Fall Sermon Series 2024: "Isaiah: Prophet of Hope"

Sermon Series (2023-2025): "Isaiah: The Lord Saves"

• "Isaiah 1-39: Prophet of Faith" (2023)

• "Isaiah 40-55: Prophet of Hope" (2024)

• "Isaiah 56-66: Prophet of Love" (2025)

In no other book of the Bible is God’s wonder and grandeur so clearly displayed; it is no wonder then, that Isaiah is the most often quoted prophet in the New Testament. This book has so shaped the faith and life of the church--our doctrine, liturgy, and practice--that some of the earliest Christians thought of Isaiah as the “Fifth Gospel.” The great preachers and thinkers of the church have always meditated on its message and used it as a special guide for truthfully hearing the Word of God--from Chrysostom to Augustine, and on to Martin Luther and John Calvin.

   

Jerome claimed that Isaiah “should be called an evangelist rather than a prophet because he describes all the mysteries of Christ and the church so clearly that you would think he is composing a history of what has already happened rather than prophesying about what is to come.” The words of Isaiah are central to Christian worship, texts, and iconography: “beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks” (2:4), “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb” (11:6), “a voice crying out in the wilderness” (40:3), “a man of sorrows” (53:3), “a light to the nations” (42:6), “good news to the poor’ (6:11), the “Prince of Peace” (9:6), “a new heaven and a new earth” (65:17) and of course “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel” (7:14).

Over the course of three years, FPC will make its way through the three great divisions of the book--moving chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse as they address three different historical settings and dramatically different circumstances in the life of the people of God.

Together we will explore this richest of biblical books. We will stand in awe at its literary grandeur, marvel at its vast scope, and renew our worship through the unmatched breadth of its view of God. We will take to heart Isaiah’s message that “God Saves,” restoring the lives of people through divine grace.  We will read the book with the open eyes of the Spirit, so that we may see ourselves (sometimes all-too clearly), but especially to see the God whose holiness is made irresistible by his love.

Rome - The prophet Isaiah statue on the Column of the Immaculate Conception by Salvatore Revelli (1816-1859) on Piazza Mignanelli square.

Bologna - The painting of prophet Isaiah in church Chiesa di San Benedetto by Giacomo Gavedoni (1577-1660).

Forlí - The fresco of prophet Isaiah in cupola of Cattedrala di Santa Croce by Giovanni Secchi (1876 -1950).