MISSION GROUP QUESTIONS FROM EXODUS: PEOPLE OF PILGRIMAGE - 6/9/09

This last week we looked at the theme of "the presence of God" through the Tabernacle in Exodus 25-45.

Firstly we look at the breakdown of Exodus

(1) The God who delivers (Ch1-18)
(2) The God who demands (Ch19-24)
(3) The God who Dwells (Ch25-40)

And we noticed that God has always related to his people through a covenant of grace - he only demands once he has rescued us and brought us into a relationship with himself.

Then we looked at the significance of the tabernacle and saw how firstly the tabernacle connected people to God but more than that, was an act of re-creation - restoring what was lost in Eden (God’s undiluted, unmediated presence which brings life, joy and harmony to all other relationship).

However, there is a problem with the presence of God (as the death of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 shows us) - God cannot dwell easily with a sinful people, there has to be blood and death to enter his presence. And that is where Jesus comes in, he was Immanuel, God with us. John tells us he “tabernacled amongst us” (John 1.14). He was God’s undiluted unmediate presence with his people and he brought healing, joy, peace and harmony to the world. He brought heaven to earth - he began to restore what was lost in Eden. He did this primarily through his death. Jesus was killed for claiming to be the temple (Matthew 26.61) and it is through his blood we are all able to enter confidently into the presence of God - the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

However, the best is yet to come because through Jesus’ death, that powerful presence of God that shook mountain Sinai and killed on contact comes into our life to transform us from in the inside us. We are now the tabernacle of God, the place where the Holy Spirit dwells and we are called to go into all the earth and restore what was lost in Eden - to bring heaven to earth until “the glory of the Lord covers the earth like the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11.9 & Habbakuk 2.14). God’s powerful presence lives in us to transform us and through us to transform the world.

Reflection/Application

(1) Use Psalm 24 (esp. verses 7-10) & Psalm 84 as a way of reflecting on the importance, privilege and blessing of God’s presence. Thank God for his presence with us.

(2) Reflect on Hebrews 4.14-16 + Hebrews 10.19-25 and thank Jesus that through his death we can enter God’s presence with confidence.

(3) How do you view the Holy Spirit? Do you have a high view of him as God’s powerful presence to change your life and through you to change the world?

(4) How would this view of the Holy Spirit change your attitude to what you do each day? Would anything ever be “ordinary” again? If not, why not?

(5) What areas in your life (either intern or external) do you need the empowering presence of God to help you with? Where would you like to change?

(6) We will look at this more next week but….how do you view the church? Do you have a high view of the church as God’s people who are filled with his Spirit to change the world?

(7) How do you think practically we at Mosaic can play our part in “being the people of God empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring joy, peace and harmony to the world”

Part 2 is coming this Sunday and we’ll be looking at how the New Testament applies all this from 1 Corinthians 3.16-17, 1 Corinthians 6.18-20, 2 Corinthians 6.14-21 & Ephesians 2.19-22.