Listen again this morning to another rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Reflect on all the characteristics you saw in the chapters from this week. Sit quietly this morning. Try to just sit with the Lord without thought or agenda for several minutes- just enjoy His presence and know that He is enjoying you. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare …
Saturday (12/23)
Read Isaiah 28:1-19 and Isaiah 29:13-16 Again today we are going to look at the continued sin and rebellion of the Israelites, and hopefully relate it to our own lives. On a separate piece of paper: List out the verse references for words and phrases that convey God’s feelings for His people. List out the verse references for why they …
Friday (12/22)
Read Isaiah 27. Today we are going to return to the vineyard. In chapter 5, we saw a beautiful vineyard that God had tended and sung over. Remember, the Lord has loved, warned, sent the prophets to warn, and offered promises of hope. On a separate piece of paper: List out the verse references for words and phrases that convey …
Thursday (12/21)
Read Isaiah 11. Tradition says that two verses from our hymn spring from this chapter, verses 1-3 and verse 10: O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny From depths of hell Thy people save And give them victory o’er the grave O come, Thou Wisdom from on high And order all things, far and nigh …
Wednesday (12/20)
Read Isaiah 11. Today we are going to return to the Know, Be, Do practice. Though it may be heavily focused on the “know”, I love this study tool. KNOW (What does the text say about God?) BE (What does the text say about us?) DO (What is the text calling me/us to do?) On a separate piece of paper, …
Tuesday (12/19)
Read Isaiah 9:2 and Revelation 22:16 One of the verses in our hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel finds its inspiration in Isaiah 9:2 and Revelation 22:16. It goes like this: O come, O bright and morning star, and bring us comfort from afar! (some versions say: O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here) …
Monday (12/18)
Read Isaiah 9:1-7 Violence surrounds us in the world. Violence gives birth to more violence. And how, in the midst of that, God gave birth to peace. God offers us peace with the threat of violence all around us. To us a child was given. This week as we continue our journey through Isaiah, we will again see the promise …