Kingdomtide: The Desert Week 6

Kingdomtide: The Desert, Week 6

In this teaching series, Kingdomtide, we examine how to embody the Holy Spirit in our lives to bring about His Kingdom here on Earth as it is in Heaven. We have been discussing walking through a desert season, and this week with our Associate Pastor, Josh Bueno, we keep going through passages in Exodus and examine these main points:

1. Timing is the Father’s business. (Exodus 12:31-33, 37-38, 40-42 NLT, 2 Peter 3:9 NLT, Acts 1:7-11 MSG)
2. The Wilderness is the way of Yahweh. (Exodus 13:17-18 NLT, Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NLT)
3. Leading the way is God’s desire. (Exodus 13:17-22 NLT)

Listen or watch with us!

Scroll down to see our discussion guide for Community Groups. If you would like to join a community groups, you can do so HERE.

COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE:

STEP 1- Ice Breaker

Help people to loosen up and share. It will be helpful if someone is new to go around and do names and have each person share about a question and share a bit about themselves. CLICK HERE for ice breaker questions ideas.

Scriptures from Sunday:

(Exodus 12:31-33, 37-38, 40-42 NLT)

31 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” 33 All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!”

37 That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men,[b] plus all the women and children. 38 A rabble of non-Israelites went with them, along with great flocks and herds of livestock.

40 The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. 41 In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the Lord’s forces left the land. 42 On this night the Lord kept his promise to bring his people out of the land of Egypt.

(Group Leader Note: Use the Learning/Living Circle to guide your discussion and application of the content. Try your best to keep the “learning” and “living” focus balanced. You use this model moving clockwise around the circle. The goal is working towards practical and personal life application.)

(Acts 1:7-11 MSG)

7-8 He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

9-11 These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud.

(Exodus 13:17-18 NLT)

17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.

(Exodus 13:17-22 NLT)

20 So The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 22 And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

STEP 2- Take Time For Learning through Observation, Reflection & Discussion

(Group Leader Note: These are set questions meant to spur conversation. It may be helpful to watch/listen to the message together if people did not have a chance to listen on their own time.)

Read through the main scripture together from Sunday’s message.

• What stuck out to you as meaningful, confusing, impactful and/or important?
• What might this message and portion of scripture relate to in your life or our cultural moment?

STEP 3- Take Time To Process

• Is anyone willing to share some thoughts, questions or curiosities about what you sense God speaking to you about through the message and scripture? 
• Is there a need for deeper reflection or observation? What might be some ways to dig deeper, if necessary?

STEP 4- Work Towards Application

• What area of life is God working in through this? (Inner, Outer & Other Life Map)
• What might God be asking of me in this? What is my response?
• What might be a practical application or action step to take over this next week?

STEP 5- Prayer 

Please don’t skip prayer!! Cut the discussion short if needed to pray for one another. Try one of these options, don’t be afraid to mix it up.

• Have people split into groups of 2-3 to share prayer needs and pray for each other.
• Share requests as a group and pray for one another. Assign requests to people that are comfortable with praying and go around the circle praying for each others needs.
• Meditation with silence and stillness- A short scripture, word or phrase to focus your group. A time of silence and stillness, set a timer for 5 minutes if you want. Close the time with a prayer for your group.
• Develop someone in your group as the Prayer Coordinator. Have them write down prayer needs, ask them to pray for those needs during the week, have them send a list to the group to keep in prayer, go through the list regularly to celebrate answered prayers and check off or add on prayers.