This material is intended for either personal or group discussion. Please use the material as best suits your situation.
GATHERING
· Welcome
· Check in—updates, prayer requests, sharing
· Opening Prayer
READ: Exodus 3:1-17 [March 20, 2022 Nelson Ave Morning Message]
· What do you notice about these verses?
· What questions do you have about these verses?
· What do you sense is the tone of this passage?
VIDEO: Watch: “Exodus 1-18” (Bible Project) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH_aojNJM3E
· What comments do you have about this video?
· How does this video help you put the above reading (Exodus 3:1-17) into context?
· How does this video help you understand the main theme(s) of the first half of the book of Exodus (chapters 1-18)?
QUESTIONS [Exodus 3:1-17]
· What does Mt. Sinai represent in this passage, the book of Exodus and in the Bible in general?
· Why is the burning bush so fascinating? What do you think it represents to Moses and to us as readers?
· Is “the angel of the Lord” (3:2) the same as (or to be identified with) “God” (3:4)?
· Why is Moses so reluctant to do what God calls him to do? (see 3:11; 3:13; 4:1; 4:10; 4:13)? Can you relate to this reluctance on the part of Moses?
· What does God’s name (“I am who I am”) mean to you? Where else do we hear reference to this name in the Bible’s Story?
· What does God’s name (“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”—verses 5,15,16) mean to you?
· When you think about the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (and their families) in the book of Genesis what do we learn about the “I am who I am”? What kind of God is this? (be as specific as you can by thinking about specific stories and interactions from the book of Genesis)?
· What do you think we are called to know about God, about Moses and about ourselves from this passage?
· Do you have any final comments or questions?
CONCLUSION PRAYER
DISMISSAL