If you had been a Jew in Jesus' day, would you have been disappointed in the Messiah? Why did Jesus choose to come as a suffering servant rather than, say, a triumphant army general?

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

~Isaiah 53:3

I don't think I would be disappointed; I believe Christ came to us in the form he did to show that it is better to be humble than to be full of pride, like an army general might be.

Do you think God is using powerful leaders today to accomplish his will? How?

There are powerful leaders that are appointed to their positions, but not all of them have been following God's will.

Try to put yourself in the circumstances of the Jews back then. Would you have found the prophet's words comforting?

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

~Isaiah 40:31

I believe that I would felt comforted by these words.

In your life, what experience has called for the most courage and faith? How did you respond at the time?

“Assyria will fall by no human sword;
    a sword, not of mortals, will devour them.
They will flee before the sword
    and their young men will be put to forced labor.

~Isaiah 31:8

A time when you are awaiting to have your first surgery, and the way I respond to that is by praying to God for strength and trust in those that will be attending to my care.

Isaiah describes people who felt afraid and abandoned by God. Have you ever felt like that? How does Isaiah message offer hope for us today?

At this my body is racked with pain,
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered by what I see.

~Isaiah 21:3

It is very easy for us to feel like God has abandoned us at a tragic moment in our lives.  The big thing that we need to always remember is to have faith in God because he is always there and won't leave us forsaken.

What do you think Isaiah would say if her were writing today about such supoerpower countries as the United States and Russia?

This is the plan determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand stretched out over all nations.

~Isaiah 14:26

If you drafted a spiritual "last will and testament" for your friends, what would you say?

As for me, the hour has come for me to be sacrificed; the time is here for me to leave this life.

~2 Timothy 4:6