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Home Footsteps Lesson Plan 1
Lesson Plan 1 PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 29 May 2008 08:45
STEPPING UP TO THE MARK
EXODUS 3: 1-15
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
• God calls us to do things for Him.
• Sometimes we feel inadequate but God always sees the best in us.
• Footsteps is leading us to the Country of Kenya to learn about the young people of Kajiado Diocese.
AIMS:
• To learn how God called Moses to do something special for Him.
• To know that God calls all of us to serve Him.
• To introduce the country of Kenya and the project.
• To think about the lives of the people in the FOOTSTEPS project.
THE STORY:
Moses’ life can be divided into three 40 year groups; the first 40 he spent as a prince in Pharaoh’s court, the second a shepherd in Midian and the third as the head of the nation of Israel in Jeshurun. Here he has just finished his second 40 when God speaks to him to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt - Moses’ commission from God. Moses had grown up in Egypt in the palace of a Pharaoh. After his first 40 years he ran away because he had killed an Egyptian that had been beating a Hebrew slave. Then he spent another 40 years living in the desert with the Midianites. He married the daughter of Jethro, a priest of Midian and tended sheep and goats. When he was forty God called him to do a very special task. One day, as Moses was looking after Jethro’s sheep in the desert, he came to Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb, (Hebrew name), ‘the mountain of God’. He saw something very unusual, a bush that appeared to be on fire, but it wasn’t burning up! He was curious and went near to have a closer look. Once God had caught Moses’ attention, God called out to him from the bush. “Moses, Moses!”. Moses answered, “Here am I.” God then told Moses to take off his sandals. God explained that the place where he was standing was holy ground. It was a special  place because God was there. Moses God was preparing him to free Israel from Pharaoh’s grasp. The life of a shepherd was difficult, trying to find food for the animals and moving them from place to place. The life of the Maasai in Kajiado is similar - semi-nomadic and herding cattle, sheep and goats. They would be able to relate to Moses in the desert, as Kajiado is also a very dusty and dry area too. Mount Sinai/Horeb was a very significant place in the Old Testament. God told Moses in verse 12 that he would return to this place with the children of Israel and it was here that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. God spoke to Moses in a very unexpected way, a burning bush! God catches our attention in many different ways, sometimes using unexpected sources - through people, thoughts, experiences and through reading the Bible. A bush that didn’t burn made Moses stop and take notice because God had something very important to say. This was a bush that Moses may have walked past daily as he tended his sheep, insignificant and just a bush! How often do we walk past situations and miss God’s Holy ground and situations where God wants us to help? Moses took off his sandals and covered his face because he was standing on Holy ground and to show his unworthiness before God. God is our friend but He is also our sovereign Lord and we must show Him respect and give Him our worship. Sometimes we forget to truly honour God for who He is. Moses made excuses to God because he felt inadequate for the job asked of him. It was natural to feel that way but God was not asking Moses to do it  by himself, God would be with him. God often calls us to do things that seem difficult, but He doesn’t ask us to do them alone. We have the Lord and other people around us. We should not hide behind our inadequacies, as Moses did but allow God to use us and our own unique abilities and skills He has given us. Jehovah - I AM WHO I AM. In a world where morals,  values and laws change constantly, we can find stability and security in our unchanging God.
MEMORY VERSE:
“Your word is a lamp to my
feet and a light for my path”
Psalm 119: v105
PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus. Thank
you that you are always there
for us when we ask. Thank you
for Moses who stepped out for
you. Help us to remember to
pray for the country of Kenya
and the people in Kajiado. May
we learn to serve you in our
lives here in Ireland and let our
footsteps lead us closer to you.
Amen.
was afraid and covered his eyes
because he realised it was God
speaking to him. God was
calling him for a very special
task, to be the leader of the
Israelites, free them from
slavery in Egypt and take them
to serve God in the Promised
Land. Moses did not feel that
he was the person to do such an
important task and began
making excuses. But God
reassured Moses, telling him, “I
will be with you.”
In a final effort to make an
excuse, Moses asked God what
his name was so he could tell
the children of Israel who it was
that had sent him. God
answered with a word we now
call Jehovah (from Yahweh),
which means I AM WHO I AM
and shows that God always
lives and is always with his
people. The Lord, the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
This will be the Lord’s name
forever and will be used
throughout all generations.
THE APPLICATION:
What a difference between
Moses’ life as an Egyptian
Prince and as a Shepherd in the
desert! This must have been
quite a humbling experience.
But God was preparing Moses
for the challenges ahead and the
task that God was calling him
to undertake. Living the life of
a shepherd and nomad, Moses
learned about the ways of the
people he would be leading out
of Egypt and also about life in
the wilderness. Moses couldn’t
appreciate this at the time, but