Series: God The Anchor Of Our Victory
Title: Anchored in God’s Faithfulness
Text: Exodus 33:12-17
Series: God The Anchor Of Our Victory
Witness the extent of God’s faithfulness to His promise in action through the journey of the Israelites and remember that the same God walks with us.
1) God is faithful even when we are faithless v12-14
God’s faithfulness to His people is based on His Word, Hebrews 6:18 says God cannot lie, nor can He break an unconditional promise that He says He will fulfill. He is faithful to keeping the covenant even when we struggle in our faith because He is faithful to His promises. What does this mean to you personally in the midst of the struggles you experience in your faith? Have you been in a place where you are faithless – struggling to trust God? Share a recent struggle of faithlessness you are experiencing in your life. What are some passages in the Bible that reminds you of God’s faithfulness in such times?
Imagine you are ‘Moses’, where you witness some of the Israelites around you struggling with faithlessness. How can you strengthen and encourage the fellow believer to not give up and continue to trust in God’s faithfulness in his/her life?
Or imagine you are of the the Israelites who has forgotten God’s faithfulness, what is one area you need to repent of and ask God to help you to entrust your life to Him again?
Jesus and the gift of salvation is the greatest evidence of God’s faithfulness to His Word. He has not forsaken us when we feel weak or fail. Rather He has promised a way for us to have continual access to Him. Take some time to reflect and share how this changes the perception of the current struggles in your faith.
2) God’s faithful presence marks us as His people (v15-17)
In Exodus 33:15, Moses told God that if God’s presence is not with Israel, do not send them up. Moses understood that God’s presence with them was why they had victory in the first place. Unless God is with them, trying to advance alone will be futile. What can Moses’ confidence in God’s presence tell us about the importance of pursuing God and having his presence in our own lives? In our fast paced lives where many things can become our priorities, how can we be intentional to value God’s presence in our lives?
God’s presence is the only distinction between those who are called His people and those who are not. The way we live our lives bear witness to the presence of God. Spend some time to reflect on your character, values and decisions. How have they reflected the God whom you are worshiping? Are there any areas which might be misleading others when they observe your life? As a Life Group, take some time to pray for one another to be the salt and light wherever God placed you and ask God to help you bring His presence to people who need Him or have not known Him.
Title: Anchored in God’s Power
Text: Exodus 14
Series: God, the anchor of our Victory
Witness God’s display of power as He delivers His people to Victory, and remember that the same God fights for us.
1) God’s Power shows His Sovereignty
– The phrase “God is sovereign” is frequently used among Christians as a reminder, especially during times of uncertainty and difficulty. What does “God is sovereign” actually mean? What are some other instances in the bible where God showed Himself to be sovereign? What does the phrase mean to us personally? Share some stories of how God is / was sovereign over specific circumstances we faced in our lives.
– Compare a person who knows that his / her God possesses supreme or ultimate power, with someone who does not know who to turn to during times of uncertainty / difficulty. How might their thoughts, feelings and responses differ from one another?
– Think about moments in our lives where we encountered certain difficulties which made things very stressful. What’s our usual reaction and method of coping with such situations? If we know that our God has ultimate power over all situations, how might our response be different? Take turns to share.
2) God’s Power teaches us to depend on His strength
– In Exodus 14:14, God told Moses that He will fight for them, and that the Israelites need only to be still. What did God do subsequently to exhibit His power? Why was there a need for God to do that? What was God trying to teach the Israelites then?
– While the idea of God being powerful is not new, learning to depend on God’s strength during difficult times is an ongoing process for many of us and may not be intuitive. Why is that so? What is our natural tendency when facing difficult situations? How did this tendency come about? What might be the underlying mindset or attitude that leads to such tendencies? If there are subtle attitudes of self-reliance / self-sufficiency, come before God in repentance to seek His forgiveness.
– God reminds us that because He has won, we can rely on His strength to deliver us. Pray together that from here on, it is His strength that we will seek first, and not last, when facing difficulties.
3) God’s Power assures us we can trust in Him
– Our trust in God, just like our trust in the people around us. It grows with experiences and situations where God shows Himself faithful and trustworthy. Take turns to share some of these experiences with God, give thanks and encourage one another of His goodness.
– When believers go through unexpected circumstances and suffering, sometimes it is inevitable that our trust in God wavers as well. What does the Bible say about such moments? How do we reconcile our faith in a powerful God, with the hardships and difficulties that we go through in life?
– Many a times, we may not be able to understand what God’s purpose is for allowing His people to go through difficult times. Yet, we can choose to trust in His sovereignty, His power and His love for us. Pray together as a Life Group for this trust to be rooted in His love for us shown on the cross. Let us be grateful (and not forgetful) people during difficult times.
Title: Anchored in God’s compassion
Text: Exodus 3:7-10
Series: God The Anchor Of Our Victory
Through the cross, God has given us victory. Find out how God’s compassion enables us to overcome the sins and struggles of our lives.
1) God Knows Our Struggles (v7)
God is keenly aware of our struggles and cares for us. However, we sometimes are reluctant to be honest with God and ourselves regarding our struggles. Why is that so? Discuss.
What are some areas in our lives that we are struggling with today? How does understanding that God knows our struggles affect the way we view and respond to them?
2) God Acts In Our Struggles (v8)
Not only does God deliver us from our struggles (“out of Egypt”), He brings us into a life of victory (“into the Promised Land”). As believers we take heart in the blessed hope in Christ’s second coming and the eternal life we have. In your current struggle, what does victory look like? How can we hang on to our blessed hope? What are some areas of our lives that need to be changed in order for victory to happen?
The nature of victory requires that there is a struggle to begin with. How does knowing that victory will come refine and shape the way we approach our struggles?
Often, the greatest struggle amidst our struggles is choosing to depend on God and not on ourselves. What leads us to depend on ourselves in the first place? In our struggles, what are some ways in which we have been depending on ourselves? What difference would choosing to depend on God make?
3) God Sends Deliverers For Our Struggles (v9-10)
God sent Moses and worked through him to deliver Israel. Similarly, God often uses people to help us in our struggles. Who are some of the existing and potential deliverers in your lives? How open are we to allowing these deliverers to help us in our struggles, and why? What are some steps we can take to involve them more?
As Christians, God can and will use us to be deliverers for the many people He has positioned around us. What hinders us from being God’s deliverers? In what ways can you be a deliverer for the people around you? How can you partner with your LG members to be deliverers to the people around you?
Light is brightest in the darkest night. As Christians, how can we respond differently to crises such that we are truly shining for Jesus, both in our mindsets and our behaviours?
