The Lord's Good Plan

In one paragraph

Brian preached from Isaiah 53 on what he called the Lord's good plan, the idea that God's purposes can look completely different from the outside than what God is actually doing. The sermon worked through the chapter verse by verse, with members of the congregation and guests taking turns reading aloud. Brian's central question was whether there is an area of your life right now where you are a...

Read together

1. Isaiah 53:1-12 read aloud in full by congregation members as the central text of the sermon
2. Leviticus 17:14 cited as the basis for the statement that the life of any living thing is in the blood and that blood must be shed

What was said

• Read Isaiah 53 slowly this week and sit with one verse that lands differently than it did before.
• Ask God honestly whether there is one area of your life where you have been a reluctant participant in his good plan, and listen for his answer.
• If you have a prayer request weighing on you, write it on the connect card and drop it in the black box on your way out, or find someone on the Tribe staff and ask them to pray with you in person.
• Invite a friend or a young family to the Sunday evening service, especially someone who is usually busy on Sunday mornings.
• If you want to serve, find Amanda after the service and add your name to the clipboard for one of the setup, teardown, or Tribe Kids roles in the new space.

Talk about it

1. Brian described the human condition using the image of a tightrope stretched between two Teton summits, where everyone eventually falls regardless of how hard they try. Where do you find yourself on that tightrope right now, and what does it feel like to hold on?
2. Isaiah 53 was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, yet it describes his suffering in striking detail. What stood out to you most as the chapter was read aloud tonight, and why?
3. Brian walked through a courtroom story where an innocent man volunteers to die in the place of someone who is guilty. When he asked the room how Colson would feel walking out of that courtroom, people said both guilty and stoked. Which of those reactions resonates more with you personally, and what does that tell you about where you are with what Jesus did?
4. Brian said that when he was a sophomore in high school he realized he needed a Savior, and that moment changed everything. Has there been a moment like that in your own life, or is that something you are still working through?
5. At the close of the sermon Brian asked whether there is one area of your life right now where God is trying to get your attention but you are being a reluctant participant in his good plan. What came to mind when he asked that question?