If you had to pick one word to describe God, the Bible would tell you to use the word "holy." God's holiness is a way of talking about the all the things that set him apart. God's holiness means his power, goodness, and love, are a purer, richer, and deeper than any other. Isaiah encounters God's holiness and finds himself transformed. By looking at Isaiah's experience, we learn what it means to encounter God ourselves.

1. The word "holiness" means different things to different people. How have you understood the idea of holiness in the past?
2. Have you ever felt overwhelmed and undone by God's holiness? What led to those experiences? How did you respond to them?
3. How do you understand the relationship between God's holiness and God's mercy?
4. What about God's holiness makes you holy? Have you seen that at work in your own life?