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The God Who Rescues: Community Discussion
By admin | April 29, 2008
This Sunday we will begin our series through the book of Exodus as we encounter the God who rescues and creates a people for Himself. This is a fundamentally important concept in several ways - it is not only critical to understanding the unfolding story of redemption in the Old Testament but it will also help us understand the nature of our salvation and God’s plan for the world. As always, the beginning is a very good place to start and so we will begin this Sunday with an introduction to the book via an examination of chapters 1 and 2.
We are also beginning a new method of generating edifying discussion among our church family, so each Monday there will be an open thread for you to comment and ask questions about the previous sermon, and each week there will also be a post such as this one introducing the next sermon and inviting you to read the passage in advance so that you can take part in discussion of the text before it is preached.
So, without further ado:
This Sunday’s text: Exodus 1:1-2:25
Question for discussion (yes, it is open ended - it’s designed to prime the pump and get you to ask more questions of your own): When you read this narrative, does anything surprise you or intrigue you?
Topics: Exodus |
4 Responses to “The God Who Rescues: Community Discussion”
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May 2nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Does Moses’ early life (chapter 2) intrigue anyone? Why do you think the specific things that are mentioned about his life-story (his birth, rescue from death, murder of an Egyptian, the Hebrews’ response to him, fleeing to Midian, etc.) are brought up? In the context of the book and the rest of the story that will unfold, why are those the important things to know about Moses? How does this early Moses narrative set the stage for what is about to come?
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
In another direction - why is Israel in Egypt in the first place (and should they be there, or do they really belong elsewhere), and why does God allow them to suffer while there? What is God’s role in this story prior to 2:23-25?
May 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
At first read of Exodus 1 and 2, Moses’ early life and his “unlikeliness” to be anything was not what hit me….what stood out was the midwives who lied and were blessed which raised all sorts of questions in my mind. (Maybe I’ll address this later.) After sitting through Derrick’s sermon, though, I am blown away at the unlikeliness, undworthiness, and uselessness of Moses himself. This paricular morning I could totally relate to Moses who didn’t exactly have himself pulled together and was not an effective leader on his own. And yet God uses him. That is totally inconceivable to me. More days than not I feel totally useless because I am so sinful and screwed up, sometimes even feeling like I ended up in what should have been someone else’s life. How encouraging it is for me to know that God didn’t put me in the life I live because I am “good enough” but instead its because He is doing something bigger than me. What I want to know is how to live day day in the life he’s given me despite the fact that I’m not good enough.
I welcome comments though it may be hard to comment because this probably wasn’t easy to follow.
Just as a further comment, its so comforting to rest in God’s grace knowing that even if I don’t get it all figured out Christ’s blood is sufficient…He’s holding me and won’t let go.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Julie, I’m copying your comment to the sermon thread if I can figure out how.