Catch-up
What was your high point from this past week? What was the hardest part of this past week?
Reading/Discussion
Because this week’s Scripture passage covers four chapters, you may choose to read aloud the entirety of Exodus 7-10, or you may opt to read the following highlights: Exodus 7:1-9:19; Exodus 10.
What event, idea, or moment stood out to you the most from this week’s Scripture passage about the first nine plagues?
What idea, example, or teaching challenged you the most from this week’s sermon?
Which day from the daily work resonated with you or challenged you the most?
Initially, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to replicate God’s acts of power with their own. But their “God substitutes” soon proved inadequate and unhelpful—just making matters worse. What “God substitutes” are people drawn to and why? How does each one fall short?
What positions of authority do you hold? How can you allow God to display His power through you (rather than displaying it in spite of you, as in Pharaoh’s case)?
One of the biggest challenges of these chapters is understanding what it means when God “hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” What questions do you have about this? How can you help each other understand this concept? Look together through the passages for instances of Pharaoh having a hard heart (7:3, 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, 9:7, 9:12, 9:34, 10:20, 10:27). What do you observe? What conclusions do you draw?
How does this passage or sermon challenge you to live differently this week?
Encouragement
What do you sense God doing in you that you need to respond to?
What do you sense God doing around you that He is inviting you into?
What do you sense God is doing through you that you need courage for?
Accountability
At this time, the group may want to split into smaller, gendered groups.
What “God-substitutes” tempt you the most? What are you doing about that?
What has your time in God’s Word and prayer been like this week?
What have you learned from Jesus this week?
Have you consistently reflected the love of Christ to those in your life this week?
Where have you wrestled with temptation this week?
What strongholds have you wrestled with this week?
Have you been 100% honest?
Prayer
Spend time as a group in prayer for anything that surfaced during the discussion/accountability time that you think needs to be brought before the Lord.