Text Study for Sunday, July 27, 2025.

Series Theme: You Welcomed Me

Reading: Isaiah 58:2-9a

CONNECTING QUESTIONS

Tell about a time you noticed something new on a walk, at a store, with a family member.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Lord Jesus, you welcomed all who came into your presence. May I reflect that same spirit through this ministry of hospitality. May your light shine in my heart this day. Remove from me anything that would stand in the way of radiating your presence.

As people enter this Church to worship and praise You, may they hear your voice in my words and see your love in my actions. May my “welcome” reflect our joy at their presence amid my “good-by” encourage them to return soon.

I thank you for the opportunity to serve you and ask your blessing upon all my efforts. I ask this through our God who is the giver of all gifts.

CONTEXT

As people of faith, we are called to practice hospitality not as a mere act of kindness, but as a sacred expression of our beliefs. Hospitality is a faith practice that reflects the heart of God. When we welcome the stranger, care for the vulnerable, and create space for others at our tables, we do so as if we are serving Jesus himself.

In extending hospitality, we embody the love, grace, and radical welcome of Christ. It is not optional or occasional—it is a core part of our discipleship. Through hospitality, we bear witness to a God who receives all with open arms and calls us to do the same. Join us on this journey with our sermon series, You Welcomed Me, will explore this need to welcome, care for, walk with, include, and show kindness.

From Dr Michael Chan at EntertheBible.org:

Isaiah is among the most important of the prophetic books. It covers a long period of Israel’s history (before, during, and after the exile) and offers the full range of God’s prophetic message: terrifying words of judgment and comforting words of promise. Isaiah portrays God as the powerful Creator, like no other, and also the gentlest comforter, like an earthly lover or mother.

Isaiah is taken up in the New Testament more fully than any other prophet. Alongside Psalms and Deuteronomy, it is among the most frequently referenced Old Testament books by the authors of the New Testament. Given the centrality of Isaiah to the New Testament’s understanding of Jesus, it is important that readers seek to understand how and why these ancient prophetic texts shaped the Christian theological imagination.

LOOK AT THE BOOK

How is it with your spirit this week?
Where have you encountered a stranger this past week? What was it like?
What was one take-away from listening to the Carry On Cast podcast that connects with this Grow Guide?
Open to Isaiah 58:1. How does this passage begin?
Would you like to bring the news to the people that Isaiah has been assigned? Why or why not?
What do you make of verses 2-3? What do you sense is the tone of the people saying this?
Isaiah is roughly divided into three parts or books. This is from the third and last book that is preparing God’s people to return from exile. What is the first indictment that God calls on the people to fix in verse 3?
In verse four, what spiritual practice is God saying is for show? Have you experienced this practice? Why or why not?
Verses 6-7 are key to this passage. What surprises you about what God includes in this list?
The key image is “yoke”. What is that?
Of the actions listed in verse 7, which would be easiest and most challenging for you?
Find Matthew 21:17. This verse references Isaiah 56:7. What do you think of the full thought from Isaiah?
How can Easter become a “house of prayer...for all nations?” How is that connected to hospitality?
What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?

TAKING IT HOME

Paying attention matters. What is one injustice you’d like to better understand?

God of the promise, you call your people together into your one mission in Christ’s name. Make us brave, grant us peace, challenge our expectations, and empower us to truly follow your Spirit’s lead. You are our one God who calls us together as one people, and we thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Grow Guide | July 27, 2025