Locations & Times

Kids - Adventure with God

God Forgives - Week 4

September 21-22, 2019 |

This four-week series looks at the ancient Israelites’ adventure with God through the exodus. In the good and the bad, God was always with them. Because of that, in all of our adventures with him, we don’t need to worry! God is with us.

WORSHiP

BIBLE VERSE

“Don’t worry, because I am with you,” Isaiah 41:10. 

GROUP Q&A
  1. What happened when God came to the mountain near where the Israelites were camped? (There was fire and smoke, the whole mountain shook, and a there was a trumpet sound that grew louder and louder.)
  2. What were the instructions God gave the Israelite people? (What the best way to love God and love other people is.)
  3. What did the Israelites do while they were waiting for Moses to come back with God’s instructions? (They made a gold cow and worshiped it.)
  4. God forgave the people and decided to stay with them. Why did God decide to stay with the people? (He loved them and wanted to have an adventure with them.)
  5. Dr. Shovelle talks about how the adventure part isn’t as awesome as the with God part. Why is living life with God so cool? 
PARENT BIBLE STUDY

Read: Exodus 19, 32, 33

Moses went up to the mountain to meet God and receive the law, which would help the Israelites live with God and with each other in a way that would maximize their joy and protection. But 40 days went by, and the people became impatient, doubtful, and restless. Aaron appeased their grumbling, asked for their gold, and made them an idol of a golden calf.

At this point, it might be easy to judge the Israelites. But this is our story, too. We may not make golden calves anymore, but in our humanness and sometimes the immaturity of our faith, we are prone to turn from the Creator himself to created things instead. We replace God in many ways in all different areas of our lives, whether it’s money, fitness, a job, our children, ourselves, or even church. We are designed by God to be worshipers. If we are not worshiping him, we will make something else a god and worship it instead. The problem is, manmade things make terrible gods.

So what do we do? We decisively fix our eyes on the one, true and living God. We remember his goodness. In Exodus 17 when Moses and the Israelites defeated the Amalekites, God commanded Moses to remember this victory by writing it down. It’s true that we can’t look at God in fire or smoke on a mountain like the Israelites could, but we can certainly remember his acts of faithfulness. When we see him work in our lives or others’ lives, we can and should write it down. Remembering God’s faithfulness in the past helps us cling to the truth that he will be faithful in the future.

We also have an entire book of stories of God’s faithfulness written down for us: the Bible. In this chapter of the Israelites’ lives, the storyline of God’s faithfulness even in his people’s rebellion continues. This is important for us because God does not change, which means every detail about his character is still true, including his forgiving heart. When we are prone to wander away from God and worship something else instead, we remember this truth: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin,” Exodus 34:6.

A God like that pales in comparison to any created thing. A God like that is worthy of our wholehearted, undivided, exclusive worship.

What are you prone to worship other than God himself? If you have trouble identifying this, look at what consumes your thoughts and resources and time. What kind of fallout has this had in your life?

How can you start a habit of remembering God’s faithfulness to you? How does this develop your adoration for the one, true God?

ASK YOUR KID

Q. Why do we not have to worry?
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