Opening Prayer Led by Group Facilitator

Psalm 53

Pray the Psalm together aloud, alternating verses between two sides.  When finished, share reflections on the Psalm as a group

1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none that does good.

2  God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any that are wise, that seek after God.

3  They have all fallen away; they are all alike depraved; there is none that does good, no, not one.

4  Have those who work evil no understanding, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?

5  There they are, in great terror, in terror such as has not been! For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly, they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

6  O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

Moses Goes to Pharaoh

Exodus 5:1 - 6:1

1.       At their first approach, Moses and Aaron make no appeal nor argument for the freedom of Israel. They act as simple ambassadors of God. What do you make of their strategy? How is Pharaoh’s response representative of those who “do not know the LORD?” How does this inform your expectation as a Patriarch in relation to godless government authority?

2.       What pretexts do Moses and Aaron use to get “temporary” separation from Egypt? Are these pretexts any more successful or less successful than their first strategy?

3.       When Pharaoh proposes “heavier work be laid upon them,” what justification does Pharaoh give? How do the Hebrews respond to their taskmasters? To Pharaoh? To Moses?

4.       Under what conditions has “heavier work” been imposed upon you? Who is to blame? How do you respond constructively? Where do you take out your stress? Under what conditions have you imposed “heavier work”? How does a Patriarch balance “getting results” and “keeping up morale”?

5.       Moses questions the LORD according to the evidence he sees. How does the LORD answer? When have you questioned the LORD? How has the LORD answered?

Resolutions

Choose a resolution for this week from the suggestions below or make your own.  Tap on a resolution to email it to yourself:

1.    I will prepare a defense for the logical principles of my faith in a journal and review it so that I am ready to defend my faith when it is questioned.
2.    I will ask my wife to help me prepare our children to defend their faith by explaining to them the most common objections to Catholicism and the Catholic response.
3.    I will confront someone I know who is abusing his authority.
4.    I will discuss with my wife how we can incorporate the principles of our faith more into our role as citizens.
5.    I will discuss with my wife any changes to the workload and/or allowance that we give to our children.
6.    I will resolve to leave my stress at work and come home and play with my children each night this week.
7.    I will be generous and encouraging to the employees I have under me.
8.    I will question the Lord according to the evidence I see in a situation that is heavy on my heart.  I will then spend 15 minutes in silence listening to the response and will journal what I hear.

Previous Resolutions - Exodus 4

Prayer Partners

Discuss with your prayer partner the success/failure of your previous resolution & offer a vocal prayer for one another.