Week 1 Sermon Discussion Guide

Open Up:

In addition to Moses, who are some flawed, broken people God used in the Bible?

Why do you think God seems to delight in using broken people?

Dig In:

Life, this side of heaven, will have moments or seasons of “groaning.” As we learned Sunday, God sees and hears our groaning. Read Exodus 2:23-25 & 3:7-10.

What caused the Jews groaning? What are some ways we live in “slavery” today? How does it lead to groaning?

How would you describe God’s response to their groaning in Exodus 2?

Read Psalm 56:8-11. What do we learn about God from these verses? How is this a source of encouragement when facing difficult seasons of life?

Based on Exodus 3:7-10, how was God going to deal with their groaning? What might be a modern day application for us?

As we will see in the book of Exodus, God will turn His peoples’ groaning into glory. And He would use Moses, a man who experienced groaning in his own life as a result of murdering an Egyptian man.

According to 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, why does God use broken people (“jars of clay”) like Moses, like us, to impact others for His kingdom?

Go on and read vs. 12-18 of 2 Corinthians 4. From this passage, what are some lessons we can learn about groaning and God’s desire to use people who have experienced groaning?

Close Out:

Review Exodus 4:1-17. Despite God’s words of comfort, Moses’ reaction was to ask God to send someone else. Why do you think Moses responded that way? What was God’s reaction?

So often we focus on what we cannot do instead of focusing on what God can do. How do you struggle with that sometimes?

Like with Moses, God can take anything that’s in our “hands” to do powerful things. For Moses, it was a staff. What in your life could God use to impact His people and His kingdom?