Locations & Times

Kids - Adventure with God

God Splits the Red Sea - Week 1

August 31-September 1, 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. Who did God pick to lead the Israelites out of slavery? (Moses)
  2. Why do you think Pharaoh changed his mind about letting the Israelites go? (Pharaoh realized he had lost all his workers.)
  3. What did Pharaoh decide to do? (He gathered his army to chase after the Israelites so he could bring them back to Egypt.)
  4. What did the Israelites do when they saw Pharaoh and his army coming after them? (The Israelites started to panic.)
  5. How did the Israelites make it across the Red Sea? (God split the Red Sea in half.)
  6. What was the artifact that Dr. Shovelle and Marv found, and what does it have to do with the story? (They found a seashell that comes from the sea, like the one God split.)
  7. What are some ways we can remember God is with us?
PARENT BIBLE STUDY

Read: Exodus 14

God’s people never could’ve known what the future would hold when they stared down the giant, rushing sea before them and looked fearfully over their shoulders at the Egyptians rushing to overtake them. Have you ever felt stuck like that? Fear rushing to overtake you from behind and a sea of impossibility ahead. That awful ground between fear and … panic? Lose – lose. No way out. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. We’ve all been in that place before.

The Israelites were tender and vulnerable. They were fresh out of slavery and a season of building anticipation as they witnessed God’s growing power over the Egyptians. Plague after plague, God demonstrated his heart to bring them justice and protect them. And yet here they were, stuck in the wilderness between an angry and charging Egyptian army and the impassable Red Sea.

The Israelites saw their situation as certain destruction. And yet the Bible is clear that God was intentionally moving the Egyptians and the Israelites in order to demonstrate his great power and salvation. Exodus 14 tells us that God wanted it to look to the Egyptians like the Israelites were flailing around and lost in the desert, which is, in fact, exactly how they felt. But God knew differently. And God saw differently. Moses encouraged the Israelites to stand firm so they would see the deliverance of the Lord. Stand firm literally means to stand one’s ground and confront. It’s offensive, not defensive. That’s exactly what played out, because the Israelites went from slaves to victors in a moment as they crossed the sea on dry ground and watched the Egyptians self-destruct.

What follows this victory is the first worship song ever recorded in the Bible, starting with these words, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously… the LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God and I will praise him,” Exodus 15:1-2.

This story, however, doesn’t end with a pretty bow. This is just the beginning of the Israelites forgetting God, but the storyline we need to pay attention to is about the faithfulness of God. He is strong. He is protective and kind and always working for our good. He has a perspective that we do not, and we can trust him. These are truths that bring us to worship him and help us reframe our perspective. When we feel stuck, fearful, and worn down, we too can stand firm and take hold of the truth that he is our strength, our song, and our salvation.

Maybe you are on the “this doesn’t make sense, why is this happening?” road right now. How does this story encourage you to trust God in the midst of what is happening?

Exodus 14:13-14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” Memorize this verse this week. What does it mean to you that God is fighting for you?

ASK YOUR KID

Q. How did the Israelites make it across the Red Sea?
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