Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read Exodus 1
• What contrast is made between v6 and v7?
• What did Pharoah fear? (vv9-10)
• What conditions did the Israelites live in? (vv13-14)
• What were the midwives ordered to do?(v16)
• What reason does the text give for the midwives disobeying Pharoah’s order? What explanation do they provide to Pharoah? (v17, 19)
• How does God deal with the midwives? (vv20-21)

Prayerfully Meditate

• What does it mean that the new king “did not know Joseph?” (v.8). How does this set the stage for the entire book of Exodus?
• Does v19 endorse dishonesty? (Consider v19 in light of surrounding verses, like v20)
• What does it mean to fear God, as it pertains to the sanctity of human life? (vv17,21)
• Consider God’s promise to Abraham in Gen 13:16. In what ways do you see this promised fulfilled in this chapter? (vv. 7,12, 21)