Formation | Canyon Ridge | Erin Johnston
Where are you tempted to take shortcuts in your formation? Your toughest seasons are your greatest invitation to be shaped by God. He does His greatest work in your weaknesses and challenges, if you’ll let Him. How can you trust God more with your formation this week?
Key Verses
Exodus 12:51 NLT: On that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.
Exodus 13:3-10 NLT: So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the LORD has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.)On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free.You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.)For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the LORD.Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time.“On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year.
Exodus 13:17-18 NLT: When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.
Exodus 13:21-22 NLT: The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.And the LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.
Exodus 32:1-4 NLT: When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron.Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Exodus 32:7-10 NLT: The LORD told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”Then the LORD said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
Exodus 32:11-14 NLT: But Moses tried to pacify the LORD his God. “O LORD!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand?Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”So the LORD changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
Romans 12:2 NLT: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT: Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
One of the best ways to hear what God is saying right now is to look at what He has said in the Bible with a few friends. Discovery Bible Study is an easy-to-use way to hear from God, make good changes in our lives, and share with others what God is up to. Grab some friends, pick a verse or story from above, and dive deeper into this week’s message.
Recap
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To begin the study, each person answers these questions:
What are you thankful for?
What is causing stress for our neighbors and people around us?
What can we as individuals or as a group do to help?
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Have someone retell the story from your previous meeting.
Did you live out your response from last week?
Did you tell anyone else about the story from last week?
DISCOVERING WHAT GOD IS SAYING
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One person reads the story out loud to the group.
Someone else in the group retells the story in their own words as they remember it, and others fill in what’s missing.
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Read the passage again (different version if possible)
What does this passage say about God, Jesus, or His plan?
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Have 1-2 more people retell the story as if they were telling a neighbor outside their home.
What does this passage say about people in general?
DISCOVER WHAT GOD IS SAYING
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What in me needs to change to better DO what God is showing me today?
How will you respond to/obey this passage in a tangible, perhaps even costly ways in the next 47 hours?
Have someone record these for prayer time, and for the beginning of the next meeting.
SHARING WHAT GOD IS SAYING
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Take prayer requests
Pray together
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Who in your life needs to hear this story?
Who could you invite to study the Bible like this?
Practice Generosity Here
Every time you give in Jesus’ name, you make a difference in others AND you make a difference in your own life! Partnering together in generosity helps accomplish things together that could never be accomplished alone! You can partner together in giving today with a single gift, or schedule recurring giving using your checking account, debit, or credit card.