Have you ever felt like God was telling you to do something but then began to question it when you hit a road block? How do you respond when your first attempt fails or everything seems to just get worse? Have you ever known God was in it, but still wonder if you have the strength to make it to the other side? Do you want to quit when everything is hard even though you know there is a reward waiting for you if you make it through? Is it worth the bad to get to the good? God sent Moses to Pharaoh with a promise that he would deliver the people from Egypt. But when everything got worse instead of better, Moses questioned God. Why did you send me if it was only going to bring trouble on the people? Everything is worse than before and You have not delivered Your people as you said. God fulfills His promises. His time & ways are different but they are right. He can strengthen and equip us to make it through. There is great reward on the other side of our struggles. Be encouraged to persevere!

Moses & Aaron go to Pharaoh & tell him to let God's people go. He places himself in direct opposition to God as the Lord of their lives. Who would you want to serve? Do we serve God above other masters.

God is for His children & against anyone that opposes Him & His children. If we reject His son then we put ourselves in opposition to Him. In this passage, God tells Moses that He will show Himself Mighty for His Children & against Pharaoh. We will talk about God hardening Pharaoh's heart & how we reconcile that with His Word. Also how important it is to be one of His children & witness to others. We are called to preach the gospel, tell others all God has done for us, growing our faith & theirs.

When God called Moses to deliver the people from Egypt, He made several excuses. He felt inadequate in many ways. God was patient, reassuring, and encouraging and Moses finally followed the call. How do we react when the Lord calls us? God told Moses that He created him, knew all his strengths and weaknesses, and would equip him to do what He called him to. God tells us the same reassuring and encouraging words today. He is detailed and purposeful in creating each one of us. It is not by accident or chance that we are the way we are. He will never ask us to do something that we aren't capable of doing with His help. So answer when the Lord calls! Look at the blessing that Moses received.

Moses is 80 years old when God calls him back to Egypt to finally deliver the people from their oppression. When asked who he should tell the people that God is, the Lord says, "I am who I am. Tell them, I am has sent you." So we discuss who the Israelites would know God to be up to this point in the earth's history & why He is a glorious and holy God. Listen to hear many of God's names & characteristics.

The oppression of the Egyptians has gone too far and it is time for God to begin executing His plan for deliverance, so Moses is born. Moses is a man that cannot stand quietly, idly by and watch injustice being done to others. Three times he stands up for the powerless. Who do we know that is oppressed? How do we stand up for them?

Jacob & his sons have all passed away by this time and the children of Israel had multiplied greatly. The new Pharaoh was afraid of this large group of people and he sought to suppress them. He first submitted them to hard labor but they continued to grow into a large nation just as the Lord promised to Abraham hundreds of years before. When that did not work, he told the midwives to kill all the baby boys at birth. But the midwives feared the Lord and they did not do it. When confronted by Pharaoh they lied to him. The Lord rewarded the midwives for their faith by giving them a family of their own. We then go to the scriptures to find out how the Lord feels about civil disobedience.

Jacob dies and is buried in Hebron. Joseph's brothers begin to worry that he will punish them for selling him into slavery, so they beg for his forgiveness. Are they truly sorry or just afraid? Does it matter? Does God want us to forgive even if the other person isn't repentant? Can we trust God with that person's intentions and move forward?

Joseph continues as governor over Egypt. The people begin paying a 20% tax. Jacob is about to die so he gathers his sons & some of his grandsons, telling each of them what will happen in the coming years. Joseph gets double the inheritance & his younger son will be greater than his older. This a very informative episode about the Israelite nation.

Joseph and Jacob are finally reunited. Joseph settles his family in Goshen. This is how God keeps them one nation under Him while also allowing them to grow. Jacob describes his life as short but evil. We contrast his life with that of his fathers and of Joseph. Then we reflect on our own lives and how we can be thankful for the life that the Lord has given us.