Associated Scripture includes Exodus 19-20; 24-25; 32-34;
40
First of all I must say that Natalie did a GREAT job of
her turn of teaching this session. You
wouldn’t have known if she was nervous!
She really did great.
New Commands and a New Covenant
1)
How were the people to prepare themselves to
meet with God?
They had to physically prepare
in ways to make them as clean as holy as they could be on earth. They were to wash their clothes and abstain
from sexual relations. This allowed them to prepare their heart and minds to
come into the Lord’s presence. Think about how we prepare ourselves today. Do
we approach entering the Lord’s presence with the reverence he deserves? What
does our morning look like on Sunday? Do you rush around trying to get to the
church on time? Are you humbled by the fact that you are entering God’s house?
Is your own heart fully humbled and prepared to worship our Savior?
2)
What does this story of the giving of these new
commands tell you about the character of God?
God is holy. These rules were set so that you might be the
image bearer of God. In order to enter his presence, the Israelites had to
cleanse themselves of sin. They had to turn away from the worship of idols and
the practices learned while living in Egypt.
3)
What was the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
These were God’s rules to live
by. The first four were how we were to
treat God and the next six rules were how we were to treat one another. These rules were set so that we could reflect
God’s image. Understand also that God knew we would not be able to live by
these rules. He knew that we would fail him. Our incapability to live in this
manner shows again how much we need the grace given through Christ’s sacrifice.
4)
How can God be both the merciful forgiver of sin
and the punisher of the guilty?
He is sovereign. He has complete power and authority. He knows
the hearts of every soul ever created and the souls of those who ever will be
created. He knows when we truly repent of our wicked ways. He knows who has a
heart that loves Him, that fears His wrath. In Genesis 14:40-42 We see where the Israelites have sinned
against God again. We see that after Moses tell them of God’s anger; they feel
grief and decide to follow Him. Moses tells them, “Do not go up into the land
now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with
you.” You see, they did not receive the
Lord’s forgiveness because they did not have a repentant heart. God did not
confuse their admission of guilt with repentance.
Have you ever know you were
guilty of sin and asked for forgiveness knowing full well you would commit that
action again? Guess what, God knew that as well.
Think of God as our
parents. For those of us who are
parents, we must be able to forgive our children for the mistakes they make and
punish them when necessary. God knows
the heart of each person. He knows when
it is time to forgive or time to punish.
He is all things. He knows our
heart! He knows when you truly repent
for your sins!
5)
The Israelites became impatient and finally made
a golden idol in the shape of a calf for themselves. What are some false god/idols worshiped in
our society today?
This could be anything. It could be anything that you put before
God. Computer time, habits, your
children, your husband, work, etc. It
can also be self-advancement, worship of society’s views of who you are, your
achievements. This is both what you prioritize in front of the Lord and whom
you seek validation from. Do you make
time for the Lord? Do you actively seek Him in ALL things? Do you find ways to
actively SERVE HIM? When you serve are you seeking glory for yourself or for
the kingdom of God? Are you actively trying to win souls for Christ? Are you
scared to speak of your faith? Sometimes I think we are so afraid we will
offend others that we refrain from showing our Christianity. Our county was founded on Christianity. Crazy huh?
6)
The Lord spoke to Moses “as one speaks to a
friend.” What steps can you take to gain a deeper understanding of who God is?
We must keep an open dialog with
God. Our group spoke of the fact that
many times we can forget God except when we need something. What happens if the only time you call a
friend is when you need something?? That
friend would probably hesitate to pick up the phone. God would never do that but we really need to
keep God in our lives daily. Talk with
him every day and speak to him as if he is our very best friend.
Ask yourself this… When you
spend time with the Lord in study, prayer, fellowship with others, do you
listen for His direction from the experience? Are you having a one sided
conversation with Him? Are you actively seeking ways to be still in His
presence?
Video Discussion
1.
If we see God a s a cosmic killjoy just waiting
for people to do something wrong so he can catch and punish them, how will this
impact our relationship with him?
We would probably not see him as
a loving God. It would probably make
knowing God a more negative experience.
We might never feel good enough—so why would we even try to be a
Christian? If we thought of following
God’s rules as a killjoy this would play into Satan’s plan—which all started
with the Garden of Eden when Eve took that first bite. The enemy wants is to
doubt the heart of God toward us. Don’t give in to that! If all God did was tell us what we were doing
was wrong, we probably would never gain trust in the Lord. Instead, God allows us to follow him; he
allows us to sin; he allows us to repent; he loves us and acts as a parent. He loves us no matter what and guides us
along the way through study of His word, through prayer and even through times
of trial. Know that He is trying to help
you lead a life of fulfillment and peace.
2.
The Ten Commandments are the basic “rules of the
road” for how people are to relate to God and each other (Exodus 20.1-17; The
Story, pp 61-62). How would our lives
and faith improve if we followed these commands (in action and in spirit)? What can we do to embrace and follow these commands
more fully?
By doing this every day in
spirit and action we are placing God first.
Things we can do to remind us that were suggested in the Group: Read the
commandments every day. Natalie gave her
favorite Proverbs scripture 4:23. Guard
your heart above all things. “Keep your
heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” (NKJ)
Just another side note on this…
Remember that God’s grace is both instantaneous and continuous. Instantaneous
in the fact that you receive it immediately. Continuous in the fact that you
will need it for the rest of your life. You will fail at living the
commandments ALL of the time. Have you ever heard someone say this: My spirit
longs to be true but my flesh is weak? Know that when you ask and receive the
gift offered by Christ, you ARE NOT FIXED. This is a daily walk, you will
stumble. You can not expect spiritual maturity instantly. It is a walk. God
expects you to grow daily.
3.
Randy unpacked the reality that God is seeking
to come down and connect with his people…with us! He said that three things need to happen for
God to draw near to us in the Lower Story and experience his presence. Why is each of these so important?
a. There
must be rules to guide how people relate to God and to each other. Matthew 22: 37-39 came to Natalie when
answering this one. It states: “Jesus
said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul and with all your mind. This
is the first and great commandment. And
the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hand all the Law
and the Prophets.” (NKJ) Think about
this—for this is true. If you love your
neighbor as yourself, you will not break any of God’s laws!
b. God
will need a place to stay. Exodus 25:
8-9 states: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among
them. According to all that I show you,
that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings,
just so you shall make it.” (NKV). God
wanted to dwell with the people for the first time since the Garden of Eden.
For the Israelite’s it was the tabernacle. Now we have been given the Holy
Spirit to live in each of us daily. We don’t have to go to the tent of meeting.
God lives in each of us daily!
c. Sin
must be atoned for: Our sinful nature is
what keeps us apart from God. Just as
the Israelites had to cleanse themselves before meeting, we must also. For them, it was a very detailed and long
process to atone for sin. This was God’s way of showing them how devastating
the consequences of sin were. We see these consequences in the death of our
perfect Jesus. Jesus paid the highest price to atone for our sin.We must repent
of our sins in order for God to spend time with us. Come clean with the Lord. We are the place where God dwells. We are the tabernacle. The church is not a building but WE are.
4.
God no longer dwells in tents or temples, he
lives in us (Acts 7:48-50; 1 Corinthians 6:19).
How does recognizing that God dwells in us help connect his Upper Story
to our Lower Story on a daily basis?
He uses this so that he can have
a relationship with us! Not just a one
sided dialogue of prayer, not just a set of rules to live by…A personal
relationship. One that is unique to you and the Lord. As you know, having a relationship with
anyone takes work. Does God deserve the same amount of effort as you put into
other relationships in your life? Or does He deserve infinitely more?
5.
God showed his love for people and his desire to
connect the Upper and Lower Story by moving into their neighborhood. He settled in, right in their midst. God is still seeking to connect with us on a
deeply personal level. What are ways you
experience the presence and care of God breaking into your daily life?
This is personal for each of
you. I try to begin my day by thinking
of God and praying. I will try my hand
at reading the Ten Commandments! I will
use him every hour of the day at work and think of Him on my commute to home
from work! You don’t always have to
enter into formal prayer in order to have a relationship with God. Jesus became
our high priest. He is the intermediary between us and the Lord. Jesus also
called God ABBA…which means father! Talk to the Lord as you would to a father.
Talk to Him throughout the day, HE is waiting for you.
I know that it can be a
difficult relationship to understand of you didn’t have the ideal father. But
understand this, imagine what the perfect father would be to you. That is
exactly what the Lord offers.
6.
The chapter of The Story and Randy’s lesson both
reveal the third thing God had to do so that we could experience his presence
in a personal way. The biggest obstacle
of all needed to be overcome…human sin.
Sacrifices needed to be made so that human wrongs could be cleansed and
covered over (atoned for). How does the
sacrificial system found in The Story and the book of Leviticus pave the way
for the final sacrifice that would wash away all sins forever (the death of
Jesus on the cross)? Jesus became the
ultimate sacrifice for our sins. The
innocent blood of Jesus replaced those of innocent animals. He died for our sins so that we could have
the everlasting life.
7.
“Mad Cow Disease,” as Randy called it, was an
example of people trying to invent their own religion, to create their own way
to God. How do people still do this
today and how are the results just as disastrous? Examples given were: the Coexist symbol on
the back of cars; the Prosperity Gospel books, etc. Are you trying to place God
in a mold that fits your image of Him so that you can live your life the way
you want?
8.
God promised that his presence would be
with the people and they would stand out in the world because of it. This is still true today. What are some ways Christians should stand
out in our world? Name one area of your
life in which you sense God is calling you to look different to the world
because he is with you. My action should
reflect God! This is a personal question
for each of you. Do you remember the
song Jesus Freak by DC Talk? Nikki gave
that example. We all smiled when she
gave it…the lyrics are: “What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus
freak? What will people do when they
find that it's true. I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak. There
ain't no disguising the truth.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbB0QrBIs9k
Be proud of
the fact that Christ died for you. Offer that same love and acceptance you have
received from Him to others.
9.
Read movement 3 of The Story. What is the big theme of this third movement? Movement 3 is “Jesus left the upper Story to
come down into our Lower Story to be with us and to provide the way for us to
be made right with God. Through faith in
Christ’s work on the cross, we can now overturn Adam’s choice and have a
personal relationship with God!
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