week of 12/26

Unit 4 Session 4

GOD SHOWS HIS FAITHFULNESS

PSALM 51 ; LAMENTATIONS 3 ; MATTHEW 1-2

God is faithful to keep His Word, demonstrated most of all in the fulfillment

of His promise to provide Jesus Christ.

When Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt, God led the way and won

the victory because God is always faithful to His people - He keeps His

promises. We can see this truth throughout the Bible and throughout 

history. What He says is true, and what He says He will do, He will do.

The Bible consists of stories of God's faithfulness even when things 

looked bleak.  Though at times God's people thought He abandoned them,

God was still there. He is always there working on behalf of His people,

ultimately so the Savior, the Messiah, will restore His people from their

brokenness.

Points to consider:

✞   God is faithful to love the afflicted.

     * What are some ways you have seen God's faithful

        love in your life when you were struggling?

✞   God is faithful to provide the Messiah.

     * What are some ways we can worship the Messiah?

✞   God is faithful to forgive the repentant.

     * What does it mean to have a repentant heart?

     * Knowing that God is faithful to fulfill His promises

        and faithful to forgive us when we repent, how

        should we live?

week of 12/19

Unit 4 Session 3

GOD SAVES HIS PEOPLE

eXODUS 13-15

God is the One Who wins the victory for His people.

The many years of cruel oppression the Hebrews experienced at the

hand of a new Pharaoh were coming to an end. God had heard their

cries and sent an unconventional deliverer with unconventional methods.

There were no armies, but the outstretched hand of God rained down

plague upon the world's strongest and most confident superpower. The

final blow - the death of the firstborn sons - brought Egypt to its knees,

so Pharaoh commanded Israel to go. God's people were finally free, but

still more opportunities for the Hebrews to trust the God of Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob lay ahead.

Points to consider:

✞   God directs His people.

     * How have you seen God work in your life through

        a difficult path to bring about your good?

     * What are some ways God leads us as believers

        today?

✞   God fights for His people.

     * Why might we find it difficult to stand still and

        wait for the Lord's salvation?

✞   God delivers His people.

     * How does the crossing of the Red Sea compare to

        our salvation through faith in Jesus?

week of 12/12

 Unit 4 Session 2

GOD SHOWS HIS POWER

eXODUS 5-12

God is faithful to bring deliverance from bondage, but that deliverance came

at a price.

Moses accepted the call to be God's messenger in Egypt, going to Pharaoh

with the full authority and power of God, the great "I AM". But upon arrival,

his message was met with resistance and retaliation by Pharaoh, which

resulted in near-rejection of Moses' leadership by the people of God. Yet

God reaffirmed His covenant with Moses. God's power would be demonstrated

in full force as He unleashed a series of plagues, culminating in the death

of Egypt's firstborn sons and the sparing of Israel's through the Passover

sacrifice.

Points to consider:

✞   God remembers His covenant with His people.

     * How has God's Self-revelation in Scripture since

        the creation account increased our knowledge

        of Him?

✞   God requires a perfect sacrifice from His people.

     * What are some ways believers in Jesus are marked

        by the faithfulness of God on their behalf?

✞   God releases judgment in the midst of His people.

     * Why is it important to recognize the just judgment

        of God against sin?

     * How has God worked to bring you to a Biblical

        understanding of His just judgment and salvation

        by grace?

week of 12/5

 Unit 4 Session 1

GOD SHARES HIS NAME

eXODUS 1-4

God heard the cries of His people in distress and responded by raising up Moses, the one He would send to provide deliverance.

Through Joseph's influence, God's people initially lived in Egypt as honored

guests. But a new Pharaoh came to power who did not remember Joseph.

As a result, God's people suffered under brutal oppression in Egypt for

generations. But the covenant-keeping God heard their cries and prepared

to demonstrate His power on their behalf. He would do so through an unlikely

messenger - a Hebrew man named Moses, Egypt's fallen prince, who was

grinding out his existence in obscurity, shepherding on the backside of

nowhere.

Points to consider:

✞   God reveals His holiness to His servant.

     * Why is it important that we learn about God's

        holiness from His special revelation?

✞   God reveals His identity to His servant.

     * What did God's name have to do with the

        plight of His people in Egypt?

✞   God reveals His power to His servant.

     * How have you seen God's sovereign power

        on display?

     * Why do we need God's power through Jesus

        to save us from our sin?

week of 12/5

Unit 3 Session 6

THE GOD OF PROVIDENCE

psalm 103 ; matthew 5-7  colossians 1

The Lord, through His providential work in creation, holds

all things together, rules over all, and provides all that is 

needed.

In the wake of the flood and the scattering of humanity at the Tower of

Babylon (or Babel), God's plans seem to be struggling, if not failing. His

image-bearers largely reject His sovereign and benevolent rule. But

things are not as they seem, for God continues to hold all things together

and works in His creation and creatures to accomplish His will. God

demonstrated this by calling Abraham and making a covenant with him

and his descendants to bless the world. In spite of human sin, and often

through it, God providentially took care of His people and worked all

things for His glory and our good.

Points to consider:

✞   The Lord's hand holds together all of creation.

     * How should we read the Bible in light of the

        fact that Jesus is God?

     * How can we show that Jesus is our foundation

        in life?

✞   The Lord's hand rules over all in righteousness.

     * What are some ways human beings run from

        their mortality?

✞   The Lord's hand provides what we need.

     * What are some ways you have seen the Lord

        provide when you were focused on trusting Him?