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  Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.   Thank you to those who served and making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, democracy, and our freedom.   Have a blessed day as we remember those who give their all this Memorial Day.

  Week 4 Summary       “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.” Isaiah 49:1   Listen, O coastlands, to Me: These words come prophetically from the Messiah, the Servant of the LORD revealed in previous chapters. Here, He commands the coastlands – the distant lands of the Gentiles – to listen to Him. Then I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the LORD” (Isaiah 49:4). The translators of the New King James do not believe these words belong in the mouth of the Messiah, because the do not capitalize the pronoun my, as they would if they believed it spoke of the Messiah. Yet these words can be set prophetically in the mouth of the Messiah, because surely Jesus was tempted by the discouraging thought that all His work was in vain...

  Week 3 Review   Isaiah 40 is one of the most striking passages in the Bible on the greatness, the majesty, and the power of God. It was written to a discouraged people. The Babylonians had taken Israel captive. They had been uprooted from their homes, their communities and their land. They were discouraged, disheartened, and despondent. They were wondering, “Where is God? Does God care? Does He see? Does He notice? Has God abandoned us?”   We understand. At times, we feel discouraged and wonder if God sees, if He cares. Maybe you feel that way right now. Through the prophet Isaiah, God reminds His people of how big, vast, and great He is.   In Isaiah 40:12–14, we see that God is so much bigger than nature—the oceans, the skies, the deserts, and the mountains.    In Isaiah 40:15-17, we see that God is so much bigger than the nations; than nations like Babylon that terrorize and destroy.   In Isaiah 40:18-20, He is so much bigger th...

  A Son Is Given to Us   “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NRSV   What was the solution? A new government, leader, economic reform, military strategy, or education system?    “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6b NIV   In 700 BC, the nation of Israel had overwhelming problems. They were surrounded by vicious enemies. The people had forgotten God. Darkness, death, and despair filled the land.   Isaiah declares that hope will only arrive, in a newborn baby. More than  a usual baby—He would be a king. Indeed, He would be the King of kings and would rule the world. This baby king would have four titles, describing what He can do for us:   “Wonderful Counselor.” This King has all wisdom and understandi...

  In his prophetic book, Isaiah says we will work forever on the “new earth” where God will establish his eternal kingdom (see Isaiah 65)!   Isaiah is the most-quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament, and the prophet Isaiah is generally regarded as the greatest of the Old Testament “writing prophets” (those who wrote books eventually included in the Bible) because so many of his prophecies focus on the coming Messiah and on an age of remarkable divine blessing when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:9). The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.    The vision of Isaiah: This book contains the prophesies of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, who ministered from about 740 to 680 B.C. For about 20 years, he spoke to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. After Israel’s f...