Opening Discussion

• Who is someone who annoyed you at first, but as you got to know them, you became friends?

Read and Discuss

Exodus 3:1-10

1 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. 3 So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

5 “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”6 Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them, 10 therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

• Why was Moses in the wilderness?
• Why did God use a burning bush to get Moses’ attention?
• What was the significance of Moses removing his sandals?
• Why did God bring up Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
• What do we learn about God’s character from this interaction?
• What are some ways God speaks to us today?

Read Exodus 3:11-17

11 But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”

13 Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”

14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

16 “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.

• Why did God choose Moses to rescue the Israelites from the Egyptians?
• Why didn’t Moses think he was qualified for the job?
• What does God’s response to Moses’ doubts show us about God?
• When you have doubts, how do you discuss them with God?
• How had God been working behind the scenes to build the community of the Israelites?
• What are some reasons Moses might not have wanted to go back to Egypt?
• When you separate yourself from the community of others, why might you not want to go back into that community?
• What is significant about God’s name, I AM WHO I AM?
• Why was it important for God to establish a community of people set apart from the rest of the world?
• What ways are you part of that community today?
• What are some ways the community of followers of Jesus is helpful to the world around us?
• What are some ways the community of followers of Jesus can improve?

Read Romans 12:18

18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

• How had Moses not lived at peace with the Egyptians and the Israelites?
• What is easy to live out about this verse?
  • What is difficult about this verse?
• Are there any situations in which you are avoiding peace with someone?
  • What is keeping you from that forgiveness?
• God walked Moses back to the people he had run from because of his sin. Who is God calling you back to that you may have run away from?

Apply it!

• What do you need to do this week to help restore peace to a situation you are involved with?
  • Who will you talk to about it?
  • When will you do this?

Memorize it!

Romans 12:18- If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Prayer TACOS

Thanksgiving- Spend a few moments as a group just praying for things you are thankful for.

Adoration- Worship the Lord for taking us while we were still sinners and bringing us into community with Him and others

Confess those times when you have not made peace with others. Also confess those times when you have purposefully hurt others.

Others- Pray that the Lord would put someone in your life that you can invite into your community this week

Self- Ask the Lord for courage to talk to someone whom you need to make peace with

Closing Thoughts

Moses saw his people, the Israelites, being abused. Even though he grew up as Egyptian royalty, he knew he had to do something to help his oppressed people. So he took matters into his own hands and killed an Egyptian. As a result, the Israelites now saw Moses as a murderer and not as a rescuer.

Sin always separates. Whenever we try to do things by our own power and our own ways, instead of the Lord’s way, it separates us from the community around us. But that’s what is awesome about God’s community, it’s about restoration.

God met Moses where he was at, a shepherd in the wilderness trying to hide who he was. Moses resisted, but God answered his every doubt. When we feel separated from the community, an outcast, unworthy of love, God meets us where we are. When we feel separated from the community because we feel superior to those around us, better than them, God meets us where we are. He reminds us not of who we are, but who He is. I AM WHO I AM.

Once we realize in whose presence we are standing, we bow down in worship. It’s in this place of reverence, and realization that we are sinful, that the Lord starts to work in our hearts. He restores us to Him through Jesus’ death on the cross and rising from the dead, then restores us to the community around us. This restoration is not only for our benefit but also to be an example to those around us so that they too can see their is a place for them in the body of Christ.