The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
1. What hardship, pain, fear, etc. in your life are you tempted to dismiss? – ‘it’s not a big deal’
2. What hardship, pain, fear, etc. in your life are you confident you can handle ?- ‘I can fix it myself’
3. How does it feel to say I really am that bad – my sin really is that bad?
4. Jesus sets us free to live in the ‘year of the Lord’s favor’ – what does that life look like?
4b. why don’t you live that way?
5. How can advent point signal to you that it really is that bad but Jesus’ advent fixes it?
