Holes In the Veil of Death
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord
Isaiah 25:1-12 (ESV)
1 O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5 like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is put down.
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.
11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
but the Lord will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.
Sermon Outline
How do we live when the veil of death (v7) produces ignorance and confusion?
1. Humbly
v11 “the Lord will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands”
v3 “cities of ruthless nations” (vv4-5)
2. Faithfully
v6 “…the Lord of hosts will make… a feast of rich food…”
v7-8 “he will swallow up on this mountain the covering… death forever…will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach… he will take away”
v1 “for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure”
3. Wisely
v9 “It will be said… ‘this is our God; we have waited for him… let us be glad…”
v1 “O Lord, you are my God… I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”
v5 “You subdue the noise…”
Prayer of Confession
O Lord, we have been confused and fearful. We are guilty of pride and ruthlessness. We admit we have sinned. We have failed to know and trust you. We have followed the course of the world, causing harm and shame. We are guilty in our actions and in our secret thoughts. Take away the reproach and free us from sin and death. Your word, your plan, your purposes are trustworthy. We rejoice that you are so merciful to us. We wait on you, trusting in the grace you have shown us through Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What can we know about death? What can’t we know?
How does mortality affect you? What are implications of your view of what happens after we die?
Why are people so prone to pride? What draws us towards pride, associating with the proud, and having buy-in on the values or ways of those who are proud?
Why does pride move in the trajectory towards ruthlessness?
What impact does pride have on how we view and understand God?
What are some things we can learn from God “swallowing up death”?
How does understanding God’s plans help make sense of life? While we don’t know all the details of our particular lives, how does knowing the framework help you navigate the present?
What has God shown us that gives us cause to rejoice and have hope? How do we sustain hope in a world that has so much that is terrible in it?
Is the Christian life worth living? Is it wise, good, worthy of our devotion? Why or why not?
What are some outcomes of a life faithfully lived with Christ, according to his ways?
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