Welcome,
We’re delighted you’ve chosen to dig more deeply into the Scriptures and consider what God has for you through this sermon.
These sermon practices are ideally intended to be discussed with others, so find a friend, family member, or roommate to join you. If you haven’t yet joined a life group yet, check out our groups page or stop at the Welcome Center for more info.
EXPLORING SCRIPTURE: The Calling of Moses
Read aloud Exodus 3:1-10 in anticipation of some more questions to come
- What’s the main storyline?
- Where does this all happen?
- Who are the main figures in the narrative?
Read aloud Exodus 3:1
Remember, Mt. Horeb is also called Mt. Sinai and the mountain of God. Moses will lead the people of Israel to this same mountain once they leave Egypt.
- How is this related to him tending a flock of sheep in this passage?
Read aloud Exodus 3:2-3
It wasn’t unusual to see a bush on fire in the desert. Yet, it was very unusual to see one filled with flames but not burning up.
- How is God involved in this strange event?
- What is Moses' response to this phenomena?
- Why do you think God appears to Moses in this way?
Read aloud Exodus 3:4
- Does Moses realize right away that this is God talking to him?
Read aloud Exodus 3:5-6
- Moses’ feet are no cleaner than his sandals, so what might be the point of taking them off?
Read aloud Exodus 3:7-9
- What does this tell us about the character?
- What are the difficulties God is going to overcome for the Israelites and why?
- What do you think “milk and honey” represent?
Read aloud Exodus 3:10
- What do you think Moses felt when God told him he was going to lead Israel out of Egypt?
REFLECTION: Seeking Your Calling
As we saw last week, Moses failed miserably and ended up in the desert. But, God hasn’t given up on Moses, even if Moses has given up on himself. The Lord is teaching Moses that he is perfectly formed for an imperfect life of epic rescue. Now Moses is partnering much better with God, even though he doesn’t fully understand it’s God’s voice speaking to him; at least not at first.
If we were to boil this process down, we could say that Moses NOTICES the divine mystery in front of him. Then he PURSUES the divine mystery. Lastly, he SUBMITS to this amazing miracle of God revealing himself personally to Moses.
- What type of divine mystery has God used to catch your attention?
- What did you do to dive deeper into that mystery? How did it point you to God?
- When did it come clear that this was God’s calling to you?
- How did you respond to that calling from God?
The Core of Our Calling
One principle presented in Exodus 3 is this: Moses is made to bring heaven to the broken world around him, but first he must bring heaven to the broken world inside of him.
- What do you think this meant for Moses?
- What does it mean for you?
- What happens if we rush out to bring heaven to the broken world around us, but we fail to bring heaven to the broken world inside of us?
Experiencing God - Individually
- How do you most naturally experience God personally?
- How meaningful is your relationship with God, when no other believers are around?
- What’s a new spiritual practice that you must build to more deeply experience the presence of God on your own?
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- Study the Bible
- Journal your prayers
- Sit before God in silence
- Sing to God
- Talk with God while on a walk
- Eat healthy or fast
- Pray in the Spirit
- Other…
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Experiencing God - With Others
- How do you most naturally experience God with others?
- What’s a new spiritual practice that you must build to more deeply experience the presence of God on your own?
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- Praying out laid
- Worshiping in a small group
- Serving the most vulnerable
- Praying for healing
- Sharing what you believe to be a prompting from God’s Spirit
- Studying the Bible
- Other…
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Wrapping Up
From this discussion, identify one practice you need to increase to bring heaven to your inner and outer worlds. Also, identify one thing you need from God to do this more effectively. Pray the Holy Spirit will guide your prayers to trust Jesus, and to experience his presence, more everyday.