The Life of Moses. Matthew A. Crass SAMPLE. Leader s Guide

Transcription

1 The Life of Moses by Matthew A. Crass Leader s Guide Lesson One From Peril to Papyrus to the Palace...3 Lesson Two God Calls Moses into Service...5 Lesson Three God Gives Moses a Powerful Message...7 Lesson Four Moses Confronts Pharaoh with God s Message...10 Lesson Five God Is Serious about His Word...12 Lesson Six Israel Is Taught to Rely on God...15 Lesson Seven Moses Led Israel with God s Word...17 Lesson Eight Moses Spiritual Leadership in Action...19 Note: Additional teaching options are offered in this guide that are not in the student s guide. Teachers may wish to use them in place of or in addition to the option given in the student s guide. All rights reserved. This leader s guide is not a copy master. Normal copyright restrictions apply. The purchaser of this kit may obtain additional leader s guides from Northwestern Publishing House. Order stock #22N0970. New edition, 2008 Northwestern Publishing House 1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI by Northwestern Publishing House. Published 1998 Printed in the United States of America ISBN

2 The Life of Moses Leader s Guide Page 2 Using the computer CD included in this Bible study kit Thank you for purchasing an NPH Bible study kit. The computer CD included with this Bible study offers resources to help you prepare to teach God s Word to his people. What will I find on the CD? Each CD contains two text files, GUIDES.TXT and RESOURCE.TXT, and two directories, GUIDES and RESOURCE. Read the short text files first. The GUIDES.TXT file tells you what is in the GUIDES directory. It lists the various formats for the student s guide copy masters. The RESOURCE.TXT file tells you what is in the RESOURCE directory. It contains a list of articles and resource material you may find helpful in preparing to teach the course. How do I open the text files? There are no programs on this CD. In other words, there is nothing you need to install on your computer and run. These are simple files, such as a letter or sermon you might save on your hard drive. To use these files, simply open them as you would any other file. Most word processors have a menu from which you can navigate to various places to locate files. You will need to tell your word processor that you want to find a file on the drive in which you inserted the Bible study CD. This will usually be drive c: or d:. If you are using a Windows word processor, click on drive c: or d: in the Open File window. When you have selected the appropriate drive, it will list the files and directories that are on the Bible study CD. What if no files or directories appear? Some word processors are set to show only files created by or for that program. You need to indicate that you want to see all the files on the CD. A pull-down menu in the Open File window gives you the options for the types of files you want the program to list. Choose all files or the equivalent. All the files and directories on your CD should appear. At this point you should be able to open the two text files. By navigating to the GUIDES and RESOURCE directories, you will be able to view the file names and open their contents as well. How do I use the files in the GUIDES directory? The GUIDES directory contains the student s guide copy masters and leader s guide. The files in the GUIDES directory are provided in both RTF and PDF formats. We have made every effort to provide you with the capability of adapting this Bible study to your needs. However, some degree of reformatting may be necessary to use the RTF files on your computer. The files included on this CD can be used by both IBM and Macintosh systems. If you have any questions about using the CD, please call NPH at (414) Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

3 The Life of Moses Leader s Guide Page 3 Lesson One From Peril to Papyrus to the Palace Introduction The authorities attempted to silence Luther because he clearly proclaimed the message of Scripture salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. He spoke against the heresies of the day (indulgences, purgatory, salvation by works, submission to the pope) and spoke on behalf of the perfect truth of God s Word. The people of Jesus day didn t want a spiritual leader who would forgive their sins but rather a temporal leader who would release them from the rule of the Roman empire. The authorities attempted to silence Jesus because he proclaimed who he was the eternal Son of God sent from heaven to win salvation for all. People still aim to silence Christians for the same reasons they wanted to silence Martin Luther and our Lord Jesus Christ. They don t love the truth. The truth offends them by exposing their sin and stating that the only way out from sin and its consequences is Jesus Christ. Studying God s Word A godless Pharaoh sets himself against the Lord 1. The Israelites had grown into a large nation, and Pharaoh thought they would pose a threat to Egypt should war break out and the Israelites side with its enemies. 2. He oppressed them with forced labor. 3. Matters only became worse for the Egyptians. God blessed the Israelites the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians now dreaded the Israelites. (1:12) 4. To kill all newborn Israelite boys. Christians are often labeled intolerant when we speak out against adultery, homosexuality, living together apart from marriage, and other sins. Christians are often scorned as politically incorrect bigots for their lack of tolerance. What the unbelieving world tolerates least is the teaching of salvation through Christ alone. This destroys their pride in that it calls for them to believe that salvation was earned for them by Jesus Christ. The cross seems like a foolish way to gain salvation. We should not be surprised if we are persecuted for Christ s name but should rather consider ourselves blessed and praise God that [we] bear [his] name (1 Peter 4:14,16). As we witness the king s command to kill all the Israelite baby boys, we can t help but think of how our society kills unborn children because these unborn children pose a threat. Why has a godless world foisted abortion on society? What can the Christian do? Quite simply, abortion is a direct result of unbelief. In promoting abortion as a woman s (or husband s or boyfriend s) option, the pro-abortion groups have put themselves in the place of God. Ultimately, that s what every unbeliever does; he dethrones the King of heaven and sets himself up as king. Abortionists follow warped, worldly goals when they encourage abortion: controlling the population, preventing potential financial hardship, ending unintended pregnancies, or avoiding children with physical or mental handicaps. While the abortionists use benign words such as choice and fetus, the Christian cannot stand silent on the sideline. First, we will proclaim the truth: Life begins at conception (Psalm 51:5). We must not hesitate to insist that God alone is the author and finisher of life. Abortion is murder! Second, we can

4 The Life of Moses Leader s Guide Page 4 make our Scriptural position known to those who have the power to change the laws. Note: Since statistics began to be taken in 1973, the United States has averaged 1.5 million abortions per year. There are 3 abortions for every 10 live births. Option 3 ordinary child. They obeyed God rather than men (Acts 5:29). 2. Moses own mother ended up caring for her baby. 3. The chosen, future leader of Israel was saved by the daughter of the ruler who desired Israel s destruction. Moses received his secular training from the enemy (Acts 7:22). The king of Egypt intended the midwives to conform and follow his plan. The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live (Exodus 1:17). Give some examples of how a godless society today wants us to conform... to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2). How must we respond? Television has fostered immorality among us perhaps more than any other technology in history. It s not the TV per se, but the programming. Preview your children s TV viewing, or watch the shows with your children and discuss with them what isn t God-pleasing. Sometimes (often?) it s best to turn it off. Remember that Satan will attempt to dull the sanctified senses of adult Christians as well. Our school system also has a roadway into the minds of our children. Know what your child is learning. Talk to the teachers. Then, as God intends, take it upon yourself to plant the Word of truth in your child s heart. Because our nation is wealthier than ever, we are bombarded with the fallacy that the acquisition of goods will fulfill our lives. We ward off this false notion by letting the Word of God dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), which results in our hearts being filled with the Spirit. The future leader of Israel was trained by Pharaoh himself 1. Faith prompted their action. Perhaps they had a special revelation from God because they knew this child was no From Scripture: Joseph s brothers selling him into slavery. Laban tricking Jacob. Daniel in the lion s den. The three men in the fiery furnace. God crushing Satan s head by the offspring of the woman Satan deceived in the first place. From the history of your church or from your own life: Answers will vary On Pentecost Peter told his listeners, You, with the help of wicked men, put [Jesus] to death by nailing him to the cross (Acts 2:23). Satan and his followers rejoiced at the crucifixion of Christ. How did the hand of God foil the plans of Satan and all who followed him in this, the greatest event of history? Christ s atoning death was God s eternal plan. He used the hands of godless men to accomplish his purpose. Forgiveness, life, and salvation were won for all through the death of Christ. The victory was unmistakably announced to all at Christ s resurrection. The Lord continues to frustrate the plans of the wicked 1. Until the Lord returns on the Last Day. Then the devil, who deceived them, will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur and be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10).

5 The Life of Moses Leader s Guide Page 5 2. To lead believers away from Christ so that the believers might join them in hell. 3. The decline of morality and the age of information that daily brings the atrocities of the world into our living rooms might make us think that Satan and his forces are winning. Certainly they wage an intense battle. But they aren t winning, nor can they win! Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33) and destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The victory is ours. 4. Surely all sin can and does damage the Christian s faith. However, the gospel of forgiveness repairs the damage. In Christ, our faith and salvation rest secure! It naturally follows that we will want to hear the gospel in God s Word and receive the Sacrament regularly. Answers will vary. Temptations always lead us to go to God s Word to find strength. Tragedies do the same. The Lord often sends such things into our lives so that we can comfort others with the comfort the Lord has given us. All temporal authority on earth has been established by God. Since we know this is true from Scripture, how can God s purposes be served by a wicked, godless government? God uses everything to serve the welfare of his church. Even a godless government can provide a peaceful environment in which to preach the gospel. Saint Paul tells Christians to pray for the welfare of their governments so that Christians can carry on their work. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) On the other hand, if a godless government carries on persecutions, it might prompt Christians to treasure their faith and God s Word all the more. It may spur the Christian to greater action for the sake of Christ. Lesson Two God Calls Moses into Service Introduction Children must be a certain age before they can spend the night at a friend s house, swim without supervision, go to a dance, go on a first date, or drive the car. Not now is spoken in love for the wellbeing of the child. It does not mean not ever. Studying God s Word God s timetable was different from Moses timetable 1. Moses took matters into his own hands by killing the Egyptian and hiding his body. 2. Scorn Who made you ruler and judge over us? (verse 14). They weren t ready for his leadership. Moses killing of the Egyptian had no impact on the Israelites at all. 3. Pharaoh tried to kill Moses. In terror Moses fled to the foreign land of Midian. The not now answer serves the Christian s best interest. The Lord desires to teach us to rely on him all the more when he says not now. He also teaches us patience a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Moses had it made. He lived in a palace and was surrounded by luxury. Yet, as we read in Hebrews 11:24-26, By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures