God Has a Word for That | Ash Wednesday | Isaiah 41:14–16
“Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O dead ones of Israel, for I Myself will help you, declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
March 2, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.
Ash Wednesday
“Alas! And did my Savior bleed, And did my Sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?” (LSB 437:1). These words of Isaac Watts set the tone for our worship as we begin our time in Isaiah 40–55 with a verse where God calls the exilic community in Babylon a worm (41:14). But our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, transforms worms into mountain movers (v. 15). There is a word for that—grace!
READINGS
Psalm 143:1–12
Isaiah 41:14–16
Hebrews 9:27–28
John 11:32–40
Message presented by Rev. Jamie Strickler, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Charleston, WV
ABOUT THE SERIES
Gathered by the waters of Babylon, Judean exiles wistfully wondered: Is God for real? If so, does He really care about us? What does our future hold? Will this ever change? God’s people had watched their world shatter into a million pieces. They were demoralized and disillusioned. Their disaster looked terminal.
Do you feel this way? Does it look as though your current problems are more than you can bear? Do you find yourself asking: Why did this happen? Why did God allow it? Is there any order in the world? Will God really deliver on what He said?
Isaiah answers these questions in chapters 40–55 of his book. He announces that just when Israel’s history seemed closed and controlled by hopeless Babylonian imperial policy, to the shock and surprise of everyone the Lord will stir up a king named Cyrus and a new exodus will explode in the desert! A Servant will be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. And barren Zion will be given so many children that, like the old woman in the shoe, she won’t know what to do! Standing behind these marvelous promises is God’s almighty Word. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). The exiles are going home!
