Life Groups // Winter 2024 // Week 10
Posted March 15, 2024 — Lincoln Berean
The God Who is With Us // Exodus 40:34-38
Introduction
Throughout our study in Exodus, we’ve seen the many ways God has committed Himself to dwelling among this people. Now as we close out this series, we see God’s glory fill the Tabernacle to travel with them wherever they might go.
To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Due to preferences over a wide range of groups, we do not expect you will cover every question each week.
Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)
1) What was the last concert you attended? Share your experience.
2) Would you rather be an extra in an Oscar-winning movie or the lead in a box office bomb? (increase the fun by naming your movie of choice)
Getting Started
1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives
c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you
2) Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
1) What have been your take-aways from the back half of the Exodus story about God being with His people?
2) God made Himself real to the Israelites by providing for them in tangible ways. List out as many manifestations of God as you can in this second half of Exodus (see Ex. 15:22-25, 16:11-13,17:5-6, 17:8-13, 23:20-22, 34:29-35).
What message was God trying to communicate to His people through these manifestations?
How has God shown Himself to you – in big or small ways? Share something you learned about Him through those experiences.
3) Chapters 25 – 40 of Exodus contain specific details about how the Tabernacle was prepared and set up. Read a short summary in Exodus 40:17-33. What was the purpose of the Tabernacle in the community of God’s people?
Read Hebrews 9:11-15 together. How is Jesus described in terms related to the Tabernacle?
In Hebrews 9:14 a “lesser to greater” comparison is used to emphasize how much better Jesus is as the sacrifice for sin. How would you explain in present day terms that Jesus is much better?(pro tip: read the passage in The Message or New Living Translation)
4) Pastor Bryan explained how the narrative arc of scripture shows what we were made for (Genesis 1-2), what happened to change things (Genesis 3), what God was willing to do to restore us (Gen 3:15 – the Cross), and what the ultimate fulfillment of His plan looks like (Revelation 21-22). Consider how Easter fits into this narrative. What did we learn about in Exodus that foreshadows Jesus and His work on the cross.
Think about your own faith journey and how the story of Easter fits into your life. How well do you understand the depth of Jesus’ love for you on the cross?
How are you now living as an expression of Jesus’ resurrection into a full and free life with Him?
If you have questions about what it means to fully put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we encourage you to ask your Life Group leader to explain it to you. It’s also good to let your group know to pray for you as you grow to understand the love and sacrifice Jesus made for you on the cross and how His resurrection fulfilled God’s plan to restore you to Himself.
Personal Spiritual Exercises
Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts.
Prayer Focus: Learn and recite this prayer in Revelation 4 as a way to enter into the praise of the glory of God that we’ve learned about in Exodus:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” (vs. 8)
“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.” (vs. 11)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 63 was written by David in response to God’s presence during his own wilderness experience. Read or listen to this Psalm throughout the week, paying attention to the images and feelings that come as you experience the Words washing over you. The point is not to gain “head knowledge” but a stirring in the heart as the Holy Spirit brings the Word to life in you.
Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.
Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?