The Bridge Church
Exodus - Answering God's Call
June 9, 2024
Locations & Times
Englewood SKY Academy
871 S River Rd, Englewood, FL 34223, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
1. God prepares and matures those He calls
2. God saves and sends imperfect people to accomplish His purposes
Excuse #1 – “Who am I?” (unqualified)
Exodus 3:11-12
But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”
“God needs no one but will work through anyone.” - A.W. Tozer
Exodus 3:11-12
But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”
“God needs no one but will work through anyone.” - A.W. Tozer
Excuse #2 – “What should I tell them?” (unknowledgeable)
Exodus 3:13-14
Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
Exodus 3:13-14
Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
Excuse #3 – “What if they do not believe me?” (unconfident)
Exodus 4:1-5
Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 The LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 “Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 The LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5 “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Exodus 4:1-5
Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 The LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 “Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 The LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5 “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Excuse #4 – “I am not eloquent” (inadequate)
Exodus 4:11-12
But Moses replied to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.” The LORD said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”
Exodus 4:11-12
But Moses replied to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.” The LORD said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”
Excuse #5 – “Please send someone else” (unwilling)
Exodus 4:13-16
Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” 14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. 15 You will speak with him and tell him what to say. I will help both you and him to speak and will teach you both what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve
as God to him.
Exodus 4:13-16
Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” 14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. 15 You will speak with him and tell him what to say. I will help both you and him to speak and will teach you both what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve
as God to him.
3. God isn’t looking for ability, He is looking for availability
MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS:
I need to receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior for the first time.
https://thebridgevenice.churchcenter.com/people/forms/500390
I need to be baptized.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/baptism
I need to attend Starting Point.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/starting-point
I need to join a serve team.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/serve
I need to join a small group.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/bridge-groups
I need to receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior for the first time.
https://thebridgevenice.churchcenter.com/people/forms/500390
I need to be baptized.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/baptism
I need to attend Starting Point.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/starting-point
I need to join a serve team.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/serve
I need to join a small group.
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/bridge-groups
Dig Deeper:
1. Have you ever been asked to do something that you didn’t feel qualified to do? Describe how you felt and what the experience was like.
2. Moses was adopted into an Egyptian home despite being a Hebrew boy. How might he have stayed rooted in his faith despite his home life? How might have the Egyptian culture shaped his view?
3. Read Exodus 2:11-12. How does Moses identify with the Hebrew? How do we know that Moses knew he was wrong before he acted?
4. Read Exodus 2:13-22. Describe the events that take place during this time. How many years have passed? Describe Moses’s character in this passage.
5. Why do you think God takes time in preparing Moses for what He will eventually call him to do? Why wait?
6. Who else from the Bible do you recall having to wait as God prepares and matures that person for what is next?
7. Read Exodus 2:23-25. How do you think the Israelites felt during this time? What does it mean that “God remembered his covenant”?
8. Reread Exodus 2:25. How can this passage provide comfort to us in times of difficulty?
9. Read Exodus 3:1. How is God preparing Moses through his years as a shepherd?
10. Read Exodus 3:2-5. Describe what Moses is witnessing in this moment. How do you think he felt at this moment?
11. Discuss the significance of God saying Moses’s name. What is Moses’s response? How is that also significant?
12. Read Exodus 3:6-8. What does God reveal to Moses in this passage? Why does God list the names of the people who came before Moses?
13. Besides the fact that God only has imperfect people to use for His glory, why do you think He calls imperfect people, like Moses, to serve His purposes?
14. What other people in the Bible do you recall that God also used in mighty ways even though that person was flawed?
15. Read Exodus 3:9-10. What is the clear calling from God to Moses?
16. Why wasn’t Moses’s first response full of eagerness and excitement? Recall a time when you felt like Moses; when God placed a responsibility on your heart, but you responded with doubt and fear.
17. Read Exodus 3:11-4:16. Discuss the excuses that Moses presents to God. Discuss God’s response to each of them. Why does God provide much detail about His plan to Moses?
18. Discuss the miracles that God had Moses perform. What do they have in common?
19. Despite all that God is sharing with Moses, and showing him, why does Moses continue to have excuses? How does God continue to respond to those excuses?
20. Even though we know God is fully able to do anything, why do we so often forget that he equips those who He calls? Why do we think we must do anything in our own strength?
21. How can we be encouraged today knowing that God uses imperfect people?
Live It Out:
God isn’t looking for ability. He is looking for availability. God takes imperfect, available, humble people and equips them for His glory! Consider what God has, or is, calling you to do using His strength and guidance. Are you responding to His call with trust or with excuses? Make a list of all the ways you don’t feel qualified for God. Look back at the excuses Moses used and see if you identify with any of them. Then, next to each, write out how God is more than able. Find scripture that reflects these promises from Him. Pray to God, asking for a boldness to do what He is calling you to do. God will meet you where you are, give you what you need (as He did with Moses), and will go with you.
1. Have you ever been asked to do something that you didn’t feel qualified to do? Describe how you felt and what the experience was like.
2. Moses was adopted into an Egyptian home despite being a Hebrew boy. How might he have stayed rooted in his faith despite his home life? How might have the Egyptian culture shaped his view?
3. Read Exodus 2:11-12. How does Moses identify with the Hebrew? How do we know that Moses knew he was wrong before he acted?
4. Read Exodus 2:13-22. Describe the events that take place during this time. How many years have passed? Describe Moses’s character in this passage.
5. Why do you think God takes time in preparing Moses for what He will eventually call him to do? Why wait?
6. Who else from the Bible do you recall having to wait as God prepares and matures that person for what is next?
7. Read Exodus 2:23-25. How do you think the Israelites felt during this time? What does it mean that “God remembered his covenant”?
8. Reread Exodus 2:25. How can this passage provide comfort to us in times of difficulty?
9. Read Exodus 3:1. How is God preparing Moses through his years as a shepherd?
10. Read Exodus 3:2-5. Describe what Moses is witnessing in this moment. How do you think he felt at this moment?
11. Discuss the significance of God saying Moses’s name. What is Moses’s response? How is that also significant?
12. Read Exodus 3:6-8. What does God reveal to Moses in this passage? Why does God list the names of the people who came before Moses?
13. Besides the fact that God only has imperfect people to use for His glory, why do you think He calls imperfect people, like Moses, to serve His purposes?
14. What other people in the Bible do you recall that God also used in mighty ways even though that person was flawed?
15. Read Exodus 3:9-10. What is the clear calling from God to Moses?
16. Why wasn’t Moses’s first response full of eagerness and excitement? Recall a time when you felt like Moses; when God placed a responsibility on your heart, but you responded with doubt and fear.
17. Read Exodus 3:11-4:16. Discuss the excuses that Moses presents to God. Discuss God’s response to each of them. Why does God provide much detail about His plan to Moses?
18. Discuss the miracles that God had Moses perform. What do they have in common?
19. Despite all that God is sharing with Moses, and showing him, why does Moses continue to have excuses? How does God continue to respond to those excuses?
20. Even though we know God is fully able to do anything, why do we so often forget that he equips those who He calls? Why do we think we must do anything in our own strength?
21. How can we be encouraged today knowing that God uses imperfect people?
Live It Out:
God isn’t looking for ability. He is looking for availability. God takes imperfect, available, humble people and equips them for His glory! Consider what God has, or is, calling you to do using His strength and guidance. Are you responding to His call with trust or with excuses? Make a list of all the ways you don’t feel qualified for God. Look back at the excuses Moses used and see if you identify with any of them. Then, next to each, write out how God is more than able. Find scripture that reflects these promises from Him. Pray to God, asking for a boldness to do what He is calling you to do. God will meet you where you are, give you what you need (as He did with Moses), and will go with you.
Reading Plan:
Follow along with our Exodus Reading Plan here: www.thebridgevenice.com/exodus
Follow along with our Exodus Reading Plan here: www.thebridgevenice.com/exodus