CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. Read Exodus 35:4–36:7.

2. God’s Presence & Our Purpose – The tabernacle was built so that God’s presence could dwell with his people. In what ways do you experience God’s presence in your daily life? How does knowing God is with you shape your work, relationships, and decisions?

3. Generosity in Action – The Israelites gave so generously that Moses had to tell them to stop (Exodus. 36:6–7). Have you seen or experienced this kind of radical generosity? What might it look like to be more open-handed with our time, talents, and treasure to further God’s work?

4. Faith & Work – Bezalel, Oholiab, and others used their skills to create something for God’s glory (Exodus 36:1). How do you see your work—whether inside or outside the church—as a way to honor God? How can you remind yourself of God’s presence in your work?

5. Jesus as the Better Tabernacle – The tabernacle allowed people to meet with God, but Jesus became the ultimate way we experience God’s presence (Hebrews 9:11–14). How does Jesus change the way we feel about worship, sacrifice, and our access to God?

Title: The Tabernacle
Reference: Exodus 35:4-40:38
Speaker: Jacob Vangen, Jacob Vangen@cckc.church

– When God comes to live with us… Our work is empowered.

Your workplace is holy ground because God is with you and because the work you do unto him and for the good of others is itself a beautiful act of worship. ~ Tom Nelson, Why You Work Matters Book

Then he paused and drew a picture for me with words: “Let’s say I’m a plumber going to clean out someone’s sewer. You stay attentive to what you’re doing at the moment. You ask, How will I do this as Jesus would do this?” Another pause.

“If you encounter difficulties with people you’re serving, or with the pipe or machinery, you never fight that battle alone. You invoke the presence of God. You expect to see something happen that is not a result of you!” Another pause.

“If you train yourself to thank God when these ‘coincidences’ happen, you’ll see them as patterns in your life. The crucial thing is to be attentive to God's hand, not to get locked into thinking: It's me and this pipe! Never do that.” ~ Jan Johnson, A Word from a Different Reality

– When God comes to live with us, our resources are unleashed.

– When God comes to live with us…Our lives are rebuilt.

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself. ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity