Signs and stories

Signs of Surprising Life: The Stories of Isaiah and John the Baptist

Bible Passage: Isaiah 11:1–10, Matthew 3:1–12

Summary: Both Isaiah and John the Baptist present messages of hope and transformation that come in unexpected forms—the Messiah from a humble shoot and a straightforward call to repentance.

Application: This sermon can challenge believers to recognize and embrace God's unexpected signs of hope and peace in their lives, encouraging them to prepare their hearts for transformation.

Teaching: The sermon can teach that God’s work often unfolds through unexpected means, prompting a culture of readiness and openness to His transformative power.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of the Bible, Isaiah foreshadows the coming of Christ as a shoot from the stump of Jesse, while John the Baptist prepares the way for this Messiah through a call to repentance, illustrating the continuity of God’s redemptive plan in Jesus.

Big Idea: God’s transformative work often comes through unexpected signs and stories, calling us to prepare our hearts and lives for His active presence.

Recommended Study: As you prepare this sermon using your Logos library, consider delving into the cultural context of both Isaiah’s prophecy and John’s ministry. Investigate commentaries on the themes of hope and repentance in both passages, and examine any text-critical variations regarding the portrayal of John the Baptist to enhance understanding of his role and message.

1. Shoots from Stumps

Isaiah 11:1-5

You could emphasize Isaiah’s vision of a shoot coming from the seemingly lifeless stump of Jesse, symbolizing Jesus’ unexpected arrival in humility. This passage fosters hope by suggesting that God often brings life and renewal where we least expect it. Encourage your audience to recognize areas in their lives that seem barren and trust that God can bring forth transformation and life.

2. Harmony and Hope

Isaiah 11:6-10

Maybe explore Isaiah’s picture of harmonious peace among natural enemies, symbolizing the peace Christ brings. You could suggest how this teaches us to let go of fears and hostilities, living in the peace and unity that the Messiah offers. Highlight how God’s kingdom defies expectations and calling us to be peacemakers.

3. Repentance Redefined

Matthew 3:1-6

Perhaps you'll note John the Baptist’s call to repentance as a form of preparation for Christ’s arrival. Stress how repentance is not only turning away from sin but also turning towards God’s unexpected pathway of grace. This sermon point could encourage introspection and readiness for God’s work in our lives by aligning our hearts with His will.

4. Prepare the Path

Matthew 3:7-12

You could focus on John’s message to the Pharisees and Sadducees, challenging complacency in religious duties. Highlight the necessity of genuine repentance and active preparation for Jesus’ coming. Encourage the congregation to be vigilant, open to God’s movements and not to rely on spiritual heritage or past achievements.

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✝️ SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Signs and Stories

Isaiah 11:1–10; Matthew 3:1–12 Second Sunday of Advent – Pastor Jim Johnson

Introduction — Stories That Shape Us

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Advent is a season of signs—and of stories. Last week we listened for God’s promises. This week Isaiah and John the Baptist invite us into stories— stories that surprise us, challenge us, and prepare us.

Isaiah speaks poetry into a nation in ruins. John cries out in a wilderness where no one expects to hear God’s voice. Both proclaim the same truth:

God’s transformative work often comes through unexpected signs and stories, calling us to prepare our hearts and lives for His active presence.

Consider the story of David, a shepherd boy chosen to be king. His anointing by Samuel came in the midst of his brothers, yet it was not the one who appeared strong or significant who was chosen, but the humble shepherd. God’s work in David’s life was a transformation from the ordinary to the extraordinary, teaching us to expect His presence in unlikely scenarios.

The question for us is this: Where is God showing up in surprising ways in your life? And are we ready to receive Him?

Let’s listen to the story Isaiah tells first.

**1. Shoots from Stumps

Isaiah 11:1–5 — God Brings Life Out of What Looks Dead**

Isaiah begins with a stump.

Not a tree. Not a forest. A stump.

Something cut down. Something that once was, but is no longer. A symbol of what has been lost.

Israel had been chopped down by exile, failure, fear, and judgment. Maybe you’ve been there too— in a place that feels cut off, dried up, finished.

Henry Nouwen once wrote about the winter of the soul, describing a period of spiritual dryness where one feels distant from God. In those moments, he encouraged us to pursue the quiet, knowing that God is still present, working in the background. Our spirit might feel like a desolate landscape, but in our wait, He is renewing us for a future bloom.

And then Isaiah surprises us:

“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse.”

New life— from old roots. A fragile green sprout— from a place that looks completely lifeless.

God’s story always begins where ours seems to end.

I once met a young man who struggled with addiction, believing his life was a failure and that he had hit rock bottom. One night, as he sat alone, he felt a flicker of hope and went to a nearby church service. There, he heard about God’s love and grace—how God’s story begins with our flaws and failures. That night, he accepted Christ and began a journey of healing, reminding us that God can create a new narrative from our brokenness.

Isaiah tells us that this shoot is not just a symbol, but a person: One filled with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.

This shoot is Christ— the Messiah born in humility, not in palaces but in a manger. A King who comes quietly, gently, in unexpected ways.

Isaiah teaches us to trust that God can bring life where we only see loss.

He teaches us to look again at the stump— the relationship that feels over, the habit we can’t break, the grief that still lingers, the fear that still speaks— and believe God is still planting something new.

The Messiah comes gently— as a shoot from a stump— so that nothing in our lives is ever beyond redemption.

**2. Harmony and Hope

Isaiah 11:6–10 — God’s Peace Works Beyond Our Expectations**

Isaiah does not stop with a shoot. He paints a picture of a world we barely recognize:

Wolves dwelling with lambs

Leopards lying with goats

Children leading the strong

Enemies becoming neighbors

The earth filled with the knowledge of God

This is harmony so surprising, so impossible, that we can hardly imagine it.

And that’s Isaiah’s point. God’s peace defies our expectations.

It is peace that disarms fear. Peace that destroys hostility. Peace that heals divisions. Peace that changes not only nations, but hearts.

Isaiah is telling another story here: that the Messiah doesn’t simply grow— He re-orders the world.

He calls us to become peacemakers because the Prince of Peace is coming.

Isaiah invites us to enter the story: Is there someone you see as a wolf? Someone who feels like a natural enemy? Someone you fear or avoid?

Isaiah is whispering to us: God’s kingdom is bigger than your fear.

God’s healing is stronger than your hostility. God’s peace is possible—even between wolves and lambs.

**3. Repentance Redefined

Matthew 3:1–6 — John the Baptist Changes the Story**

If Isaiah speaks softly, John the Baptist shouts.

Where Isaiah paints a picture, John swings an axe.

“Repent! Prepare the way of the Lord!”

John is not calling people to guilt. He is calling people to turn— to reorient, to make room, to prepare.

Repentance is not simply turning away from sin. It is turning toward God’s surprising paths of mercy and grace.

A student who struggles in school finds himself at the crossroads of failure and redemption. As he decides to change his approach, he not only refrains from procrastinating but also seeks help from teachers and classmates. This act of repentance isn't solely about abandoning old habits; it’s about embracing a new path filled with support and hope. Like this student, we must recognize that turning toward God leads us into His marvelous grace that transforms us daily.

John’s ministry in the wilderness is a sign in itself:

God speaks from forgotten places.

God calls from unexpected voices.

God begins His work in the wilderness, not the temple.

Repentance is God’s invitation to begin again.

John is saying: “Clear the clutter. Open your heart. God is on the move.”

Repentance redefines us. It helps us hear God’s story again. It prepares the soil where God’s new shoot can grow.

Where is God inviting you to turn? Where is He calling you to unclutter your heart? Where is the wilderness in your life that God wants to transform?

**4. Prepare the Path

Matthew 3:7–12 — A Call to Genuine Readiness**

John then turns to the Pharisees and Sadducees— the religiously comfortable, the spiritually settled, the ones who assume they’re already prepared.

He challenges them sharply:

“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”

John is reminding them—and us— that faith is not an inheritance. It is not nostalgia. It is not a family tree or a denominational label or a spiritual résumé.

Faith is movement. Faith is fruit. Faith is readiness.

There’s a story about a little boy who wanted to swim like his father and brother, but he was terrified of the water. Encouraged to take a chance, he finally jumped in. Though he struggled at first, with support, he began to float and even swim. Faith requires a jump into the unknown; it’s not about having a pedigree or perfect lineage in Christ. It’s about taking that leap of faith, trusting God, and letting Him teach us to swim.

John warns that relying on the past can keep us from seeing what God is doing in the present.

“Do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’”

In other words: Don’t rely on what once was. Don’t live on the faith of yesterday. Don’t assume spiritual comfort equals spiritual health.

John’s message is startling, but freeing:

Prepare the way—because Christ is coming to transform you.

Not to shame you, but to prune you.

I once had a plum tree in my backyard that had stopped producing much fruit. Year after year, it offered little more than leaves and memories. One afternoon my neighbor—someone who knew his way around trees—stopped by and said, “I can prune that for you. It’ll look harsh at first, but it will bring it back to life.”

I’ll be honest: when he finished, the tree looked worse than ever—branches cut back, growth trimmed away, almost bare. But the next spring, something remarkable happened. That old plum tree produced more fruit than I could remember seeing on it before. The painful pruning had cleared the way for new life.

God often works on us the same way. The seasons of pruning may feel like loss or discomfort, but they’re often the very moments that prepare us for a harvest we couldn’t have imagined. Not to punish you, but to prepare you. Not to condemn you, but to make space for new growth.

Just as Isaiah told the story of a shoot from a stump, John tells the story of an axe at the root— not to destroy us, but to clear away everything that prevents Christ’s peace from growing.

Conclusion — Signs of Surprising Life

Isaiah and John tell very different stories, but they lead us to the same truth:

God’s transformative work often comes through unexpected signs and stories. And our task is to prepare our hearts to receive Him.

Isaiah invites us to hope— to believe that new life can grow from any stump.

John invites us to prepare— to clear a path for Jesus to enter our lives more fully.

Jesus is the fulfillment of both stories:

He is the shoot from Jesse’s stump.

He is the Prince of Peace.

He is the One whose coming John prepared.

He is the One who brings life from what is broken.

He is the One who turns wilderness places into holy ground.

So the challenge for this week is simple: What story is God writing in you this Advent?

A story of turning. A story of growth. A story of peace. A story of surprising life.

May we be ready. May we be open. May we be transformed.

Amen.

How can we identify the 'stumps' in our lives that God wants to bring new life to?

In what unexpected ways have you seen God transforming situations that seemed hopeless?

How can we cultivate a culture of readiness and openness to God's surprising signs in our community?

In what areas of your life do you feel God is calling you to turn away from distractions and turn toward Him?

What might God be asking you to let go of that could allow for new growth in your life?