“Revealed—Sovereign ”
Life Group Lesson
Isaiah 65:17-66:2
March 22, 2020

OPEN: Of all the things that have been canceled (or postponed) which were you
looking forward to the most?

Isaiah 65:17-66:2
17 “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create…
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.

DIG: Read Isaiah 65:17-66:2
• If these final chapters of Isaiah are written to a people who are returning from
exile to the shambles of the once great city of Jerusalem, how might the words of
chapter 65 (starting in verse 17) be comforting?
• If you were in their place, which words might fill you with the most hope?
• Is this a future hope only or is it a present hope? If the new heavens and the
new earth are meant to describe something that will happen in the future, how
are those words comforting to the people in their present situation?
• What does the first verse of chapter 66 sound like to a people who are standing
in the rubble of what was once the great Temple of Solomon?
• How does this relate to 66:2?

REFLECT
• Are the events that Isaiah described in 65:17-25 a future hope for us as well?
Are they yet to happen even in our day? How do these verses in Isaiah relate to
Revelation 21:1-5?
• Do these verses sound different to you today than they might have a few weeks
ago? How so?
• In what ways do thing seem out of control right now? Where do you see signs
that God is still in control?
• If history is headed toward a new heavens and a new earth, what should we be
doing in these present days?
• What does it look like in these days to be humble and contrite in spirit and to
tremble at his word (66:2)?
• Read Hebrews 12:25-29 together. What are you finding to be unshakeable right
now where it seems so much is being shaken? What are you holding on to that
you are finding to be certain when so much seems uncertain?
• Where are you already noticing the “new creation” of God happening right now?
How can we as followers of Jesus, embrace and even participate in what God
may be up to in our day?

PRAYER TIME:
Lord, fill us with a sense of your Sovereignty. So much seems uncertain, but you are still
in control. Your purposes and promises never fail. History is headed somewhere
because you are solidly on the throne. We grab on to You when all else seems
shakeable. We do this because we saw Jesus do it. We do this in His name, Amen.