NOTES: 1]Always read
the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our understanding of God in the Person of Jesus.2] Another IS, another great
Prophet [Eugene Peterson calls him, 'Isaiah of
the Exile'] wrote Ch.40-55 to encourage the Hebrew deportees in the mid
500's BC. 3] Here we have the
3rd of the great passages known as 'Servant Songs', pointing to Jesus
as God's Servant, & fulfilled in His Passion. (For the other Songs
see Chs.42, 49, & 52-53.) WARMING UP: Do we ever
compose poetry or songs to express deep feelings?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
4 Do we recognize the ability
to teach about God as a gift from God? What differences might it make
to teachers & taught if we were all to take the 'God-gift- edness'
of our teachers more seriously? How much would it matter that some
would be shown up as clearly not gifted by God? Do some emphasis groups
within our churches tend to overlook teaching as a spiritual gift in
favour of other gifts (maybe more dramatic, or even lending themselves
to manipulation & exploitation)? Does the fact that teaching today
doesn't enjoy the respect it should, have anything to do with the fact
that we see too much of it coming from only too human sources &
resources? Do we listen to those God calls to teach us on a daily
basis, or only when it suits us?
5-6 How
conscious of God 'opening our ear' are we? Given the advances in
technology such as cochlear implants, may we be at a stage where God is
literally opening people's ears in a new way & to new possibilities
- spiritual as well as physical? How much of God's gift of hearing do
we waste by making poor listening choices of any kind? How clearly can
we see this passage applying to Jesus being called by God to be his
servant & not rebelling or turning his back on that call? How
clearly does it apply to us, individually, & as 'the Body of
Christ'?
Do we usually draw our
'line in the sand' much sooner than Jesus draws his when it comes to
being written off, insulted, despised, etc.? How good are we at 'giving
our back, turning our cheek, not hiding our face'? Have we got out of
the habit of expecting rejection as par for the course for God &
God's people? Isn't it time we faced up to the truth? In which case
could we be taking a more proactive stand for God than we sometimes
seem to do? Or is it too late for that?
7-9a Are we
always conscious of God helping us, or is that a pretty fleeting thing,
on God's part or on ours? How much does disgrace matter to us? Can we
discern when we've brought it upon ourselves, as distinct from when
it's on God's behalf? Is 'setting our face like flint' when we're doing
it hard as Christians some- thing we're prepared to do / are capable of
doing by God's help? If we were totally conscious that God is always
near, so confident that he
always vindicates us, that God is always standing up with us, how much
difference might that make to our personal, church, & community
life today? If God is really helping me / us 'who will declare me / us
guilty'? & guilty of what?
If Jesus has
taken away our guilt by his death for us, why should we feel guilty
anyway? Shouldn't we be celebrating? Celebrating by not sinning? By
living as Jesus would have us live?
