Week 2: A God of Presence: Genesis & Exodus
Catch Phrase: A Brief Description
 We are going to start off class today with a quick game that is similar to the game of Catch
Phrase.
o Explain to the students that it will be guys against girls.
o Each team will have 5 participants who will each get 35 seconds to describe as many
clues as possible.
o You will draw a piece of paper out of the bowl, describe the clue as best you can
without saying any words that are in the clue. As soon as your teammate guesses
the correct answer, you draw out another clue and continue until time runs out.
o The team with the most points wins.
 After the game is over, ask a few questions to debrief:
o What are you trying to do with your hint?
o What is the key to a really good hint in Catch Phrase?
o What makes some hints better than others?
 If you were playing this game and you drew the clue GOD, how would you describe him?
What words, examples, phrases would you use to describe God?
o Write down the students’ responses on the board.
o Then, remind the students of what we talked about last week. Remind them that
we are beginning a study of the OT and the importance of knowing the full story of
God, not just some stories from the NT. While it is impossible to tackle the full story
in a few weeks, I want us to look at some stories from Genesis and Exodus today. As
we read these stories I want you to ask these questions:
 What stands out to me about God from these stories?
 What characteristics of God do I notice from these stories?
 What do I learn about God from these stories?
Group Exercise
 Split the students up into groups of 4-5
 Assign a text to each of the groups for them to read and discuss.
 Here are the texts:
o Genesis 16:1-14
o Genesis 21:8-20
o Exodus 3:1-12
o Exodus 5:22-6:8
o Exodus 16:1-12
 Each of these texts mentions something along the lines of God “hearing the
people” and coming to their rescue.
 The goal is for the students to pick up on the theme that God is present, that
he hears their cries, and that he is not immune to the hearts and lives of his
people.
o Encourage the students to read these texts with fresh eyes and ears. So often we
grow numb to these stories and miss the beauty and depth of what we are reading.
o Instruct the students to ready each story 2x thru. After they have finished reading
they should discuss the three questions that I mentioned earlier:
 What stands out to me about God from these stories?
 What characteristics of God do I notice from these stories?
 What do I learn about God from these stories?
o Record on the board the highlights of the answers from each of the three groups.
The Present God
 When you look at all of the answers that we wrote on the board, do you notice a pattern or
see any recurring answers?
o What do you notice? What does that mean?
o What does that tell us about who God is?
 How does the story of the Bible begin?
o What does the Garden of Eden story have to do with what we just talked about?
 Help them to “connect the dots” and notice that in the beginning, in man’s
ideal setting, it was designed for God to be present with man and dwell with
him.
 How does the story of the Bible end?
o Turn to Revelations 21:1-4
o What do you notice from this story?
 Help them to “connect the dots” and notice that in the end, in man’s ideal
setting, it will be designed for God to be present with man and dwell with
him.
The Nature of God: Present
 Where does God live?
o Just yesterday I was working with our Juniors and Seniors in preparation for our
upcoming Mission trip this summer and the question came up, “where does God
live?” The student quickly responded that God lives in heaven and the conversation
quickly moved on to another subject. However, I’m afraid that answer sells God
short.
o We have to begin to break down this stereotype, this belief, that God resides in
heaven and man on Earth and there is this incredible distance between the two that
will only be resolved upon the death of man. This is not true.
o The stories of Genesis and Exodus powerfully communicate that God is present
among his people. He hears their cries in the desert. He walks with them in the
garden. He goes before them, preparing the way, in their distress. He appears to
Moses. God is present.
o This idea that God sits up in heaven on a golden throne, light years away from man,
listening and watching every man’s move with a finger ready to point out the
wrong, is not accurate.
o God is with us.
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o He is not a distant genie in the sky.
o He is the almighty God, who is with us.
Turn to Matthew 1:22-23
o The name of Jesus, “Immanuel,” means “God with us.”
o Think of what that name would have meant to the Israelites, who have studied
these stories that we just talked about.
o The Creator God, who has desired to be with man from the very beginning, is now
coming in flesh and his very name means “God with us.”
One of the key characteristics of the nature of God, who God is, is presence. He is with us.
We cannot miss this point.
Think about the difference between the Christian life if we view God as distant and
removed on his throne in heaven versus present and with us and among us?
God is with us.
Close with Prayer: Father, we pray that we might believe that you are with us, and
acknowledge your presence in all that we do. We pray that we might live lives that welcome
your presence into our lives. We pray that we would slow down, and be still, and invite your
presence into the busyness and chaos of our lives. Show us the idols and sins and
distractions that blind us to your presence. Open our eyes. Remove the blinders. May we see
your presence in all that we do and walk with you each and every day of our lives. In Jesus
Name, Amen.