The Root

Written By Nicole Vollrath

RLC Home Group Handout | November 30th, 2025 

“The Root” | Isaiah 11:1-9 | Luke 2:1-7

Recap

This week, we were reminded that Advent invites us to feel both the brokenness of our world and the hope of God’s promised restoration. Isaiah 10–11 showed us that even when God brings discipline—when the “axe” falls—His wrath and His love remain perfectly united, ultimately making way for new life in Christ. We saw that the “shoot from the stump of Jesse” is Jesus, the unlikely King who came in humility and will return in glory to establish His eternal, righteous, peace-filled kingdom. As we wait, we embrace hope: that God brings beauty from ashes, life from stumps, and restoration from devastation, and that the One who came as a baby will return as a conquering King who makes all things new..

References 

  • Isaiah 10:5-6 – The Assyrians functioned as God’s rod of anger against the nation of Israel. 

  • Romans 8:28 – God works good through the bad things of life.

  • Is 53:1-12 – Isaiah described a suffering servant who would be our Savior.

  • Romans 8:18 – Present suffering produces an incomparable weight of future glory.

Discussion Questions

Head

  • Is there anything that stood out or spoke to you in this week’s sermon?

  • How does God use evil things to further His plans? Does that mean that the evil thing faces no consequence or is inherently less evil?

  • How does the axe cut both ways in Isaiah’s prophecy? Describe how the punisher became the punished.

  • Based on our preferred royal attributes, why was Jesus such an unlikely King? Why is this significant?

Heart

  • When has a bad circumstance in my life brought about a positive long-term change? Conversely, think about a bad circumstance that brought long-term problems. Was God the cause of the bad circumstance in both instances?

  • Where do you feel “stumps” in your life—places that seem dead or beyond repair—and how does the gospel speak hope into those places?

  • In what ways do you tend to rely on “false saviors”? How does Advent expose and re-orient your affections?

Hands

  • What words of comfort and hope can I offer to someone going through hard times this week?

  • How do I give the good things and the bad things in my life the proper weight and perspective?

Nicole Vollrath
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