Before we get started, let’s talk about our Christmas plans! I hope you’ll join us for one of our THREE Christmas Eve services on December 24. One is a “higher risk” service, aimed at people who need to take some extra precautions. The other two are less restrictive, as we are on Sunday mornings. All three are open to anyone and everyone! You can get details and RSVP at this link:
Holiday Schedule
Our VIPs are VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE who serve on ministry teams at The Orchard Church. They give of themselves all the time, and I just want to say “thank you” to all of you guys. This ministry happens because YOU are generous with your time, energy, and talents. I am grateful for you and to you. You are a blessing to our church, and to me.
I am also very grateful for our hardworking church staff. They have really gone above and beyond this year. I wish I could describe the lengths to which they have gone to make the best of a very difficult 2020 ministry year. They have learned new skills, worked countless extra hours, and pulled off near-miraculous impossibilities.
One of the ways we say “thank you” is to give our volunteers and staff the day off on the Sunday after Christmas each year. We WANT you to be able to rest, and to spend time with your family and to celebrate together!
Regular Schedule
“Christmas Isn’t Cancelled” series
December 6, 13, 20
9:00AM and 11:00AM
rsvp here
Breakfast With Santa
December 21, 22, 23
9:00AM
rsvp here
Christmas Eve Services
December 24
2PM High Risk Service
4PM & 6PM Regular Service
rsvp here
No Services
December 27
New Year Celebration: Communion
January 3
9:00AM and 11:00AM
“Re:START” series
January 10, 17, 24, 31
9:00AM and 11:00AM
Okay. That’s a whole bunch of info for ya. Let’s get to our life group discussion questions now.
Do you remember when you were a teenager? For some of you, that may be too far in the distant past for you to recall! Who was the earliest teenager in your group? How was being a teenager in their time different from yours?
When I think about teenagers, I think about rebellion against parents. Most of us go through it at least to some degree, right?
Over what issues would you rebel against your parents (i.e. curfew, allowance, driving, dating rules, phone time, church, etc.)?
How long did your rebellion last? When did you grow out of it?
Isaiah’s ministry was to a rebellious people. Israel was in it’s decline toward destruction due to their continued sin against God. Isaiah challenged and warned his people for years.. For decades.. and called them to repent. (they didn’t.)
Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says:
Isaiah 1:2-9 NLT
“The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
Oh, what a sinful nation they are— loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick. You are battered from head to foot— covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds— without any soothing ointments or bandages. Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned. Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes and destroy everything they see. Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.
If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.
Wow. When I read that a few weeks back, I really got a sense of heaviness on me. Did you?
How are the people of Israel described by Isaiah in this passage? What are some of the terms used?
Isaiah is speaking to the southern kingdom of Israel (Judah) before their eventual destruction by Babylon over 700 years before Jesus… That’s over 2700 years ago! (I think that is when Dale Murphy was a teenager.)
Ancient Israel was a very very different nation than ours. It was a completely different people with a completely different culture, and language. They had a very different way of thinking, and a different understanding of, well, just about everything.
Even with all these differences, are there parallels between Israel 2700 years ago, and The United States in 2020? How do the words of Isaiah in chapter 1 sound relevant to us today?
Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”
Isaiah 1:10 NLT
(quick note from Steve: The Biblical story of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah happens way WAY before this time. Before Israel was even a nation. BUT, everyone knew exactly what happened to those two cities. What is Isaiah saying when he calls Judah these two names?)
“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
Isaiah 1:11-17 NLT
When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
What took place in Israel, according to these verses?
Why wasn’t the Lord impressed with the sacrifices and offerings of His people?
What type of sin was called out in this passage? How does God command His people to respond to His rebuke?
God says he is sick of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices and all the parading around. He says “I want no more of your pious meetings,” and that he won’t even listen when they pray because their “hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.”
Let’s stop on this for just a moment. Is this relevant to us today? Let me just throw out a number to you:
61,000,000
That is how many innocent babies have been legally aborted in this nation.
That is MORE than the current population of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas combined!
Is it any wonder that our nation appears to be in it’s decline today? Should it be a shock to us that God would feel the same way toward us that he felt toward Israel 2700 years ago?
I thought you might be interested to see how one organization is taking a stand against abortion in the United States:
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Isaiah 1:18-20 NLT
What is the future of those that repent?
How will it be different from their present situation?
What is the difference between repentance as an action and as a lifestyle? Which does God call us to? Which most closely describes you?
Are you being rebellious toward God in any area of your life today? If yes, what is that area?
How have you experienced the negative consequences of rebelliousness toward God? What change does God want you to make as a result of this study?
In what specific ways can you encourage someone you know to walk closer with God and give up their rebellious lifestyle?