Life Groups // Winter 2024 // Week 7
Posted February 23, 2024 — Lincoln Berean
Rooted in the Past, Sure of the Future, Faithful in the Present // Exodus 23:20-24:18
Introduction
This week we move forward in the Exodus narrative to find the Israelites pledging wholehearted allegiance to Yahweh. With God visibly present among them, elders appointed to lead them, and covenant agreement to bind them they watch Moses ascend the mountain. But are they prepared to wait well for him to return with the tablets?
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) In 5 words or less, how would you describe your favorite vacation spot?
2) Name a difficult lesson you’ve learned or an unintended skill you’ve acquired in life that you wouldn’t trade for anything now.
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 did you learn about the nature and actions of God in the sermon this week?
2) In Exodus 23:20-23, we learn that God had a plan to continue to guide His people through the wilderness. Who are we to understand the Angel to be in this passage?
What important needs does the Angel meet for God’s people?
Just as God prepared a place for His people here in Exodus, Jesus tells us in John 14:1-6 that He is preparing a place for those who follow Him. What do both passages tell you about God’s character?
We are learning how the Exodus narrative depicts a life of walking with God’s Spirit. How has that been shown in this passage?
If you’d like, share about a time when you experienced God preparing a way for you to follow that led you closer to Him.
3) The people of God repeat an important phrase in Exodus 24, verses 3 and 7, Write it down here:
Reflect on your own heart for a moment. How often do you wholeheartedly agree to doing or being something for God in an emotional moment? In general, how long does an emotional commitment last?
Read Philippians 4:8-9 and Colossians 3:1-4. What do these passages give us as a better guide than merely our emotions when we make a commitment to the Lord?
4) Exodus 24:8-14 tells us that elders would be responsible leaders while Moses went up the mountain. What was life in the camp supposed to look like for the Israelites during this time?
Pastor Jeff talked about what it means to “wait well.” How would you describe a person who waits well?
What can you do this week to help each other be the kind of people who wait well in all kinds of situations?
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. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life.
Prayer Focus: Set a timer for 10 minutes. Sit upright but comfortably in a chair with your palms open and upward on your lap. Focus on a word or short phrase about the character of God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. When your thoughts wander to the things on your to-do list or other people’s needs, redirect them back to the character of God. When the 10 minutes is up, close in a short prayer of gratitude.
Scripture Focus: Humility is an important quality in leaders and followers alike. Read Psalm 131 to point you toward humility throughout the week. Here it is in the ESV with a blank space for you to insert your own name in verse 3.
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O ___________, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
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?