2011 Lent Study Guide - University Presbyterian Church

Week Three: A Staff to Invite
Exodus 7:8 - 25
Opening Prayer
Lord God, as we join together, we come with gratitude. Lord, would you open our ears and eyes, and our minds
and hearts to your word? Meet each of us in this room at our unique points of need. In Christ’s name, amen.
What’s Happening in the Small Group?
Get to know each other a little better. Have everyone write down one fact about themselves that
no one else in the group knows about them. Put these into a bowl or hat and draw one at a time
and have the group guess the author.
OR, In the past, when you’ve had important decisions to make, what has been your process for
making your final decision?
What’s Happening in the Word?
Exodus 1-2 shows us how God can be at work in what seems to be a Godless time. And the river we
see as a marker of God’s unseen hand reminding us that God works in our lives before we’re aware
of it. In chapter 3, we observed God speaking to Moses from the flame, which is a marker of God’s
yearning to be known and speak to us. Exodus 3-7 recounts the first steps of Moses’ leadership and
how that was reinforced, rebuffed, and bolstered.
Judgment, power, and salvation are revealed through a series of plagues in chapters 7-11. The
interaction between Moses and Pharaoh intensifies as one grows in faith and the other allows his
heart to be hardened.
This week’s text shows the initial encounter between Moses and Pharaoh. Notice the contrast between
the two characters—especially in whom they put their trust. Notice, too, how difficult it is for people
to change. We will see the characters are invited to respond to God through the marker of a staff.
Marker for our lives: The Staff
We are invited to trust God.
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