Jesus 120

We had the privilege of hearing from our dear friend Pastor Dave Buehring this week as he explored the life of Moses and the story of the Exodus. God is constantly revealing His character to us, with a heart to turn us towards Him and bring redemption. As we look at the life of Moses, we can see how the Lord saves us, shapes us, and sends us to accomplish His purposes.

Key verses: Exodus 6:6 is the key verse, and Exodus chapters 1-15, and Psalm 90

Bible Reading questions/discussion prompts:

1. Have a member of the group summarize one key story from the reading until you have covered them all for the week: who are the main characters, where does the story take place, what are they doing, and why.

2. What does this week’s reading teach you about God?

3. What does it teach you about mankind?

4. How does this reading point to Jesus or our need for Him?

5. What did you learn this week about God or about the Bible that you didn’t know before?

6. What did you learn from the sermon that you maybe missed or didn’t know from the reading?

7. What lessons can you take from this reading and apply to your own life today?

8. What remaining questions do you have about this passage?

Sermon Questions:

1. How do we see God’s character revealed as He sends Moses to rescue the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt? How does God reveal his character through the plagues, and what can we learn from Pharaoh as His heart gets hardened and he refuses to change and release the people?

2. How does the slow process of development and preparation in the Moses life differ from our culture today? What can we learn from Moses as we look at our how our lives unfold?

3. Pastor Dave laid out Moses life into 3 phases - Saved by God (the 1st 40 years), Shaped by God (his next 40 years), and Sent by God (his final 40 years). Can you relate to being in one of those seasons of life right now? If so what is God showing you?

4. What is one key take away, or application for you from this story?

Through Abraham and his family, we see God working to pour out blessing on the entire human family. While we continually fall short in our journey of faith, God’s faithfulness toward us remains steadfast. In Genesis 15 we see a picture of how committed God is to bless us, and in Jesus we see the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant to bless and redeem mankind. If we put our faith in Jesus, we become members of the family of God and heirs of the promise.

Key verses: Genesis 6:1-16, Luke 17:24-30, John 3:16-19

Bible Reading questions/discussion prompts:

1. Have a member of the group summarize one key story from the reading until you have covered them all for the week: who are the main characters, where does the story take place, what are they doing, and why.

2. What does this week’s reading teach you about God?

3. What does it teach you about mankind?

4. How does this reading point to Jesus or our need for Him?

5. What did you learn this week about God or about the Bible that you didn’t know before?

6. What did you learn from the sermon that you maybe missed or didn’t know from the reading?

7. What lessons can you take from this reading and apply to your own life today?

8. What remaining questions do you have about this passage?

Sermon Questions:

1. In Genesis we see several examples of God’s blessings to Adam, Noah, and Abraham. 2. How do these impact us today? Can you share any examples of how you see God’s blessings in your life now?

3. In Genesis 15 God makes a covenant with Abram. God asked him to prepare some animals for a sacrifice and lay them out on the ground. Why would 2 people prepare animals like this when they made a covenant in ancient times? What was the significance of walking through the blood together?

4. What was different about the covenant that God made with Abram compared to the covenants men would make with each other? (Only God walked the path through the animals) How does this reflect what Jesus did for us on the cross about 2,000 years later?

5. What does this covenant mean for our lives now? What blessings from God have we received through Jesus? What can we learn from Abraham about relying on God’s covenant promises and receiving God’s blessing in our lives?

While the story of Noah and the ark is familiar to most people, it is easy to forget the magnitude of its implications. God, in His perfect love for mankind, couldn’t bear to allow His creation to continue to destroy itself. The flood is a hard story, but if we look a little deeper, we can see our need for grace and another reminder of the importance of Jesus’ work on the cross for each one of us.

Key verses: Genesis 6:1-16, Luke 17:24-30, John 3:16-19

Sermon Questions:

1. Why does God feel like mankind must be wiped out? Why does He allow Noah to live? 2. What does this say about the character of God?

3. What does the Tim Keller quote, “Only when we see the depth of our sin will we be electrified by the wonder of grace” mean in the context of this story? What does it mean for your life?

4. How is grace an active force? How do you know it isn’t passive?

5. What is the significance of the word pitch in these verses? How have you witnessed the importance of this pitch (atonement) in your own life?

The Bible 20/20 - Reading Questions & Discussion prompts:

Read Genesis 1-24

1. Have a member of the group summarize one key story from the reading until you have covered them all for the week: who are the main characters, where does the story take place, what are they doing, and why.

2. What does this week’s reading teach you about God?

3. What does it teach you about mankind?

4. How does this reading point to Jesus or our need for Him?

5. What did you learn this week about God or about the Bible that you didn’t know before?

6. What did you learn from the sermon that you maybe missed or didn’t know from the reading?

7. What lessons can you take from this reading and apply to your own life today?

8. What remaining questions do you have about this passage?

In today’s sermon we are launching our year long journey through the Bible together. We spent some time casting some vision for spending a year focused on God’s Word, and then discussed some practical ways you can participate. We are believing for God to do great things in our midst as we get to know Him better. Let’s take time to hear and understand God’s Story.

As we wrap up our series Fathered by God and look towards Christmas, we see the lengths that God is willing to go in order to welcome us into His family. Jesus became a part of our human community so we could be welcomed into His heavenly family. Now, we can be assured that there is a place for us in the family of God, and answer the call to join in on the ultimate redemption story.

Life is a journey; at times we are in the valley, at times on the mountain tops, but most of the time, we are just hiking along the trail. While we are traveling, we can become weary, injured, or feel defeated, but our heavenly father promises to recharge the weary, repair the injured, and renew the defeated.

Lifegroup Questions

1. Have you ever felt weary in your walk when life was good? What is the solution to weariness? What is your temptation when you are weary? Do you quit, rest, or try to press through the weariness? What are the risks with pressing through? Why shouldn’t you quit? Why is it so hard to rest? What are some ways that you rest when you are weary?

2. What is the difference between being spiritually weary and injured? Have you ever been spiritually injured? What were your symptoms? How did you heal (if you have)? Do you feel that you properly rehabbed your injury? What risks do you run if you don’t rehab a physical injury properly? Do some of those risks carry over into the spiritual realm?

3. Have you ever been spiritually injured and felt like you needed to just push through it to keep on the race? Or have you wanted to just lie down and give up when you were injured? How did the Lord heal you and how did you rehab your injury? If you didn’t, how could you have?

4. What does the statement, “you can give up, but you are never defeated” mean to you? Do you really believe that? Have you had times in your journey when you felt defeated?

5. What are sometimes that felt like failure in your life that you now recognize as a part of your journey? What did you learn from those times? How were you able to move out of that feeling of defeat?

Today we discuss how to navigate seasons of peace and victory in our lives, when we are on the mountain top and all is well. We can learn a lot from how David’s reflections in Psalm 30 about how to remember and celebrate all God has done for us, while also being aware of the potential for pride and complacency to creep in and rip us off from enjoying our Heavenly Father. May gratitude become our default posture, as we learn to recognize the presence of God in our lives in every season.

This week, we are continuing on the theme of being stuck in a valley, specifically the ones we create for ourselves through our own sin and struggles. Our tendency can be to hide from God out of guilt and shame or remain in denial by minimizing our sin and its consequences. The reality is we can come honestly to God calling out for his help, because his heart toward us is merciful and kind and always for redemption. He wants to restore our souls and lead us in the path of righteousness.

Life group Questions:

1. Calling out to God for help when we have gotten ourselves in a valley can often be difficult for us. Why do you think that is? What are some of the obstacles that keep us from turning to Him for help? How can we be assured that God will hear us and help us when we seek Him in our time of trouble?

2. Honesty about our sin and its consequences seem to be really important to God. Why do you you think that is the case? Why does confession play such an important role in receiving God’s redemption and grace? Why is it so difficult for us at times to be really honest about what we have done wrong? Why do you think God asks us to confess our sins to him to receive forgiveness, and why does he ask us to confess to others too?

3. David sought relief from the consequences of his sin, but his requests were denied. What can we learn from him about how to walk forward when we are living with the consequences of our decisions. Leader’s Note: David repented (2 Sam 12:13 & Psalm 51), then he asked for relief (2 Sam 12:16), then he worshipped God anyway and went on living and walking with God while believing in eternal redemption (2 Sam 12:20-23).

4. Read and discuss Psalm 51 verse 6 and verses 10-12. What can we take away from this passage about how to talk with God when we are in trouble? What perspective do we need to have about what really needs to change?

5. Is anyone going through a season like this right now? Where are you at in that process? How can we support and encourage you in this journey of redemption?

David spent a lot of seasons of his life in the valley. This week, we discuss the well known Psalm 23. David reminds us to always look to the character, correction, and protection of God when we are in any season of life, but especially when we are in the low points. It is tempting to turn our negative feelings about our situations towards God, but as we see with David, if we can trust in who God is, He will be faithful to walk with us through the valleys and back to the mountain tops.

Key verses: Psalm 23:1-6, you may want to read through 1 Samuel 16-26 to give an overview and pull out key verses that the Lord is giving you for your discussion

1. David opens Psalm 23 with a reflection on who God is. Why is it important to remind yourself about the character of God when you are in a valley?

2. Have you spent time in a valley season that felt overwhelming or never ending? Where you able to reflect back to the character of God, or did you find yourself projecting your feelings about the valley onto God?

3. David said that the rod and staff comfort him. Do you feel comforted by the Lord’s protections AND corrections?

4. David has more than one opportunity to create his own justice for Saul, but he chooses to trust that God will provide perfect justice. Has there been a time in your life (without naming names), that you have decided to seek revenge or “justice” instead of trusting that God would be faithful? Was the outcome what you hoped for?

5. Read Psalm 23:1-6 as a group. What words stand out to you, what images does it conjure for you, what do you think the Lord is teaching you TODAY from this scripture that you may have heard many times?

Spending time in communication with our heavenly Father can feel like an obligation or item to check off our daily list, but if we look to the perfect example of Jesus, we see that His communication with God was constant and refreshing. God uses his word, the Holy Spirit, and His people to speak to us, but we must do our part to listen and obey instead of requesting and expecting.

See notes for verses (there are a lot, so choose what the Lord is showing you to use in your discussions)

1. Jesus prayed constantly. He prayed in the morning, in the evening, when it was quiet and when He was busy. What excuses do you use to not pray? Are these valid excuses? Why or why not? How could you integrate prayer more into your daily life?

2. Jesus prayed for guidance, and when God gave Him guidance, he obeyed. Jake said that we often bring our desires to God and ask for a rubber stamp of approval instead of truly searching for His guidance and following His instructions. Do you find yourself doing that? What would your prayers sound like if they were truly seeking His guidance instead of reading a list of requests?

3. Jesus prayed with and for others. Are you nervous or fearful about praying in front of other people? Why? Do you agree that because Jesus was in constant communication with God that praying in front of others was natural for Him? Could that be true for you?

4. Do you find that when you spend time in prayer and in God’s presence (intentionally) that you are refreshed? What do you tend to do for relaxation that could be replaced with time with the Lord? How do you think that would change your life?

5. Jesus prayed honest prayers. Do you think that your prayers are totally honest? Are you afraid to pray honest prayers? Why or why not? How would your prayers sound different if they were completely truthful? What emotions do you hold back in your prayer time?

6. If your are honest, have you fallen into the belief that God only speaks to some people? Why do you think that?

7. How has God used the Bible to speak in your life? What could you change to hear Him more clearly through His word? Have you seen how His word is personal to your life?

8. How has God used the Holy Spirit to speak in your life? What could you change to hear Him more clearly through His Holy Spirit? Do you expect to hear from Him daily?

9. How has God used His people to speak in your life? What could you change to hear Him more clearly through His people? Have you ever been a part of speaking to someone else for God? How did that impact you?