Today’s Focus
God’s Holiness Sets Him Apart
Start Here
Why would God tell someone to take their shoes off just to stand on a patch of dirt?
Reading — Exodus 3:1–6
Read it aloud once, slowly, then pause before you say anything.
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Discussion
Littles
God told Moses the ground was so special he had to take his sandals off — can you show me how fast Moses pulled his shoes off?
Let them act it out. Then ask why plain dirt was suddenly special: because God Himself was there in the burning bush, and God is holy, like no one else.
Middles
Moses had walked past plenty of ground before. What made this spot different enough that God said to take his shoes off?
Let them work it out. Follow-up: was it the dirt that had changed, or was it because of God being present?
Teens
In one sentence — what does ‘take off your sandals, this is holy ground’ tell you about how different God is from everything else?
After they answer: if God is that holy, does it change how you talk to Him, or about Him, today?
Walk It Out
Have everyone name one thing of their own they treat as special: a gift, a toy no one else may touch. Ask why that one gets handled differently from everything else. Then point them to God. Holy means set apart. He is set apart from everything that exists.
Prayer