Exodus Leaders Notes Session 7

In Exodus 19:1-8, God invites the Israelites into a formal agreement to be His special people among all the nations. If they obey Him, they will be His "treasured possession." As Dr. Smith points out, it is important to note that this offer is made after God has rescued them from slavery. God has freed them and now He offers them a deeper relationship with Him. Similarly, God has already paid the price to forgive every person of their sins. The offer of that forgiveness is available to all, but God does not impose His forgiveness on anyone. He has made the special relationship possible, but we must choose to enter into that relationship. Many people struggle to think of their lives in terms of putting God on display to the broken world around them. Every interaction and situation is a chance to display God to others. In fact, the impact God makes in our lives is the one undeniable argument for the power of Jesus. Who can argue that Jesus isn't real when He has changed your life so dramatically? So...what is your life displaying about God these days?

Note: verse 4 is a great tie in with the part in session 3 about remembering what God has done

Exodus Leaders Notes Session 6

In this session the Israelites are confronted by a nagging enemy, the Amalekites. Moses sends out fighters and then goes to a nearby hilltop to pray for their victory. This is a great example of the power of intercession. Moses was not in the battle, but he was a key part of it nonetheless. His role in prayer support was actually the deciding factor (verse 11)! This dynamic shows us two things. First, sometimes God will fight the battle for us (like He did with the Egyptians) and other times we have to step up and fight the battle ourselves. We have to listen to God's prompting to know when He is telling us to wait and let Him take care of things and when He is telling us to contribute to the fight ourselves. Second, we must not underestimate the power in the work of intercession. Our prayers on someone's behalf (or theirs on our behalf) can make all the difference in our situation. When we find ourselves in a situation where we can't "do" anything to help (Moses was not of fighting age to join the battle), our prayers can be the most powerful force in their life.

Schedule note: if your group is continuing beyond these 6 sessions, make sure that everyone knows what the plan is moving forward. If the group is ending, we recommend having one more time together to share a meal and to celebrate the things that God did in your lives and the connections that were made

Exodus Leaders Notes Session 5

This session focuses in on God’s command to offer up every first born male (of both animals and people) to God. There are ways to redeem some of the first born and others that must be redeemed. What is God doing here? Why this focus on the first born? As Dr. Smith says in the video, there is a strong connection with the last plague that killed the first born males of the Egyptians. God is building into the life of the nation a way for them to remember what God had done in redeeming Israel out of slavery. But it is also a way for them to honor God with their “first-fruits.” They only have these first born animals and children because of what God did in rescuing them. As their nation grows in both numbers and prosperity, they are to give an offering from that growth as a way to honor and worship the LORD. At first glance, this seems like a pretty irrelevant set of commands for our lives. But when we consider the principles behind the commands, we find that they are extremely relevant. How are we remembering what God has done? Are we honoring and worshipping God through giving our “first-fruits” to Him?

Exodus Leaders Notes Session 4

Session 4In this session, the great show down between God and Pharaoh begins. God has given Pharaoh the ultimatum to let His people go. Pharaoh has rejected this. Now God begins the assault on Pharaoh's power as well as many of the Egyptian gods.

As we see in this passage, Pharaoh's response to each challenge is to harden his heart and reject God. He is blinded by his commitment to his gods and his own position as a deity to the Egyptians. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of God's power, he clings to his gods and rejects the true God.

Some people in the group may wrestle with the thought that God actively hardened Pharaoh's heart throughout the plagues. This clashes with our perceptions of our free will and what we think God is "allowed" to do. Allow people to wrestle with this and don't feel that the issue needs to be solved in that discussion. Encourage them to lean into God and godly advisers as they continue to wrestle with the issue.

Schedule note: if your group is meeting every other week (i.e. twice a month), this is the week that you need to start the conversation with the group regarding the ending or continuation of your group. As the host/leader, you need to have decided if you want to continue beyond the 6th session or not. If you do desire to continue, invite the group to join you for 6 more sessions and allow people to opt out if that is what they desire. If you do not want to continue, inform the group of this and let them know that the group can either end or the CCC staff can help the group transition if someone is willing to step in and become the host/leader.

Exodus Leaders Notes Session 3

Session 3In this session we find the Israelites in that tough spot where things are getting worse rather than better. They have been crying out to God for generations and Moses shows up as God's answer to their cries. Only, when Moses talks to Pharaoh, rather than setting them free, Pharaoh demands more work from them with harder conditions. The people are asking, "This is God's answer to our cries for rescue?!?"

Many (if not all) of us have experienced those moments where, like the Israelites, our spirits are broken because of a difficult situation. In those times, what do we have to lift us up out of that brokenness? For the Israelites, God showed that He was with them (unlike with Abraham, God gave them His name) and He reminded them of the promises that He made to their forefathers. For us, we have all the examples from history of God's faithfulness with His people along with all the promises that He has made to us (check out the "further study appendix" for a short list of these promises).

Maybe this is one of the reasons that God repeatedly had the Israelites create monuments to His provision. He knew they would need something tangible to help them remember His faithfulness when they encountered the next tough situation.

Exodus Leaders Notes Session 2

Session 2The passages in this session give us a "fly on the wall" perspective as God prepares Moses to step onto some pretty big stages. God tells Moses that he will be His spokesman to both the Israelite people and to Pharaoh.

Standing before the Israelites would have been intimidating because of Moses' former life in Pharaoh's household as well as the fact that he abandoned them after the incident when he killed an Egyptian. Practically speaking, Moses did not feel like an Israelite and he's pretty sure they won't see him as one of them either.

Standing before Pharaoh would have been intimidating because he was the strongest leader of the known world. Even though Moses would have known him from growing up in the palace, he was Pharaoh now and everything was different now. Moses would literally be risking his life each time he went before Pharaoh.

It is encouraging to see how God interacts with Moses with his fears and concerns swirling around his heart and mind. God meets Moses in those fears and gives Him the signs and help (Aaron) that will give him the confidence to go forward with the calling God gave him. We will all encounter a call from God in our lives that seems like more than we can handle. Moses' example shows us that God will go with us and He will be faithful throughout.

Exodus Leaders Notes Session 1

Session 1This session highlights what Dr. Smith calls the “conspicuous absence” of God. God had made some pretty big promises to Abraham concerning his descendants. They were to flourish in a promised land that was rich and fertile. But in the beginning of Exodus, we find the Israelite people in slavery. They have been crying out to God for rescue for nearly 400 years, yet His help has not come. But was God really absent or was He simply behind the scenes?

We all experience times when we wonder what God is doing and why He has seemingly abandoned us. We desperately want to be rescued from the situation we are facing. We can look at the Israelites experience and know 1) that God is still there even when we can’t see Him and 2) that it is good and healthy to voice our pain and fears to God. He does hear us and He will respond at the perfect time to accomplish His perfect plan for our lives. Sometimes that perfect plan requires us to endure some difficult times, but God will be with us.

Christmas Study

Here is a four session study your group can use leading up to Christmas.  If your group meets less than four times before Christmas, just choose the sessions that you think will most benefit the group.  We suggest (and have supplied) that the whole group uses the "leader guide" for the study.  Enjoy! Advent - Savior for All

Unstoppable - Journey Group Discussion Guide #5

Week 5 - Underrated Treasure

Transportation Help

Hey, Journey Group Leaders...a regular CCC attendee is in need of transportation help getting to church on Sundays.  He is moving near 120th and Q.  If you or someone in your group can help, please email and let me know - davei@cccomaha.org   Thanks!