Pardoning and Punishing Sin

Pardoning and Punishing Sin

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we unpack the final statement - God's eagerness to forgive paired with his commitment to justice - and feel the tension at the heart of the biblical narrative.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34:1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read the final lines, "...forgiving sin... but by no means clearing the guilty..."  What stands out to you?

2. God's heart is abundant faithful love, expressed primarily in forgiveness. What does this tell you about him? About us?

3. At the same time, God is committed to justice, unwilling to "clear the guilty." Why is this important?

4. As you look back over our series, which aspect of God's character do you most want to be deeply convinced of - and why?

Nov 12, 2023 - Steve Hart

Abounding in Faithful Love

Abounding in Faithful Love

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we'll spend time thinking about how God is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34:1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read God is "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." Were any of your emotions conflicting?

2. What would you say is the main message the Bible gives us about God? What does your answer reveal about how you view God? Do you struggle to believe that message?

3. What question do you have about God and/or his character? Where does that question come from?

4. If it really came home to your heart, how would an experience/revelation of God's loyal love change your life?

Nov 05, 2023 - Gabe Shippam

Slow to Anger

Slow to Anger

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we look at what it means for God to be slow to anger, that his anger is both warranted and restrained.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34.1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read God is "slow to anger."

2. What does "anger" bring to your mind? What was your experience of anger growing up?

3. Read this quote, and discuss: God's wrath is his morally appropriate, carefully considered, justly intense reaction to our evil, to our demeaning of his worth and destroying of our own capacity to enjoy him. God cares about that. He is not a passive observer. He’s involved emotionally. (Ray Ortlund)

4. How is it good news that God is angry? How is it good news that God is slow in his anger?

5. In what ways might trusting God's anger shift how you relate to Him, to yourself, and to others?

Oct 29, 2023 - Steve Hart

Gracious

Gracious

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like, and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we look at what it means for God to be gracious, his action of coming to rescue the undeserving and ill-deserving.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34.1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read.

2. Merciful and gracious are a pair. How are they different? How are they similar?

3. Do you tend to approach God based on what you've done, what has been done to you, or what he has done?

4. Consider Titus 2.11-13. What has God accomplished in his grace?

5. How might you approach God differently if you deeply knew him to be gracious?

Oct 22, 2023 - Steve Hart

Merciful

Merciful

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like, and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously, and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we look at God's Mercy, his baseline emotion toward our frailty, weakness, and brokenness, asking what it means to trust him as our compassionate Father.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 33:12-17. What is Moses' first request? What is significant about it?

2. Read Exodus 33:18-23.  What is Moses' second request? What is significant about it?

3. How does God respond in Exodus 34:5-7? What jumps out at you about God's self-revelation?

4. Read Exodus 34:8-9. How does Moses respond to his encounter with God?

5. Turn Moses' request into prayer together. Consider Ephesians 1:17-19.

Oct 15, 2023 - Steve Hart

Show Us Your Glory

Show Us Your Glory

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like, and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously, and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. Show Us Your Glory!

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 33:12-34:9

1. Read Exodus 33:12-17. What is Moses' first request? What is significant about it?

2. Read Exodus 33:18-23.  What is Moses' second request? What is significant about it?

3. How does God respond in Exodus 34:5-7? What jumps out at you about God's self-revelation?

4. Read Exodus 34:8-9. How does Moses respond to his encounter with God?

5. Turn Moses' request into prayer together. Consider Ephesians 1:17-19.

Oct 8, 2023 - Steve Hart