Thursday, January 21, 2010

Freedom from Slavery (Exodus 20)

What was the worst job you ever had? What made it so bad?

Exodus 12 is about God's rescue of Israel from slavery. If you had been a slave your entire life, what do you think would bother you the most?
  • I can never do what I want to do
  • My boss doesn't care about me or my health
  • All my work is for someone else's benefit
  • There is no hope for my children's future
Read Exodus 12:40-42. As the people were leaving Egypt, what kinds of thoughts do you think were going through their mind?

The night God freed Israel, he killed the firstborn son of every Egyptian family. The Israelite children were saved if they sprinkled the blood of a lamb on the door. Why do you think God chose a lamb for this symbol?

Read John 1:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7. Why is Jesus called a lamb? How is the symbol of Jesus as a lamb parallel to the symbol in Exodus 20?

Read Romans 6:16-18

What kind of sins hold people in slavery?

What do you think it means to be freed from sin?

How does someone who is freed from sin live differently than someone who is still enslaved to sin?

Every year the Jewish people celebrate the Passover and their freedom from slavery in Egypt. How do we celebrate our freedom from sin? How can this group celebrate our freedom from sin?