Better Opportunities
Better For It, Pt. 3
Every time we gather as a group, these are some ways we ensure the best group discussion:
We make the circle safe by staying honest and transparent - leave the masks at the door.
We keep it inside the circle. Each person’s story is theirs alone to share.
We look to the Bible for wisdom and truth, and work together to let it shape how we see the world.
We don’t try to fix each other in front of each other or give unsolicited advice. We lovingly save hard conversations for private moments.
We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.
We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.
Exodus 3:1-10 NLT
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
Moses is distracted by his PAST.
Moses is distracted by his DOUBTS.
Exodus 3:11-14 NLT
But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
God replied to Moses, “I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.”
We say “I AM NOT and I CANNOT”
God says “I AM and I WILL”
Moses is distracted by his FEAR.
Exodus 4:1
But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”
Exodus 4:10, 13
But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
Exodus 4:1-5
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.
What's in your hand
Influence
Affluence
Moses’ staff represented…
Identity
Income
Influence
S.H.A.P.E.
Spiritual gifts
Heart
Abilities
Personality
Experience
Don’t forget to check out this week’s Better Opportunities Workshop and talk about it as a group! Remember, it’s ALL about putting what we learn into practice!
Start with M.U.D.
Memorable + Understandable + Doable
What was the most memorable part of the message or service this weekend for you personally? Why?
Did anything you heard challenge or influence how you think about God or your life?
How can what you learned influence or change how you live in everyday life? What tangible steps would it take to make that change a reality?
Additional Questions
Read Exodus 3:1-10 (↑ in Message Notes above↑) together as a group. Mike stopped here a minute to talk through some of the important things this passage teaches about God’s character, “holy” ground, and the way he interacts with us.
What does this passage reveal to us about God?
Do those things add to, challenge, or affirm the ways you think about God?
Mike joked that we often “should” on others after God taps US on the shoulder for something. We’re called to obey God personally, but instead, we spend our time telling other people and organizations that they SHOULD do it. Similar to Moses, we “protest” to God.
This is something we all do, even when we don’t realize it. Can you think of any examples of when you’ve protested to or backed away from God? What about when you’ve ”should-ed" on others?
Which is the most powerful blockade that keeps you from obeying God and doing what you know you ought to do? Your past, your doubts, your fear, or something else?
hen God asks Moses, “What’s in your hand?”, he’s trying to show Moses that he already has all he needs for God to work through him.
Mike said we all have influence, and we’re all being asked to use it - especially for the sake of those who are without, oppressed, or hurt.
Where is your influence and how can it be leveraged?
What’s holding you back?
Mike also said we all have affluence, and we’re all being asked to be lavishly generous with what we’ve been given to fight against the materialism in our world and bring hope to more people.
Looking honestly at your life, how would you describe the tension between generosity and materialism in your own life?
What could lavish generosity look like in your current situation? What would be a single step toward that kind of generous life?
When God asks Moses to lay his staff down, it’s a loaded request. He’s really asking Moses (and us as well) to lay down his identity, income, and influence so they can be used by God to free people.
Which of those is hardest for you to surrender to God?
What would be a tangible act of surrender that would help you practice laying down those integral parts of your life?
Better Opportunities Workshop / “S.H.A.P.E.” Questions
Watch the Better Opportunities Workshop →
Have you ever felt like Taylor talked about when it comes to making an impact or doing meaningful ministry?
Sidelined? Ill-equipped? Untalented? Unneeded?Which aspect of S.H.A.P.E. is “newest” for you? Which one held the most self-discovery for you? Do you have a solid grasp on it now, or do you need to dive down deeper?
Ask someone close to you to read through the spiritual gifts and/or temperaments. What do they think you have/are?
What’s the clearest next step you need to take to get “in shape”? Where can you start making other people’s lives better physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually?
