journey to freedom

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SERMON SEQUEL SMALL GROUP CURRICULUM

JANUARY 31 – FEBRUARY 21

WWW.PARKWAYCHURCH.TV

At Parkway, we are:

Building lives that honor God. In Small Group, we are:

We are building relationships that build disciples.

Small Group Ground Rules Small Group ground rules give boundaries for people to operate within to encourage discussion based learning and relationship building. They help group members value one another so that everyone grows more comfortable sharing deep, meaningful things. • • • •

Priority: Be here. What we are doing matters. Confidentiality: What is said here stays here. Respect and Honor: Give everyone room to share and grow Welcoming: We will pray for and invite others to join our group and fill the empty chair.

We strive to create an environment where everyone can be real, open, and honest.

What We Do in Groups? Our groups do five things together: •

• • • •

Connect: have fun building relationships and doing life together o Recommend gender based groups (men with men and ladies with ladies) for the last meeting of the month. Grow: study and grow through conversation based learning o Sermon based small group studies and 30 essential Bible stories Serve: make a difference by serving together two times a year o Need list of serving opportunities before group season starts Go: pray for people and fill the empty chair by inviting others Worship: groups worship together frequently o Small Group Sundays - sit together, celebrate being connected to community Life-change happens best in a Biblical small group.

JOURNEY TO FREEDOM Just when you think that God doesn't know about our hurts or struggles in life, He proves that He does. Through our study of the book of Exodus, we will see that God know not only knows our needs and hears our cry, but He takes action. Based on His love for us, He invites us to love, obey, and depend upon Him for true freedom.

GOD HEARS, GOD ACTS Sermon Date: January 28

THE DANGERS OF A HARD HEART Sermon Date: February 4

KEEP GOD FIRST Sermon Date: February 11

LOVE PEOPLE, LOVE GOD Sermon Date: February 18

Sermon Date: January 28

A JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

God isn’t ignoring your need. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8

GOD HEARS, GOD ACTS

God hears your cry. 1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1-2 God acts to rescue you. 1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Isaiah 59:1

Get Talking Tell us about a time when you know that God spoke to you. WATCH THE VIDEO 1

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight— why the bush does not burn up.” 4

6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. 7 Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Psalm 17:6-7 9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10

When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:1-12

Discuss and Apply the Message Read Exodus 3:5-6, what do we learn about God from Moses’ response to Him?

Why did God call Moses through the burning bush? (Exodus 3:7-8)

Why were the Israelites in captivity? Why were they being oppressed?

What was God’s solution to His people’s slavery? (Exodus 3:10-12)

According the Pastor Mike, we learn three things about God from the call of Moses: 1. He isn’t ignoring our needs. 2. He hears our cry. 3. He acts to rescue. What can we do to remember this when we have great needs, problems, or troubles?

On Sunday, we were challenged to take a fearless personal inventory. Talk through your responses to the inventory questions. •

Am I calling upon God to meet my needs? What is your most consistent prayer these days?

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Do I believe that God can and will rescue me?

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What would I say if God wanted to use me to rescue others?

Sermon Date: February 4

A JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

26

THE DANGERS OF A HARD HEART

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Get Talking What was the highlight of your week last week? WATCH THE VIDEO 3

But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” Exodus 7:3-5 Discuss and Apply the Message Read Exodus 5:1-9. Pastor Mike noted the progression to a hard heart from this passage. Unpack this exchange and see how Pharaoh’s grew hard. •

What was Moses’ request and Pharaoh’s response? (Exodus 5:1-2)

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What was Moses’ warning and Pharaoh’s response? (Exodus 5:3-4)

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How did Pharaoh escalate the issue? (Exodus 5:6-9)

Read Exodus 7:1-5. What was God’s purpose in sending Moses to Pharaoh?

How did God “multiply His signs and wonders in Egypt” through the plagues?

Why did Pharaoh finally relent and release God’s people?

Pastor Mike noted three ways that our hearts grow hard: situations that we are experiencing, how people are treating us, and God’s unbending truth. How have you seen these three things effect your heart or the heart of those you love?

What are the dangers of living with a hard heart?

Read Ezekiel 36:26-27. When we walk with God, how does our heat change?

How is your heart right now? • Am I jaded and bitter toward life? • In my relationships, am I living with a soft heart toward people? • Are my decisions showing that my heart is soft to God?

Sermon Date: February 11

A JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

KEEP GOD FIRST Get Talking What is one thing that God is teaching you this year? WATCH THE VIDEO

And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:1-11 Discuss and Apply the Message Why did God give the 10 Commandments to His people through Moses?

Read Exodus 20:1-11. What are the first four commandments?

What do we learn about the character and person of God from each of these commandments?

How do we as believers obey these commands today? Pastor Mike taught four ways: • Have no one and nothing above God in your life. What does this look like? • Worship God alone. How does the uniqueness of God require unique devotion to God? • Honor God with your words. • Set apart a day for the Lord. “We don’t obey the commandments to earn God’s favor or to prove our righteousness. We obey the commandments because we want to honor God with our lives.” How can this group help you to keep God first with your priorities, worship, words, and life?

Sermon Date: February 18

A JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

The Law Doesn’t Make Us Right

LOVE PEOPLE, LOVE GOD

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” Romans 7:7

The Law Exposes the Condition of Our Heart 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:21-22 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27-28

Get Talking How is this group or our church helping you to love God? WATCH THE VIDEO 12

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exodus 20:12-20

The Law Reminds Me There Is Work to Be Done 1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:1-3 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31

Discuss and Apply the Message Read Exodus 20:12-20. What are the final six commandments?

What do we learn about God’s desires for our relationships from these commandments?

How do I love people because I love God? Pastor Mike recommended 6 ways. Discuss how you can do each of these. • • • • • •

Commandment 5: Build relationships of honor. Commandment 6: Deal with anger, bitterness and resentment. Commandment 7: Commit to sexual purity in all relationships. Commandment 8: Set a high bar of integrity. Commandment 9: Speak the truth in love. Commandment 10: Love your life not theirs.

How would our lives be different if we lived according to these relational commandments?

As you think about your relationships, where are you strong in living these commandments? Where do you need to do some work?