Groups Discussion Guide
Read Scripture. Go Deeper. Ask Questions. Take Action.
Coming Clean
Scripture
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”
Main Idea
God wants to spend time with us every day. As in Genesis when God walked with Adam and Eve to have communal time in conversation, He wants that for us too. And we do that through prayer. Even if you think prayer isn’t something you want or need more of, we can always work to spend better quantity AND better-quality prayer time conversing with our Father. It’s easy for most of us to spend our time with Him asking for things, and that’s no wrong, He wants that. But the more time we spend simply working through the other areas of our lives, the closer we are to God.
When we neglect prayer we really reject God.
Discussion Questions
- What has been your biggest challenge in establishing a good prayer life?
- What residue from the world do you need to give to God so you can see the righteousness within you?
Summary
Just inside the Tabernacle is a laver where people would wash before they entered the Holy place and talk with God—washing off the residue of the world. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus and the relationship we have with God we don’t need to come to Him already clean. Spending time talking with God IS coming clean. God wants you more aware of the reality that’s in you than the residue that’s on you. That’s what God sees when we come to Him in prayer. The Laver in the tabernacle allowed people to see their reflection before they washed clean. But don’t look at the residue on you, look at the righteousness in you. We come to God knowing His grace will meet us there. We are clean and in Christ we have hope. In Christ you’re an overcomer. In Christ you’re healed and your future is secure. Spending time in prayer allows God to show us God time to show us these things about ourselves and how to move forward knowing the way He sees us.
Take Action
- Read the Tabernacle Prayer every day this week in your prayer time. A PDF and mp3 is atvel.city/tabernacleprayer.
- Begin all your prayers with thanksgiving and praise. See how shifting from asking and requests first will shift your time conversating with God.
- Reread the supplementary verses for this week: Hebrews 10:22-23, 2 Corinthians 3:18, James 1:22-25
Announcements
- Baptisms are March 31st! It’s an outward expression of an inward decision to follow Christ. Register at vel.city/baptism
