Week 3: "Joy to the World!"

Bridge Community Fellowship

Sunday 12-14-25 Worship Service

Tis the Season: A Journey Through Advent Joy to the World (Isaiah 55:1-13) Big Idea for This Week: Christmas is God’s invitation to enter the joy of His salvation. Sermon Outline 1. The Joy of God’s Invitation to True Satisfaction (Isaiah 55:1–2) God issues a universal invitation to the spiritually thirsty, urging them to come and receive true sustenance without cost, as the meal has already been paid for. We are encouraged to stop laboring for temporary things and delight in the rich food that satisfies the soul forever. 2. The Joy of God’s Blessings in the New Covenant (Isaiah 55:3–5) This invitation leads us into a special, everlasting covenant relationship with God. By listening, our soul may live, and we are included in the steadfast love for David, anticipating the glory of the New David (Christ). 3. The Joy of God’s Pardon Received in Repentance (Isaiah 55:6–7) We must respond to this invitation by seeking the Lord while He may be found and calling upon Him while He is near. God will abundantly pardon us if we forsake our wicked ways and return to Him with repentance. 4. The Joy of God’s Word Accomplishing Its Purpose (Isaiah 55:8–11) God’s thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours, especially in His patience and forgiveness. Just as the rain waters the earth, God's word goes out and will certainly accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.

5. The Joy of God’s Promise of New Creation (Isaiah 55:12–13)

This invitation is a call to action that leads to going out in joy and being led forth in peace. The future promises a new world where God reverses the curse (thorns to cypress) and nature itself rejoices.

Study Questions for Reflection • The Joy of God’s Invitation to True Satisfaction o What are you currently spending your time and labor on that does not ultimately satisfy your soul? The call to "COME" is repeated four times. What makes you feel spiritually "thirsty" today, and how does God's invitation address that need? • The Joy of God’s Blessings in the New Covenant o What does it mean to you personally to be included in God's "everlasting covenant," and what is the blessing of having a "special relationship" with God? • The Joy of God’s Pardon Received in Repentance o What specific "way" or "unrighteous thought" do you need to forsake this week in order to return to the Lord? What does it look like to "seek the Lord" and "call upon him" in your daily life while He is near? • The Joy of God’s Word Accomplishing Its Purpose o Where are you tempted to measure God's ability to forgive by the limited measure of human forgiveness, and how does the concept of His ways being "higher than your ways" change that? The Word is meant to make you respond. What is one specific action God’s Word is calling you to take this week? • The Joy of God’s Promise of New Creation o How can meditating on the promise of New Creation, where there are "no more diseases" and joy is not marred by suffering, restore your hope in the midst of today's brokenness? Practical Challenges • Seek Him First: Consciously make time to "seek the Lord while he may be found" by reading a portion of the Bible or praying today. • Identify Your Thirst: Name the one thing (truth, meaning, purpose) your soul is thirstiest for, and pray specifically for God to satisfy that need with the "water, wine, and milk" of His invitation. • Respond with Repentance: Identify one area where you are currently living according to "your ways" instead of God's ways, and confess it, trading it for His abundant pardon.

• Anticipate New Creation: Look for a piece of bad news this week, and intentionally pray that God’s Word would "accomplish its purpose" in that situation, anticipating the day when the curse is reversed and nature rejoices.