Advent 2024 – Promises #4 – Study Questions

Kyle Bartholic   -  

God will make everything right. (Joy)

Isaiah 11:1-9 / Matt. 1:1-17 (CGS#4)

INTRODUCTION:  We’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Isaiah over the course of our Advent series. One of the reasons for that is that God gave clear promises to bring about the Messiah through Isaiah. See, Isaiah’s ministry was placed in a very turbulent time in the life and history of Israel. The kingdom had been divided when Rehoboam took over for his father, Solomon. But, he wasn’t wise like his father and wouldn’t listen to his father’s advisors. In fact, Rehoboam is quite representative of how Solomon’s reign ended, consumed with luxury and idolatry. We have to remember that while Solomon was the wisest king in Israel’s history, he spent much of the last third of his reign building alters to idols for his many wives to worship (1 Kings 11:4-8). In fact, just a few generations down the line, some of those alters would be repurposed for child sacrifice by Manasseh (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 33:6). To say that things were going “off the rails” for the people of God during the ministry of Isaiah is a fair statement. It was in this chaotic and turbulent time that God spoke through several prophets to call his people back to faithfulness and right worship. For those living in the Northern Kingdom (Israel), this call would fall on deaf ears, and they would experience exile at the hands of the Assyrians. For those living in the Southern Kingdom (Judah), this call would be heeded for a generation, ignored, then remembered, and again forgotten. This cycle would go on until the Babylonian exile. From the time of the Babylonian exile through Jesus, Israel would not have its own king on the throne. The line of Jesse was, as Isaiah prophesied, a stump. This is what makes Isaiah’s words all that much more hopeful, from that dead stump, something living would emerge. Even more wonderful, it wouldn’t be just something living, but it would be greater than anything that had come before. This shoot would be the greatest king Israel (and humanity) would ever experience. This king’s name would be Jesus. During Advent, we remember that God fulfilled his long promises to bring forth the Messiah by sending his own Son.

 

Matthew’s Gospel starts out with a long genealogy that, if we’re honest, puts most of us to sleep. Why didn’t Matthew just get to the good stuff?!? Well, for Matthew and his original readers, that genealogy is the good stuff! It connects back to what God promised through Isiah about the shoot from the stump of Jesse. It connects Jesus back to David and demonstrates that he is the rightful king and the long-promised Messiah. It sets the stage for everything that will unfold in his Gospel account. Even more beautifully, Matthew includes three women in the genealogy. This was highly uncommon but would reinforce the inclusion of the gospel that it is good news for all people and that Jesus would save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). Again, for Matthew, there was no better way of beginning his Gospel account than with a genealogy because it remembered what God long promised through Isaiah. Remembering is a crucial discipline for us as believers. When we stop remembering, we will forget. We will forget what God has done and how he has provided. Then we will wonder if he’ll show up in the future, and like ancient Israel, instead of remaining faithful, we will drift and look to other things for our greatest good. But when we practice the discipline of remembering, we experience joy. See, joy is not rooted in the pleasantness of our circumstances. Instead, joy builds resiliency in us because it develops contentment in us that is outside of our circumstances. Joy says I am content in all things because I know that God loves me, is with me, and will never leave me. It is why we can have joy in seasons of plenty or in seasons of suffering (Phil. 4:11-13). God doesn’t change or stop loving us. In fact, as we regularly and intentionally remember, we come to see that a promise only matters if the one who makes it can keep it. And God keeps his promises.

 

 

GETTING STARTED – As a group, take time to answer this question. What was a promise that you made that was hard to keep? How did it go, and what did you learn?

IN THE WORD –   Let’s dig back into the passage(s). It is important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.

First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below. (O.P.A)

Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.

 

 

 

Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?

 

 

 

Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday- Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?

 

 

Note: Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following questions.

  1. What did you hear God’s Spirit say to you through the passage this week? How does it encourage you? How does it sharpen you?
  2. Over this Advent season, what have you been reminded of regarding the character and nature of God? How has this shown up in your life?
  3. If remembering is a discipline, what patterns or practices of remembering are present in your life? How frequently do you engage in those things?
  4. As we understand the context of Isaiah better, we are reminded that our eyes regularly drift to worship anything but God. What in your life are you most prone to worship?
  5. Consider the three practical steps of remembering: recite, connect, and demonstrate. Which of these is most natural for you? Which is the hardest for you? What is your next intentional step in being purposeful in your remembering?