Sermon Cloud

....devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture...
                                       1 Timothy 4:13

The walls of Jerusalem had been miraculously repaired in just 52 days! And now armed with a new sense of purpose and belonging, the Israelites “assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate.” Ezra the scribe was asked to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which he did. From a platform, he began reading out loud, so that everyone could hear. He read and he read and he read -  from daybreak till noon, as the people listened attentively. 

At times they responded by lifting their hands and saying, “Amen! Amen!” At times they bowed down and worshiped the Lord. They even wept as they heard the words of God through Moses.

Today, Erik Thoennes will read the first six chapters of Isaiah out loud, as we listen. You will be confronted with the God of Israel deeply troubled by the unfaithfulness of his chosen people. At times He will scold. Or He might plead, perhaps threaten. He will argue like a lawyer, and be compassionate like the Father He is. He will warn of the future, or unveil a glorious future He has planned. But it is all the heart of God, and all about His love. 

And He is speaking to us today. How will you respond? Isaiah, undone by his vision of God high and lifted up, was overwhelmed, and once forgiven, offered himself for God’s use. May that same scenario happen all over the room this morning, for God’s glory and the advancement of His Kingdom.