Do you have a “bucket list” of things you’d like to experience it accomplish in your lifetime? Share a few items with one another and explain how they ended up on your list. What are the most basic motivations behind the things you want out of life?

In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh says he doesn’t know the LORD. What do you think kept him from bending his will to God?

According to Exodus 9:14–16, why did God bring the plagues against the Egyptians? What is therefore the ultimate goal of God’s judgment of his enemies? What sort of emotional response do you have to these verses? How do they make you think of God?

At various points, certain Egyptians recognize God’s power throughout the plagues. After the magicians fail to replicate the plague of gnats, they exclaim, “This is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19). During the plague of hail there are some who “feared the word of the LORDamong the servants of Pharaoh” and rush their slaves and livestock inside (9:20). Some of these servants also later implore Pharaoh to release Israel, saying, “Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” (10:7). In light of Pharaoh’s attitude, what do these responses contribute to the story?

What does it mean to know the Lord according to Jesus’ prayer in John 17:3? How can we partner with him in accomplishing that purpose in our context today?


PS: Someone approached me after the services yesterday and asked, “What did Andrew say when asked why he was in Turkey?”  In court, his answer was, “I love Jesus.  I love Turkey.”  

You can hear more from Andrew and his wife in this interview held at their home church in Montreat NC:

https://stonetablemedia.podbean.com/e/andrew-and-norine-brunson-homecoming/