• What do you already know about the book of Exodus?

• What images, character or stories stand out to you that you're looking forward to as we read through it?

• What questions or problems do you think might come up as we read through it?

Watch the video for Part 1:

In chapter 1, we read about the suffering of God's people in Egypt. The Pharaoh has enslaved them, treated them harshly and worked them ruthlessly. Yet they continue to multiply and spread...

Read Exodus 1:22-2:10

• What do you imagine it would have been like to hide a newborn baby for 3 months?

• According to Pharaoh's law, what was required of Jochebed (the baby's mother)? Did she obey?

• The author of Exodus doesn't mention God in this telling of the story. What role do you think we should imagine God is playing here?

• Growing up in the palace as the princesses adopted son, what would Moses' life been like? How might this prepare Moses to be God's appointed leader and rescuer?

Read Exodus 2:11-25

• Why do you think Moses killed the Egyptian? What were his motivations and what did he hope to achieve?

• How do his actions here connect with God's purposes for His people? And how do they disconnect?

• What do we discover about Moses's character in the incident at the well?

• How does Moses's self-identity as "a foreigner in a foreign land" sound to you, considering the Israelites current situation in Egypt?

• What is God up to in this time - why has he taken the future rescuer of Egypt away to Midian while His people continue to suffer in Egypt?

• What connections does this story have with the story of Jesus? See how many different connections you can think of...

• Having reflected on this story, do you think it help us make some sense of our own experiences of suffering? Where is God when we fail and things go wrong? Where is God when we cry out to him for help?

Spend some time in prayer

• Pray about the suffering caused by evil governments and even acts of genocide in our world today, for the persecuted church around the world, and for God Kingdom to Come in those places. Add you voices to those who are 'crying out to God for help'.

• Pray for one another if there are any particular needs or issues that need prayer for God to intervene.

• Spend some time praising God for His faithfulness in keeping his promises, even the ones we are still waiting for.