Exodus

If you have made it this far and finished this reading plan, great work! Reading God’s Word is one of the most important rhythms we can bring into our lives, and it often does not come without great effort. Our lives are full of responsibilities and distractions which often make the simple act of reading — not just the Bible, but reading anything — a challenge. And then there is the spiritual aspect, as well. The Bible is full of light and life. It has the power to bring us into a closer relationship with God, ourselves, and others. It invites us into a vision of the reality as it really is — a reality created and sustained by the one, true, and living God. It is, in some sense, dangerous ground. When we risk the time and effort and faith to engage the Word of God, we are putting ourselves into a position to receive the truth about who we really are, who God really is, and how much this God loves us. We say this is “dangerous ground” because there are spiritual forces that work against us experiencing these things. Sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious, these forces want nothing more than to prevent us from growing towards God. And the fact that you finished this reading plan, and endured, is an important spiritual victory. Great work. Truly.

But, now what?

Perhaps you are ready for a break in reading the Bible. Perhaps you think that you have “done your duty” and now you are free to “get back to normal life.” Yes. This is exactly what you should do. But “normal life” might not mean what you think. The Bible shows us that normal life is precisely what God is about. He sustains everything that surrounds you and, whether good or bad, allows it all to exist so it can be used. For what? As opportunities to meet Him. To grow in obedience. To experience His love.

As you look ahead, we pray that you continue to find God throughout your normal life. And an important part of finding Him in your normal life is staying connected to His Word. Like an oasis in the desert, we can regularly return to God’s truth and find refreshment, joy, strength, comfort, hope, and love. These are the things we need most. May we keep pursuing them as we continue on, living our “normal lives,” with God in our hearts, our minds, and our souls.

Adam Dressler – Lead Pastor

Welcome to our final week of reading leading up to Resurrection Sunday! We encourage you to reflect on what we have seen in our Exodus reading, knowing the history and context of the Exodus scriptures will impact your reading of these New Testament passages chronicling Jesus’ last week on earth. We serve a God who wants to dwell with us and wants to deliver us from slavery to freedom. God makes a way through His son Jesus for us to be free. Through his life, death, and resurrection, we are now free…that is GOOD NEWS! Looking forward to celebrating Easter together on Sunday April 4th, in person or online as a church family.

Welcome to Week 6 of our Grace in the Word reading plan. This week we get to see all the plans for the Tabernacle come to fruition in the building process. We also will read about God’s presence coming to dwell among His people because of their obedience to follow His detailed plan. We encourage you to look deep into God’s heart this week as you read to see His character on display. The story does not end this week as we finish Exodus. The story of Exodus leads us so beautifully into our Week 7 reading leading up to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday on April 4th.

Welcome to week 5 of our Grace in the Word reading. This week we read the famous story of the Golden Calf and see what happens when worship and focus becomes misguided. We encourage you this week to evaluate your rhythms and schedule in order to focus more on God and place Him at the center of your life. This might require some reflection and reorienting but it will be worth it to fully engage with the God that wants to draw near to His people.

Welcome to week 4 of our Grace in the Word reading. This week we will begin to get the instructions for the Tabernacle. We encourage you not to get caught up in the details, but to focus on what it tells us about God. The Tabernacle represents how a sinful people can approach a holy God. The symbolism in the Tabernacle points us to Jesus. Look for Him in the details.

Resources for this week:

Tabernacle Video – this video walks through the pieces of the Tabernacle and explains the symbolism of each piece.

If you prefer listening to the scripture each day, download the YouVersion Bible App or the ESV Bible App

Welcome to Week 3 of our Grace in the Word reading. This week we read the Ten Commandments and as we’ve been learning in our series through these commands, we see that these are impossible for us to follow apart from the work of Jesus in our hearts. As you read this week, we encourage you to see God’s character and heart on display in each and every page of scripture… as he gives laws as a form of protection for His people and as he continues to pursue a covenant relationship to draw His people into a deeper walk with Him.

Here are some helpful resources for this week’s reading:

The BibleProject Exodus 19-40 Overview Video – this is a great overview to help us see where these scriptures fit into the overall narrative of the Bible.
Explanation of Covenants in Scripture, click HERE.

If you prefer listening to the scripture each day, download the YouVersion Bible App or the ESV Bible App

Welcome to Week 2 of our Grace in the Word plan. In this week’s reading, we will see a God who rescues His people and provides for them. This week we will cover some significant biblical passages in the biblical narrative, such as the Plagues, Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea. These passages may be familiar to you, but we encourage you to read these scriptures with fresh eyes looking for God’s character and hearing the whispers of Jesus sprinkled throughout these passages.

Helpful Resources for this week:
Article explaining the Plagues – www.gotquestions.org/ten-plagues-Egypt.html
Chart of the 10 Plagues: www.biblecharts.org/oldtestament/thetenplagues.pdf

If you prefer listening to the scripture each day, download the YouVersion Bible App or the ESV Bible App

Welcome to Week 1 of our Grace in the Word study! We are excited to be on this journey as a church family reading scripture together leading up to Easter Sunday. This reading plan is adapted from the “See the Lord’s Salvation” Lent study from She/He Reads Truth. It will take us on a journey through Exodus, but along the way we will pair the Exodus scripture with other verses that help us see God’s ultimate plan to bring His people out of slavery and into freedom through Christ.

Each week is set up with 5 days of reading as well as a Grace Day and a Reflection Day. This page will be updated each week with extra resources and a video from one of our staff members.

Here are a few resources that you might find useful as you start this journey:
The BibleProject Exodus 1-18 Overview Video –  a great overview to help us see where these scriptures fit in the overall narrative of the Bible
Blue Letter Bible website – a great place to easily search for original Hebrew/Greek meaning of words
If you prefer listening to the scripture each day, download the YouVersion Bible App or the ESV Bible App