Opening Prayer Led by Group Facilitator

Psalm 52

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

1  Why do you boast, O mighty man, of mischief done against the godly?

2  All the day you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery.

3  You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth.

4  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

5  But God will break you down for ever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.

6  The righteous will see, and fear, and shall laugh at him saying,

7  “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and sought refuge in his wealth!”

8  But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

9  I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will proclaim you name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.

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.

God's Mission For the Broken

Exodus 6:2 - 7:6

1.       Starting in Exodus 6:2, God reveals first His Name (LORD), then His history (I appeared...), then His covenant promise, before God reveals His next project or mission (I will bring you out...). How does God’s sequence of communication inform your sequence of communication as a Patriarch? When has a leader used a similar sequence to lead you to a new project or initiative? When you want to begin a new initiative (with family, with work), how helpful might this model be?

2.       How do the following intentions of God inform your intentions as a Patriarch in relation to wife and/or children?
          - “I will bring you out from under the burdens...”
          - “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm...”
          - “I will take you for my people...”
          - “I will bring you into the land...I will give it to you as a possession...”

3.       “Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel bondage.” (Ex 6:9) When have your broken spirit and bondage interrupted your listening to God? When has it been hard for family to follow your lead because of “their broken spirit and their cruel bondage?” What is the solution, when your followers neither listen to God nor listen to you?

4.       There is certainly a mystery in God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, leading to great deliverance, so that “Egypt shall know that I am the LORD.” How will God & Moses overcome hard-heartedness? How do you overcome your own hardness of heart? How do you endure hard-heartedness in your family? How do you endure hard-heartedness in leaders?

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 begin a journal with my wife detailing the history of the Lord’s relationship with each of us individually and how the Lord has worked in our family.  I will share this with our children when it is appropriate.
2.    I will anticipate a burden that my wife is carrying alone and help her carry it.
3.    I will schedule a time with each of my children to ask them what in their life I can help them with.
4.    I will show my family that I choose them by putting away all technology when I get home and interact with them instead.
5.    I will make a list of times in my life when I have allowed brokenness to interrupt my listening to God.  I will repent of these times privately to the Lord (or in confession if needed).
6.    I will examine when my own hard-heartedness has interfered with my relationship with God and/or my wife and I will apologize in person.
7.    I will fast from something (i.e. – coffee, sugar, hot showers) for one of my children who has a “hard-heart” towards God or family members. 

Previous Resolutions - Exodus 5

Prayer Partners

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