By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour

Focal Passage: Isaiah 7:7-17 

God’s promises remind us that God is for us and not against us. The Bible is filled with stories and testimonies of God’s sovereignty, His power, His goodness, His faithfulness and His purposes. As God’s people, we are reminded that our lives, our days, and our future rest in who God is and His faithfulness to us. There are a couple of things I would like to challenge you with as you consider our focus passage, Isaiah 7:7-17.

First, remember the promises of God and rest in His faithfulness. God had given Ahaz His word that Judah would not be taken by Syria, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah. Ahaz should have recounted how God was a faithful God. He had kept His promises to His people in the past so certainly He would continue. Yet, Ahaz never put his faith in the sovereignty and faithfulness of God. We too, if we are not careful, can lose sight of God and His faithfulness to us. 

When it comes to God’s promises, He is always faithful. I am reminded of God’s provision for me when I was a student heading to college. I wondered how I would ever pay for school. I began to search the Scriptures and I was reminded of God’s faithfulness to those who followed His leading.  [Read more…]

By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour

Focal Passage: Isaiah 6:1-13 

It is an incredibly humbling thought to know that God uses ordinary people to declare His glory and His purposes. Preachers and evangelists from R.G. Lee or Adrian Rogers to Billy Graham, to missionaries such as Lottie Moon, or the faithful pastors most people never hear of, God uses ordinary people who have been captured by His glory to tell of His purposes and grace. 

God calls all believers to be faithful witnesses. In light of that, Isaiah’s experience will help us as we consider that God has a mission for us as well. There are three conditions for being a faithful witness I would like to mention to you.

 First, a faithful witness is captured by the Holiness and grandeur of God. In Isaiah 6:1-13, Isaiah sees a vision of Holy God. He is shaken and his heart is captured by what he witnessed.  [Read more…]

By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour

Focal Passage: Isaiah 1:10-20 

In our focal passage this week, Isaiah had the unpleasant responsibility of confronting God’s people with the condition of their hearts and their worship.  As we begin to study today’s passage, it immediately becomes clear that this message is just as relevant for God’s people today.  

Indeed, we must take the time to allow God’s Word to permeate our own hearts and examine ourselves in His presence.  Let me encourage us all to consider the condition of our own hearts and our worship.  There are three things we don’t want to miss in today’s passage.

First, Isaiah confronts God’s people with an honest evaluation of where they are.  Consider with me what he says in verse 10.  “Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah.”

To shed further light on where they were and the condition of their hearts let’s go back to verse 6.  Isaiah writes, “From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, But wounds and putrefying sores…”. That’s hard to read isn’t it?  Another verse that caught my attention was verse 7.  It reads, “Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire…”. I can’t help but think of our nation and the things we are witnessing in these days.  Isaiah confronted God’s people with the Word of the Lord and the truth of  the condition of their hearts.   [Read more…]