Sermon Questions, December 10, 2023

Series: Comfort, Comfort, My People
Text: Isaiah 40:1-11
Title: Joy in the Shepherd-King

1. Opening: What’s something that brought you significant joy in the past year?

2. “All people are like grass” (40:6). What does Isaiah mean? How do you experience this meaning in your life, or see it in others’ lives?

3. This passage opens with “Comfort, comfort!” (40:1). Skim through all 11 verses: what is intended to provide comfort to God’s people? What do you personally find the most comforting from this passage? Feel free to share other verses of comfort too.

4. God is described in this passage as both a ruler and a shepherd. What might it look like to “prepare the way for the Lord” (40:3), to prepare the way for this Shepherd-King – for you personally, for your Home Church, for Faith Church or people in general?

5. Pastor Cara connected this passage to the candle of Joy. If Christian Joy hasn’t come up yet in your discussions, talk about it now: how does God bring you Joy? Is Joy easy or hard for you right now? What has helped you (now or in the past) to feel more Joy?