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 – March 8, 2026
1. Read Isaiah ch.32
2. Isaiah begins by pointing Judah to the future, and specifically to the reign of the King who will reign in righteousness. This of course is pointing to the reign of Jesus Christ. What period of time is Isaiah is pointing to here?
3. How would you respond to those who say this refers to Christ’s future earthly reign during the thousand year millennium?
4. In v.2 Isaiah says, “Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.” As noted, the word translated each is literally a man, which once again points us to the reign of Christ. What is Isaiah telling us here about life for God’s people during His reign?
5. How does Isaiah describe the change that Christ will affect in His righteous reign, both in the individual and in society? What are some ways in which the advance of the gospel has brought about positive change in the societies where it has taken root?
6. In v.9-14 Isaiah rebukes the women of Judah for their complacency. What is complacency? What were the women of Judah complacent about? In light of v.13-14, how should they have responded to the threat of judgment? What do you learn from this rebuke?
7. In v.15 Isaiah again points the future, speaking of the outpouring of the Spirit. What is the period of time he is referring to here? What does he associate with the Spirit’s outpouring?
8. What is Isaiah referring to in v.19-20? What does hail refer to (support your answer from Scripture)? Who is the forest and what does it refer to when he says the forest will fall down? What does it refer to when he says the city will be utterly laid low? What is v.20 communicating to us?
9. What are some practical implications you can draw out from this text/sermon?
10. Pray!
Reading of Law: Romans 12:11
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Prayer of Confession:
Our Father in Heaven how grateful we are for you and for the love you have for us. This morning we come before you and confess our sin, that we have neglected and misused the good gifts you have given us. We have been slothful and complacent, not using the strength you have blessed us with to serve you, but we have shunned those opportunities, choosing instead to serve ourselves. We have loved comfort and ease and have chosen the easy way rather than the way of difficult and sacrificial service for the glory of your name. We also confess there have been times we have served you with sinful attitudes and wrong motives, hoping to earn your favor by works while at the same time receiving praise from men. We have served you with the desire that others will see us and have an elevated opinion of us rather than with the motive of glorifying you. Father, forgive us, and please look upon the Lord Jesus and His righteousness in our place. For He lived a life of perfect goodness, serving you perfectly and tirelessly during His earthly days. We thank you for Him. And we thank you that through faith in Him we are fully and freely forgiven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness: Lamentations 3:21-23
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 27
Q72. Is, then, the outward washing with water itself the washing away of sins?
A. No, for only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sin.
[1] 1 Pet. 3:21; Eph. 5:26. [2] 1 Jn. 1:7; 1 Cor. 6:11.
Q73. Why then does the Holy Spirit call Baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins?
A. God speaks thus with great cause, namely, not only to teach us thereby that just as the filthiness of the body is taken away by water, so our sins are taken away by the blood and Spirit of Christ; but much more, that by this divine pledge and token He may assure us that we are as really washed from our sins spiritually as our bodies are washed with water.
[1] Rev. 7:14. [2] Mk. 16:16; *Acts 2:38.
Q74. Are infants also to be baptized?
A. Yes, for since they, as well as their parents, belong to the covenant and people of God, and through the blood of Christ both redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to their parents, they are also by Baptism, as a sign of the covenant, to be engrafted into the Christian Church, and distinguished from the children of unbelievers, as was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, in place of which in the New Testament Baptism is appointed.
[1] Gen. 17:7. [2] Matt. 19:14. [3] Lk. 1:14–15; Ps. 22:10; Acts 2:39. [4] Acts 10:47 [5] Gen. 17:14. [6] Col. 2:11–13.
NT Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.