Leader’s Guide

Your Goals today:

Review Purpose of

Lifegroup.

Review last week’s

main idea!

Discuss Story.

Plan Christmas

party.

Ice Breaker

A Worship Moment

The Psalms have been used by the Jewish people for years to worship Yahweh. Today we can still use them to worship our Lord, because He is found in the Psalms as well!

Read Below:

Icebreaker instructions:

Have each member take turns reading a verse at a time from Psalm 51.

After reading, have the group mediate silently in prayer on the verse. Then either the leader or someone willing, re-read the Psalm.

Close with a prayer which focuses on what the Psalm has spoken to our hearts and what our response should be.

THEME: CHRIST-LIKE HUMILITY AND DIVINE FORGIVENESS

Story Week LESSON 12

NABC 4 Foundations

Evangelism

Who needs the Hope of Christ this season?

Lifegroup Calendar December

December 1 Wrestling with God 12/1

December 8 Joseph/ Chap 45 12/8

December 15 Lifegroup Parties 12/15

January 5 Lifegroup Leader Training 9-12

Groups start back January 12 2014

We will be studying a series called

“Stewarding Your Redemption” in Exodus

Week 12: Genesis 45

Caption describing picture or graphic.

FINDING JESUS IN GENESIS

Leader’s Guide

Your Goals today:

1. Review Group Purpose.

2. Review group

Responsibilities.

3. Enjoy the Lesson.

Ice Breaker

Noodling Around

Cooked pasta pieces are kept in a bowl, an empty bowl is placed on the side and the partici-pants are given an un-cooked spaghetti strand. In under a minute, the contestant needs to transfer 6 pieces of pasta using only the spaghetti which is held in the mouth. The con-testant should be careful and avoid using hands, or it will result in a foul. Also, if the uncooked spaghetti strand breaks, the game is lost.

You will need :

Uncooked spaghetti

Cooked pasta.

A willingness to have fun!

THEME: LIVING OUT OUR REDEMPTION

Story Week Leader Notes

EXODUS CHAPTER 16

Special Points of

Interest:

Keep planning for your Mis-

sion Outpost project. It’s

only 3 WEEKS away!

Lifegroup Calendar March-April

Fellowship Dinner 3/2

Story: Exodus 16 3/9

Triads 3/16

OFF 3/23

Mission Outpost 3/30

Fellowship Dinner 4/6

Exodus 19 and 32 4/13

Week 8: Exodus 16

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Review Last Week

Review Curriculum Goals

Page 2 EXODUS CHAPTER 16

This semester we will be studying through Exodus with an emphasis on stewardship. We all know we are called to be wise stewards of the things God has given us. We have been taught to properly handle our time, talent and treasure for the Glory of God! Doesn’t good stewardship ex-tend event beyond these good gifts? Last month we considered Exodus 7-11 and looked at the Plagues God used as a means to deliver His people. We noted that sacrifice of life for redemp-tion repeats itself starting with Abel’s sacrifice, to Abraham’s sacrificial offer of Isaac, to the Pass-over Lamb ultimately to Christ’s sacrifice for us. Are we not also called to faithfully handle our salvation? Not that we can do anything to earn or deserve our redemption, God is solely respon-sible in that area, but in response to His saving work what is our responsibility? This is the ques-tion we will seek to answer this semester.

1. To help us as a group grow in a deeper love and appreciation of the Word of God and it’s message.

2. To encourage us as a group to seek to help one another bet-ter understand God’s redemptive story, and our role in it.

3. To help us as individuals learn how to properly understand the message of God’s Word, and carry it to a lost world.

Transition discussion:

We are shifting a focus from thinking in terms of receiving our redemptions to living out our redemption. Based on what we are learning so far,

what are some ways we can live this out?

Transition Question

In our story today we learn that the provision of the manna was not just a way to satisfy Israel’s hunger physi-

cally, but more importantly to begin to shape a understanding of how their

entire lives should fall under the provi-sion of, and be sustained by God.

Tell The Story

A. Tell the Story.

Have group close their bible's, and just listen as

you tell (not read) the story.

B. Rebuild the story.

Have the group open their bibles. Take time to walk back through the text, calling

on individual group members to help tell what happened first, next, and last in the

story. Make sure you cover the entire story.

HEAD, HEART, HAND QUESTIONS

Head Questions

Page 3 LESSON 12

These questions are used to understand how the Word of God is shaping our lives. We use these “Head, Heart, and Hand Questions” to help you clearly identify who God is and who we are in relation-ship with Him.

Head Questions: What we need to know.

Heart Questions: Deals with attitudes or beliefs that either need to be challenged or strengthened.

Hand Questions: Helps take what we have learned and apply it, or put it into action.

1. Exodus 13-16 describes a reoccurring theme of trust-ing in God. In what ways did God physically demonstrate His trustworthiness to the people? (Ex. 13:20-22; 14:13-

18; 29-31; 15:25-26; 16:4-5; 16:13-15).

2. What were the observances God commanded (Ex. 13:1-3; 11-13; 13:4-9)?

What is the purpose of the observances?

3. How did the people react when traveling in the desert in Exodus 16? What

causes the people to grumble? What was their focus on?

4. How did God provide for His people, even in the midst of their sin

(complaining)?

5. Compare Exodus 16:4 with John 6:32-35, what ultimate provision is in view

here?

6. How does Israel’s complaining become a picture of us prior to our salvation in

Christ? What lessons can we glean from this understanding?

1. In what ways do you identify with the Jews in this story? How has grumbling caused you to disobey or

distrust God?

2. Is obedience about getting right with God? What is

the purpose of obedience?

3. What does the struggle of the Hebrews to trust God

reveal about our hearts?

4. Based on our study today what must we practice in order to be living out our redemption. See Exodus

16:21; 22-26.

Hand Questions

1. Do we know people in our lives struggling to obey

God?

2. How can we use the truths from this lesson to coun-

sel them toward obedience?

3. How can we praise God in light of this story? What

prayers should be offered to Him?

Page 4 EXODUS CHAPTER 16

Heart Questions

Leader Notes:

Commit to and Share the Group Challenge: Our church is challenging each of us to receive EE training this year. Classes will be offered each quarter as part of our Wednes-day Night Discipleship. Let's make a pact together to at-tend one of these trainings.

HEAD QUESTIONS

The Hebrews’ journey began with preparation. God commands Moses to instruct the people in observances of unleavened bread and concentration of the first born. The people are heading to a promised land, and God sees it necessary to guide the people with a reminder of who He is as their leader and God. The ob-servance of unleavened bread in Exodus 13:4-9, practiced for seven days, is the beginning hallmark of God preparing the people in purity. When placed in dough, a lump of yeast works its way through the whole loaf. In the New Testament, yeast is used to describe the permanence of evil (1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9). The He-brews are leaving their lives of enslavement and the unleavened bread repre-sents the sanctification. This parallels believers today who have left their old life, enslaved to sin, and yield to the process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

The preparation continues with the beginning of dedication and sacrifice of the first born (13:1-3, 11-13). God is not commanding the first born son to be sacri-ficed, but dedicated. The first born of livestock however is sacrificed to redeemed the first born son (Ex. 13:13). The dedication and redemption observed reminds the people of their dependence and trust in God, who has delivered them to free-dom and will continue to provide. The Lord goes further to establish trust by pro-viding a physical demonstration of His trustworthiness. He leads the people as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:20-22). The pillar never left its position; it remains dependable day and night. Meanwhile Pharaoh changes his mind about allowing the Hebrews to go and pursue the people with an army. God, in His sovereignty, allows the pursuit and uses it to further display His glory. He commands Moses to stretch out his hands over the Red Sea, part-ing it, and allowing the people to escape the coming army (Ex. 14: 13-18, 29-31). The Lord finishes off Pharaoh’s army, instructing Moses to close the waters over them (Ex. 14:26-28). Despite the observance and the physical demonstration of God’s trustworthiness, the people struggle to trust God.

Traveling through the Shur Desert, the people began to grumble about lack of drinkable water. Moses cries out to God with intercession, and God answers by commanding him to throw a piece of wood in the water , sweetening it (Ex. 15:25). God begins to give the law to the people. He encourages them if they pay attention and obey, then they will avoid ill health (Ex. 15:26).

EXODUS CHAPTER 16

Leader Notes

He is prepping them to learn to completely depend on Him to meet all their needs. The culmination of which we see as He graciously hears their sinful complaining and provides heavenly nourishment in the form of bread from Heaven, or Manna. Of course, this physical provi-sion ultimately points to a greater spiritual provision. We learn in John 6:32-35 that Jesus self identifies as the Bread from Heaven reminding the Jews of His day of the ancient provision of God, and how it ulti-mately was pointing to a dependence not of the stomach but of the heart. For when you eat the Manna you hunger again, but when you eat the true bread of Heaven you will never hunger again!

This is a great reminder that asfollowersofJesus, everybreath, every beat of our hearts, every sunrise, every provision should cause us to sing a song of thankful praise to Him, our savior, who died for us, took our sin, and rose victorious over death on our behalf. Not for anything we have done, but in spite of all we have done. We are the ones who like Israel grumble,complain,andmurmuragainstHis will in our situations.Think about your last moment of stress, or a time when you went through difficulty. What was your response? Where you one who said, thank you, Lord, for this chance to prove my de-pendence on you? Or did you respond with complaining? God is faithful to provide for us despite our negative response. Exodus 16 and John 6 prove that he will keepHispromisestous!

HEART QUESTIONS

Oh how quickly one loses focus. Although the people witnessed first hand the provision of the Lord, once in the desert of Sin they had for-gotten again. Here the whole community grumbled against Moses, remarking he has brought them out to starve (16:1-3). The people have lost their focus on God and turned their attention to the heat and desert conditions surrounding them. The Lord hears the people grum-bling, and again provides for their need. Moses points out to the peo-ple their distrust (16:7-8) and instructs them on how to receive God’s provision. The Lord is very specific with how to gather the bread. The specification of how to receive is both to test the people and build trust

Leader Notes:

in them. They are required to gather just enough for the day (16:4) and on the sixth enough for two days. The bread is gathered in the morning (vs. 4, 13) and the quail is provided at twilight (vs. 13). When these instructions were not fol-lowed, then the consequence is spoiled and stinky bread (vs. 20). If the people waited too long, the bread melted away (vs. 21). God has designed provision, but the provision can not be fulfilled if one cannot follow the instructions. When we are children, we are told not to eat our dessert or snack before dinner. Other-wise, we lose our appetite for the nourishment provided. The struggle reveals the broken gap of trust between man and God. Jesus points this out to the Jews of His day in John 6.

Jesus points out to those following they are not looking for him to know more about him. Rather, they are looking to see how to get their temporary needs met (Jn. 6:25-27). Jesus is speaking to the people’s short-sightedness, working for temporary fulfillment. He is calling them to recognize Himself as an eternal fulfill-ment. Living out our salvation begins with the relationship which assumes trust. It is evident the Jews are puzzled by Jesus’ statement, inquiring what works are required to obtain this eternal life (vs. 28). Jesus answers simply, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he as sent” (6:29). Jesus does not deny the provision, but changes the wording used. He speaks to them in relational terms. It is not about works but a relationship with God. Take notice when Jesus teaches on obeying Him (e.g. John 15). He does give a list of works, however refers to what He has taught and modeled. When find the summation of Christ’s teaching in John 13:34, to love. This command follows the model of humble ser-vice. It can be assumed Jesus is concerned more with our heart attitude. If our hearts are tuned to His Spirit, then we can trust Him with the results. When we attempt to focus on our desires, seeking to have them met, then we lose sight and become disobedient.

HAND QUESTIONS

To live out our redemption we do not focuses on our weakness or circumstances for direction—we live out our redemption by focusing our dependence and trust in Christ. How do we do this?

We abide in His presence (John 15). Abiding assumes our devotion. Devotion assumes our obedience. The people in the desert focused on their circum-stances and had forgotten what God had done to provide. As believers, we need to remind ourselves how God has provided in the past. Whatever my need, whatever the circumstance, we know God is faithful and will provide.

Individual Homework

Day 1: Pray: That God would open our minds to understand His Word.

Read: Exodus 18-20

Write Journal observations: Take time to write down what you are learning individually.

Questions: Are you sharing on a deepening level in your Triad? Why or why not?

Day 2: Pray: That God would open our minds to understand His Word.

Read: Exodus 21-23

Write Journal observations: Take time to write down what you are learning individually.

Day 3: Pray: That God would open our minds to understand His Word.

Read: Exodus 24-26

Write Journal observations: Take time to write down what you are learning Individually.

Tweet: If you use the social media tool twitter, tweet out an observation from this weeks

study using the hash tag #SORweek3

By using this hash tag you will be able to see each others thoughts and encourage one an-other in this journey!

Leader Notes:

Study Notes:

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Prayer Requests: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your business tag line here.

Primary Business Address Your Address Line 2 Your Address Line 3 Your Address Line 4

We’re on the Web

Nabclifegroup.blogspot.com

work sheets for each group member, not each couple.

Next week: Triads. The following week is MISSION OUTPOST

Be certain to make copies of the Home-

Next Week: Triads

You may need to go ahead an make preparation for your next fellowship din-ner.

Don’t forget to be inviting new people to join your group that week.

Group Homework for Next Week

Equipping the Body to be Jesus to our World

Close the meeting:

1. Pray

2. Have a group discussion about Triads.

3. Hand out homework.

4. Next week we hold our first Triads!

5. Encourage group participation.