This blog contains:
- Community group/family study
- Daily bible studies
- You can listen to all the messages at: Link to audio content
- You can watch this blog in video form if you go to our Facebook page: CCP FB Page
COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY 5: PUT GOD
FIRST
After travelling for 3 months the Israelites
arrive at Mount Sinai where they will meet with God in a special way. They will
camp here for nearly a year as God gives them His laws to live by. Throughout
Israel’s Journey we see periods when they are stationary as God gives them His
laws, followed by periods of journeying. God works in seasons and cycles - On
the Journey of life we need to ensure that we have longer and shorter seasons
of meeting God to hear His voice or we will lose our way on the way.
MOUNTAIN OF MEETING
•
What does God desire for
them and how are they to attain this? (19:1-8)
•
We could misunderstand these
words, believing that we have to work for our acceptance and salvation. What
does Romans 3:20-24 say about a major function of the Law and how
righteousness is obtained?
•
What is their response to
God’s call for whole-hearted devotion? (19:7-8)
NO OTHER GODS
The first four commands are about loving God; God
desires all of us to love Him above all things because He is most worthy,
beautiful and satisfying.
COMMAND 1: LOVE THE ONLY TRUE GOD
•
Read Exodus 20:1-3. What is
God’s attitude to having other gods?
•
As Christians we worship the
one God who is three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Trinity). How is
baptism an expression of devotion? (See Matthew 28:19) Baptism is not optional;
it’s a command of Christ.
COMMAND 2: LOVE
GOD NOT IMAGES
·
Read Exodus 20:4-8. Making
images for use in prayer and worship are forbidden. No matter how good the
image, it limits God and we are inclined to worship the image rather than God.
What does Jesus say about true worship in John 4:23-24?
•
If we are to avoid idolatry
one must use the breadth of scripture to give the content of our worship to the
God who is invisible. How do you or could you use scripture in your prayer and
worship?
• What does Exodus 32:1-6 reveal about the true condition of their hearts?
Idols (alternatives to God) are an ever-present temptation. How can we keep our
hearts pure?
COMMAND
3: LOVE GOD BY REPRESENTING HIM WELL
•
What does the third Command
(20:7) prohibit?
•
When I was at school the head
teacher would remind us that as we travelled between home and school wearing
the uniform we represented the name of the school. This is true of Christians -
God’s name is glorified or defamed by how we journey through life. Blasphemy is
something for which we are all guilty but, by the Spirit’s grace, we can grow
in glorifying the name of God in our lives. How can one bring glory to the name
of Jesus and how can one grow in this?
COMMAND 4: LOVE
GOD WITH OUR TIME
•
What does the fourth Command
(20:8-11) ask of us?
•
With the coming of Jesus the
Sabbath command is now fulfilled by our rest in Christ as we put our faith in
Him for salvation. What does Heb. 4:1-3 say about rest and how can we live in
the good of this each day?
I would add that when many people say that our Sabbath
is resting in Christ every day, what they really mean is not being devoted to
God or His people in any real way! What we know about the New Covenant is that
the Spirit’s work in us should be seen in greater devotion than any external
command can create!
NOW PRAY AND WORSHIP TOGETHER
•
Spend some time thanking God
and praying together out of today’s text and discussions.
•
How is your passion and
obedience toward God at the moment? Perhaps you would like to pray for one
another to have your love refreshed.
DAILY BIBLE DEVOTIONAL
PERSONAL BIBLE STUDIES WEEK 5 – EXODUS 19–32
MONDAY: GOD WHO KEEPS HIS PROMISES
Exodus 19:1-2 On the first day
of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came
to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered
the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the
mountain.
God kept His promise to bring them out of Egypt and to this mountain
(See Exodus 3:12) God keeps His promises. The Journey of the Israelites is a long
lesson in learning to trust and obey God. Will we cut out the wandering by
trusting God?
TUESDAY: GOD’S GRACE TO HIS PEOPLE
Exodus 19:3-6 Then Moses went
up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what
you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people
of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you
on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep
my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
God had chosen them to be a ‘treasured possession’ and ‘kingdom of
priests’ and ‘holy nation’. This was both a gift (God chose them for this) and
a responsibility (will they choose this?). Likewise Peter says of
Christians,
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light.
He has brought us to this ‘mountain’ of grace - will we live as chosen,
holy, a royal priesthood and let Him carry us ‘eagles wings’?
WEDNESDAY: LOVE GOD’S LAW
Exodus 20:1-3 And God spoke
all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. (Read
20:4-17 also)
The Ten Commandments are by no means all of the law that God will give
them whilst they are on this journey, but they are a pithy summary of them all.
Too many, even Christians, despise God’s laws, but they are beautiful and are
to applied (in the context of Jesus having come). Can I encourage you to memorise
these ten commands and meditate on them? The only clarification I would make is
that I believe that the Sabbath command is now fulfilled by our rest in Christ
as we put faith in Him for salvation (See Hebrews 4:1-3).
THURSDAY: GOD’S PRESENCE WITH THE PEOPLE ON THE
JOURNEY
Exodus 25:8-10 have them make a
sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and
all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. “Have them
make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide,
and a cubit and a half high.
God commands them to make a number of items that symbolise His presence
with them. They make a portable temple (and furnishings) - The Tabernacle; and,
at the heart of this structure was the Ark, where God would be present in a
special way. On all their travels to the Promises Land they were to have God’s
presence at the centre of the community. All of this points to what Christians
enjoy in a fuller way - God is present in each Christian by Spirit; we are
living stones and form a temple for God - His presence is among us.
Exodus 29:46 They will know that
I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell
among them. I am the Lord their God.
FRIDAY: THIS CALF BROUGHT YOU OUT OF SLAVERY
Exodus 32:4-6 He took what they
handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it
with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up
out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf
and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” So the next day
the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship
offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
How quick the people were to forget and turn to an idol from the true
God. But we are all prone to doing the same thing. We idolise money, status,
sex, youth, beauty… as we trust and give our hearts to these things. Pray that
God would give you grace to see the idols in your own life and turn to the
simple beauty of Christ.
SATURDAY: LOVE PRAYS
Exodus 32:11-14 But Moses sought
the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn
against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a
mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that
he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the
face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster
on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you
swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars
in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and
it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did
not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Moses intercedes for the people. Our love for people could be measured
by how we pray for them. Love prays. If we are concerned for anyone, let’s do
the very best thing that we can do for them - pray. People’s greatest need is God.
We see Paul’s Moses-like heart when he says,
Romans 9:1-3 I speak the truth
in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit – I
have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I
myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of
my own race
0 comments:
Post a Comment