quiet time and ask God to show you the worries (water/fire) which you need to give away to your sovereign Lord. Then share with your spouse and family.
Be intentional.
Travis
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Weekly Challenge -Isaiah 42
Life Group family:
We covered a lot of ground on Saturday with the timeline along with the study of Isaiah 42.
I enjoyed discussing how Isaiah was writing about God the Son coming as The Servant for Israel and for all believers. This was written 0ver 700 years before Jesus came as the Messiah.
He was chosen. He will bring justice and unity. He will not break, quit, or give up. He will not throw away the lowly and the weak. He will heal and free people.
750 years later, Philip was able to discuss this section of Isaiah with the eunuch to show him how Jesus is the Messiah. Another 2,000 years later, we get to sit in a room and discuss the same!
My challenge to you this week is to study the timeline and read Isaiah 43 to prepare for more great discussion time this Saturday.
Be intentional.
Travis
We covered a lot of ground on Saturday with the timeline along with the study of Isaiah 42.
I enjoyed discussing how Isaiah was writing about God the Son coming as The Servant for Israel and for all believers. This was written 0ver 700 years before Jesus came as the Messiah.
He was chosen. He will bring justice and unity. He will not break, quit, or give up. He will not throw away the lowly and the weak. He will heal and free people.
750 years later, Philip was able to discuss this section of Isaiah with the eunuch to show him how Jesus is the Messiah. Another 2,000 years later, we get to sit in a room and discuss the same!
My challenge to you this week is to study the timeline and read Isaiah 43 to prepare for more great discussion time this Saturday.
Be intentional.
Travis
Timeline:
|
Dates BC
|
Event
|
|
|
2000
|
Abraham
|
|
|
1900
|
Jacob changes name to
Israel
|
Had a divided
house. Sons of Leah and sons of Rachel
|
|
1750 - 1450
|
Israel nation
captivity in Egypt
|
|
|
1450
|
Israel entered the
Promised Land
|
|
|
1440
|
Land divided into 12
tribes
|
|
|
1050
|
Saul becomes first
King
|
From tribe of Benjamin
(Rachel)
|
|
1010
|
King David
|
From tribe of Judah
(Leah)
|
|
970
|
King Solomon
|
|
|
930
|
Israel divided
|
(10 tribes in North
-called Israel) and (2 tribes in South -called Judah)
|
|
740
|
Isaiah ministry begins
|
was
called by God ‘in the year that King Uzziah died’ (6:1)
|
|
722
|
Assyrian captivity
|
|
|
586
|
Babylonian captivity
|
|
|
538
|
Cyrus allows Jews to
return home
|
|
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