QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• Try to describe the design of the tabernacle, its parts, and furniture. 
• How was Israel’s three-parted tabernacle a miniature replica of the original earthly creation? How was Israel’s three-parted tabernacle a miniature replica of the entire creation (heaven and earth)?
• There was no physical tabernacle from Adam to Moses. What was the good news communicated through the tabernacle when it was given to Israel in the days of Moses? Think in terms of kingdom, temple, and rest.
• What, in particular, was the message proclaimed by the ark of the covenant, table of showbread, lampstand, and altar of incense?
• How do these features of the tabernacle help us to better appreciate who Jesus Christ was and what he did for us on the cross to earn our redemption?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• Have you ever wrestled with the questions that Asaph wrestled with in Psalm 73:2-14?
• According to Psalm 73, how should we interpret the prosperity of the wicked?
• How should we interpret the sufferings of the righteous?
• How would going up to the Old Covenant temple help someone wrestling with these questions to regain a proper (eternal) perspective?  What is the New Covenant parallel to this?
• “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26, ESV). Discuss.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• What was the purpose of the tabernacle for Old Covenant Isarel? What were they to do there, and what did it communicate to them, and to the world, about what God was doing in and through them? In other words, how did the tabernacle proclaim the gospel?
• Trace the theme of tabernacle/temple from Genesis 2 through to the end of Revelation 22. Why is it important to trace this theme and to note its development?  Stated differently, what might we miss if we focus too narrowly on the details of the tabernacle and temple that Israel built?
• The garden-temple of Eden was not made of wood, metal, cloth, or stone. It was God dwelling in with his people in the world he had made. And so too, the temple of the new heavens and earth will be like this (Revelation 21). There will be no temple structure. All will be temple. Firstly, why then did God command Israel to build a structure? And secondly, does this help you to understand why the is no temple structure under the New Covenant, rather, the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit?  
• If the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit now, what are the implications concerning the nature, purpose, and mission of the church?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• How are people justified (saved, redeemed) now that Christ has accomplished our redemption? How were people justified (saved, redeemed) before Christ accomplished our redemption?
• The gospel preached before Christ is the same gospel preached after Christ. How so? The gospel preached before Christ was different than the gospel preached after Christ. How so?
• The gospel preached before Christ was delivered through promises, prophesies, types, and shadows. Define these terms. What do they all share in common? 
• The seventh-day weekly sabbath proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in a shadowy, symbolic way. What was the good news that it proclaimed?
• Does the practice of weekly Sabbath observance remain for the people of God who live now under the new covenant (see Hebrews 4:8-11)? If so, what day is the Sabbath? What message does the Lord’s Day Sabbath communicate? How does it differ from the seventh-day Sabbath? 
• How should we keep the Sabbath day holy? How does this benefit the people of God?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• Why is it important to tell the backstory of creation and of man’s fall into sin when proclaiming the good news that salvation is available through faith in Christ?
• What ought to be said about creation?
• What ought to be said about the fall?
• What ought to be said about redemption?
• What ought to be said about the consummation of all things?
• Having proclaimed the gospel, what should men and women be urged to do?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• The Old Mosaic Covenant was a covenant of works. Israel broke it. They deserved to be cut off. But God showed mercy. Why did God show mercy? On what basis?
• Why is it important to see that a new covenant was not being made with Isarel in this episode? The one they just entered into and broke was being reinstated. What evidence for this is found in the text?
• What does this reinstatement of the covenant reveal about the LORD, his attributes, and his ways? 
• What does the LORD further reveal about himself in this text? See Exodus 34:6-8.
• What did the radiant glory that fell upon Moses signify? What did the fact of it fading signify? See 2 Corinthians 3.
• Discuss the mercy of God, or his patience with fallen humanity. What is its purpose? Why has he delayed the full and final judgment?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• Israel was encamped at Mt. Sinai for almost a year. Try to give an overview of everything that happened while there.
• How does this text relate to the instructions given for the building of the tabernacle and the sin of idolatry? In other words, what problem or question is addressed here in Exodus 33?
• This was a test for Isarel and for Moses. How so?
• Why was it important that the LORD be present in the midst of his people? Why was this important to Moses and Israel? Why was this important in terms of what it communicated about the goal of our redemption in Christ Jesus?
• Is your greatest desire to dwell in God’s presence and to enjoy his beauty and glory? Read Psalm 27:4 and John 17:3. Discuss the implications. 
• How can we enjoy the presence of God now?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Sermon manuscript available at emmausrbc.org

• Why are sinful men and women drawn to idolatry?
• What can ministers of the gospel learn from Aaron’s failure?
• How was the grace of God revealed through the LORD’s interaction with Moses, and through Moses’ intercession for Israel?
• If we consider only the Old Mosaic Covenant, would God have been wrong to blot Israel out because of their sin? 
• On what basis did Moses plead with God to show mercy and grace to Israel? (32:11-14)
• How does the Old Covenant differ from the New Covenant (Jerimiah 31:31ff.)
• Will the New Covenant people of God have to struggle against sin in general, and the sin of idolatry in particular (Colossians 3:5–17)?