Preach Exodus! Week One

This session creates opportunities for people of all ages to:

• remember and enjoy what God has provided
• praise God the creator
• reflect on attitudes to poverty and wealth
• tell and hear stories of people trapped by poverty and some trapped by their wealth.

The Preach Exodus! all age resources are extensive and this is especially true of this first week. It is impossible to use everything so do not be overwhelmed by the volume of material but make choices about what will work well for you. Suggestions are made in the resources for how the material might be used in other contexts. A longer creation activity is suitable for an additional Sunday meeting or an all age evening or Saturday activity.

This first week sets the scene so we can understand the Exodus story and in particular theme of gifts and possessions. We start by thinking about two things that seem to be totally contradictory. Firstly, the Bible speaks of God as a God of abundant creation but Israel in Chapter 1 of Exodus is a captive people, with a spirit broken by cruelty and poverty. This contradiction is what the Bible calls sin. The activities in week one resource both themes and both should be reflected in the worship.

• Begin by reading the main Exodus Introduction for an overview of the Exodus story and the importance of the gifts within the story.
• Read theWeek One Introduction carefully to get the feel of how to balance the themes of abundance and poverty.
• It may be helpful for those planning worship to read through the adult sermon notes for this week to grasp the background to the Exodus story.
• For a brief description of the various elements of the Exodus resources see Using Exodus.