11.2.25 Huddle

Onelifechurch   -   November 1, 2025

Opening Discussion 

 

  • What are you looking forward to this month?

 

Read and Discuss

Isaiah 58:1-8

1 “Cry out loudly, don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Tell my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. 2  They seek me day after day and delight to know my ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not abandon the justice of their God. They ask me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.”

3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

  • What stuck out to you as you read the passage?
  • In verse two the people are eager to know God, so how have they missed what their relationship with God should be about?
  • Why is God not pleased with their fasting?
  • Have you ever felt like God owed you something because you were doing good things (reading the Bible, fasting, giving, being kind, etc) and expected Him to return the favor?
    • Why doesn’t God operate in a transactional way with us?
  • What did God want from the Israelites?
  • How does God want us to live our everyday lives?
  • What keeps people who claim to be Christians from living the life that God wants for them?

Isaiah 58:13-14

13 “If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;14 then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

  • Why is the Sabbath so important to the Lord?
  • Why should the Sabbath be important to us?
  • What is the difference between resting and resting in the Lord?
  • How can resting in the Lord help you the rest of the week?
  • Do you currently do anything special on your day of rest to honor the Lord?
  • How does honoring the Sabbath tie into the fasting discussion that took place earlier in the passage?
  • What is God asking us to do?

Discipleship Questions

  • What can you do this week to keep the spiritual disciplines while also living out your faith to help others?
  • What could you do this week to honor the Sabbath?
  • Sometimes we may not realize that there are things in our life that don’t line up with God’s Word. Or we think we are doing the right things, but have missed the relationship with Jesus part (Pharisees!). Who is a trusted follower of Jesus that you can ask if you are missing something by the way you live?

Memorize it!

Isaiah 58:7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

Prayer TACOS

Thanksgiving: Thank Jesus for the way He lived on earth to teach us how to live for the glory of God in every aspect of our lives.

Amazement: How did you see the Lord’s power this week? Spend time worshipping the Lord for His power and love.

Confession: How have you gone through the motions of appearing religious, but missed out on the heart behind it? Confess those things and ask the Lord to help you live a consistent life.

Others: When you think of people who are living a consistent, holy life, who comes to mind? Thank the Lord for them and pray a blessing over them. 

Self: When you think of taking a weekly Sabbath rest, what comes to mind? Ask the Lord for help in resting in Him.