The Gospel Project Session 2-4 Notes

The Gospel Project

Session 2-4 Teachers’ Notes

Introduction

            It would be good, when introducing the lesson, for you to set up the clear context. God created. Man Fell. God promised a Rescuer. Even when the flood came, God preserved people for himself. At the tower of Babel, God both judged the people and showed them grace as he protected them from destroying themselves. God promised to make a special people out of the family of Abraham. Those people, the nation of Israel or the Hebrews ,moved to Egypt during a time of famine and were protected by God.

            As the lesson begins, it is over 400 years after God’s people moved to Egypt. They are now suffering hardship under the rule of Pharaoh, the Egyptian king.

            Also remind students that this lesson is not merely a lesson about the history of Israel and Egypt. God is showing us pictures of his ultimate plan to rescue for himself a people. In fact, our lives will parallel the experience of Israel in some clear ways.

Point 1: God delivers us from slavery to the Evil One (Ex. 6:2-9).

Highlight:

·        God rescued his people for a purpose—worship. God did not simply free them to be free from all rule. God freed his people to be free to worship the God who had created and rescued them.

·        “True freedom doesn't come from having no lord at all but by submitting to God, the world's true Lord.” (leader 48)

·        The plagues that God used to free Israel shows his supremacy over the false sun and river gods that the Egyptians worshipped.

·        Just as God freed his people from false gods and false allegiances, God frees us from the power of the evil one and of our own sin against him. God does not free us to simply be free from all rule; he frees us to worship and follow him. The good news is, worshipping him is the only source of true joy for people created in God’s image.

Application Questions

·        What do we worship if we assume we are totally free, free even from responsibility to God? [Lead students to see that such a “freedom” is actually a slavery to self-worship.]

·        The Egyptians were deceived into worshipping the sun and the river. What kinds of foolish things might we worship if God does not free us? [Lead students to recognize that we worship comfort, success, financial stability, or even family among other things when our focus is not freed from the things of this world.]

·        How does our experience of salvation parallel the rescue that God accomplished in Egypt? [We were trapped in our sin. God sought us out. God overthrew the false gods that had deceived us. God led us out of the rule of the enemy so that we could worship him.]

Point 2: God delivers us from the judgment we deserve (Ex. 12:5-13).

Highlight:

·        The final plague was for all the people, Egyptians as well as Israelites—no one was exempt.

·        God made a provision in order to allow his people to be rescued from death.

·        God’s provision included the death of a perfect substitute at the Passover meal. Only the shed blood of an unblemished substitute could protect the people from the angel of death.

·        The rescue that God accomplished at the Passover had an immediate and lasting effect on the lives of his people.

Questions

·        What are some ways in which Jesus is like our Passover lamb?

o   He dies so we can live

o   He is perfect and unblemished.

o   You have to believe God’s promises in order to be rescued by Jesus just as the people had to believe God enough to put the blood on their doorposts.

o   He rescues us for a life of following God just as the Passover led the people out of Egypt and into a life of following God.

·        How is Jesus not like our Passover Lamb?

o   The Passover lamb was not a sin offering. It was simply a substitute. Jesus did not merely die so we could live, he took the punishment for our sins in order that we might be forgiven.

o   Jesus does not just keep us from death, he also transfers to our spiritual accounts a perfect record. He makes us legally spotless before God.

·        How does thinking about God’s provision of a substitute for your sins help you to want to worship and follow him?

Point 3: God delivers us into a community designed to glorify His name (Ex. 14:10-14).

Highlight:

·        Israel was rescued by God, but still feared and failed to trust.

·        God accomplished a great salvation for the nation in such a way to demonstrate to the world his awesome power.

·        We are like Israel in that we are rescued in a mighty way, but we often fear and fail to trust God. Sometimes we too will want to return to our old ways and our old life of slavery.

Questions

·        How are some ways that you know that God has provided for you and done amazing things in your life? [Don’t focus here on the mystical experiences some will claim. Instead, try to help learners recount the amazing truth of God’s salvation and his ordinary provision. This way others who do not have “amazing” experiences will not feel like they are second-rate kingdom citizens.]

·        How are we often tempted to act like the slaves rather than the rescued ones? How do we desire to return to our old masters? [See if learners will offer you at least one way that they are tempted to return to behaving or believing like the world.]

·        How can we help each other to avoid falling back into old patterns of being slaves to sin? What will we actually do and not just say we ought to do?

Conclusion

            The Bible is one story made up of many smaller ones. The story of how God led his people out of Egypt is a sweet parallel to the ultimate story of how God would move his people from sin, to himself, for worship, and into community for growth. This lesson should make us understand what God did in the Exodus, but it should even more make us magnify Jesus who rescued us and whom we worship with all our hearts. It should also remind us of how much we need each other to help us not fall back into our former patterns.