We Are Servants | Isaiah 58:1-8 | 13 October 2019
True faith affects our entire life. In this sermon Pastor Billy unpacks Isaiah’s message to a people who found it a “delight to draw near to God” but who neglected the needs of those around them. We will see that a genuine love of God always leads to love for others. The answer then is not simply to try harder to love others but to return to the gospel and to God’s love for us.
Discussion Questions
- According to this passage what were the people doing right? Do you think they were simply “Sunday Christians”? Why or why not? In what ways do you identify with these people?
- How are the questions the people were asking in verse 3 evidence of self-righteousness? In what ways have you had the same self-righteous attitude toward God?
- For what reason does God rebuke the people? Do you see evidence of the people’s behavior in your own life? In the church in general?
- Discuss this statement from the sermon: “A genuine love for God inevitably leads to love for others.” Do you agree? What does this mean? What does it not mean?
- Discuss verses 6 and 7. What is God calling his people to do in these verses? Does this apply to us today? How so?
- How can you cultivate (or how can we cultivate) a genuine concern for the poor and needy?
