Pastor James will post his Sermon Study Questions every Tuesday with the previous Sunday’s sermon. Our hope is for these study questions to promote deeper personal study and further edify our church body.
Sermon Study Questions – May 3, 2026
1. Read Isaiah 40:1-11
2. The purpose of this passage is for God’s people to be comforted. How do you know that’s the purpose?
3. This passage here is clearly filled with anticipation, but prior to it Isaiah’s tone was very different. What characterized the first 39 chapters prior to this in Isaiah? Why did Isaiah’s tone change beginning in ch.40?
4. In v.1-2 the message from the Lord is to bring comfort to His people, saying that their warfare has ended and they are forgiven. What is the immediate context of that statement for Judah?
5. We know that God’s word of forgiveness and reconciliation in v.1-2 is pointing to the atoning work of Christ and the reconciliation it would bring. How do we know that’s what Isaiah is pointing to here? Why is it that God’s word of forgiveness can uproot the guilt we feel while other so-called remedies cannot?
6. How does God coming to you in the person of Jesus Christ bring comfort to you? Be specific.
7. In v.5 He says, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” We know that His glory was seen in the incarnation (see John 1:14), but how is His glory seen now? Read 2 Cor.3:7-18. What is the effect upon you of seeing His glory now? What practical implications can you draw from this?
8. In v.6 the Lord points to His Word as the unchanging, enduring source of comfort for His people. How does His Word comfort you when suffering? How does it comfort you when tempted? How does it comfort you when feeling condemned? How does it comfort you when you feel abandoned? Be specific by pointing to specific Scriptures for each situation and describe how His Word practically comforts you in each situation.
9. In v.9 we, the people of God, i.e. the covenant community (referred to as Zion and Jerusalem) are called heralds of good news. What is this saying about you and your identity as a believer? Practically speaking, how can you embrace this identity?
10. Pray!
Reading of Law: 1 Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Prayer of Confession:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. You are the thrice holy God who is veiled in unapproachable light. There is no darkness, deceit, or impurity in you, but only pure and perfect holiness. As your people you call us to be holy just as you are holy. And yet Father, there is so much unholiness in us. We are unholy in our words, not setting apart our words for the honor of your name. We are unholy in our thoughts, allowing and entertaining thoughts that are shameful and abhorrent to you. We are unholy in our ways, as our lives are daily corrupted by sin. In every way and in every part of our being we are sinful and unholy. We confess this and ask you to forgive us. We thank you that through faith in Jesus Christ we are made righteous in your sight, so that even though our sins are like scarlet, we are made white as snow. We pray that you would grow us in holiness, so that in word, thought, and deed we would live in a way that reflects the wonderful truth that we believe in, and follow, a holy and righteous God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness: Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 34
Q. 93. How are these commandments divided?
Into two tables: the first of which teaches, in four commandments, what duties we owe to God; the second, in six, what duties we owe to our neighbor.
[1] Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13. [ 2] Matt. 22:37–40.
Q. 94. What does God require in the first commandment?
That, on peril of my soul’s salvation, I avoid and flee all idolatry, sorcery, enchantments, invocation of saints or of other creatures; and that I rightly acknowledge the only true God, trust in Him alone, with all humility and patience expect all good from Him only, and love, fear, and honor Him with my whole heart; so as rather to renounce all creatures than to do the least thing against His will.
[1] 1 Cor. 10:7, 14. [2] Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:10–12. [3] Matt. 4:10; Rev. 19:10; 22:8–9. [4] Jn. 17:3. [5] Jer. 17:5. [6] 1 Pet. 5:5–6. [7] Heb. 10:36; Col. 1:10b–11; Rom. 5:3–4; 1 Cor. 10:10. [8] Ps. 104:27–30; Isa. 45:6b–7; Jas. 1:17. [9] Deut. 6:5. [10] Deut. 6:2; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10; Matt. 10:28. [11] Deut. 10:20. [12] Matt. 5:29–30; 10:37; Acts 5:29.
Q. 95. What is idolatry?
Idolatry is to conceive or have something else in which to place our trust instead of, or besides, the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word.
[1] Eph. 5:5; Phil. 3:19; Eph. 2:12; Jn. 2:23; 2 Jn. 1:9; Jn. 5:23; *Ps. 81:8–9; *Matt. 6:24; Ps. 62:5–7 *Ps. 73:25–26.
NT Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.