Questions from Pastor Greg Waybright

Read Isaiah 58:1-12

1. Read Isaiah 58:1-12 aloud.  Discuss this: “What is the main thing you hear the Lord saying in this passage?”

2. Focus on vv.1-5.  The people God says are rebellious and sinning in v. 1 are the same people who are showing up for worship services, learning God’s Word and engaging in spiritual disciplines like fasting in vv. 2-3. Do similar things happen in church life in our day?  Can you personally see how you could fall into a pattern of doing religious things that do not change your life? 

3. In vv. 5-7, 9b-10a, God says that spiritual practices should flow into specific kinds of actions.  Make a list of what God says and put them into your own words.  How should we apply this to our lives today?

4. In vv. 8-9a & 10b-12, God says that beautiful things will happen when our worship flows into acts of compassion and reconciliation that might lead to God’s justice.  Put his promises into your own words.  How would you apply this to your own life?  What does this say about the priorities of a local church?

5. Conclude by reading Matthew 25:31-46; Galatians 2:8-10 and James 1:26-2:8. Have a time of prayer asking God to show you how to respond to his Word.