Worship

Isaiah was given one tough assignment by the Lord God of Israel. Isaiah was commissioned to preach, as all prophets were, but in Isaiah’s case God assured him up front that the better he preached, the less people would listen. The people’s ignoring and even spurning of Isaiah’s sermons would serve as a sign against them that the judgment God was sending was just and altogether warranted. Isaiah’s was a stern message of judgment but scattered throughout even the first half of the book are lyric passages of hope. But then comes the second part of Isaiah where words of encouragement and hope pile up in lovely ways. At the 2016 Symposium we will use some of those later texts of Isaiah in our worship to remind ourselves that although our God is a God of justice, God is also the font of all grace and hope. It was a comforting message for Israel and is no less a source of unending joy in the New Israel, the Church of Christ Jesus our Lord.