COMMUNITY GROUP GUIDE — WEEK 1
THE MASTERS WE SERVE
Exodus 1:13–14; 2:11–15
Big Question: What has a hold on me?
LEADER REMINDER
This week begins our Exodus journey with slavery.
Exodus 1 describes Israel's physical slavery to Pharaoh. The Hebrew word ebed—serve/slave—is repeated over and over. Exodus wants us to feel the weight of what happens when something becomes our master.
Then Exodus 2 makes the idea personal.
Moses may live in Pharaoh's palace, but he isn't truly free either. He sees injustice, becomes angry, takes control, kills an Egyptian, hides what he's done, and eventually runs away.
His desire for justice isn't wrong. But his anger and need to take matters into his own hands have become masters themselves.
This introduces one of the major themes we'll follow throughout Exodus:
Everybody serves something. The question isn't whether I have a master, but what is mastering me.
God's message through Moses will eventually be not simply, "Let My people go," but repeatedly:
"Let My people go, so that they may serve Me."
Biblical freedom isn't merely freedom from something.
It's freedom to belong completely to the God who gives us life.
Tonight isn't primarily about identifying everybody else's "Pharaohs." Help people gently and honestly ask: What has a hold on me?
1. CONNECT
Start casually. Give people time to settle in and connect.
Opening Question
What's something completely harmless that has way more power over you than it should?
Coffee? Your phone? A sports team? Amazon? Sweets? Checking email? Being early? Being late?
Have fun with this.
Then transition:
Tonight we're going to take that same question somewhere deeper: What are the things that have a hold on us that might actually be shaping who we're becoming?
2. SCRIPTURE
Read together:
Exodus 1:13–14
Then read:
Exodus 2:11–15
You don't need to reteach the sermon.
Simply remind everyone:
Israel is obviously enslaved to Pharaoh. But Exodus immediately gives us Moses—a man with incredible privilege and power who is still not completely free. Something inside him is controlling how he responds.
3. CONVERSATION
Don't feel pressure to ask every question. Follow where the conversation has life.
QUESTION 1
What stands out to you about Moses in this story?
What seems to be driving him?
What does he want?
What goes wrong?
QUESTION 2
What are some things our culture calls "freedom" that can actually become masters?
If needed:
Success
Money
Career
Approval
Sexuality
Comfort
Individualism
Politics
Our phones
Productivity
Control
Image
Let this remain cultural/general for a few minutes.
Then make the turn:
QUESTION 3
What tends to have a hold on you?
Another way to get there:
What is something that, when you don't get it—or when it's threatened—you become a different version of yourself?
Approval?
Control?
Being right?
Success?
Comfort?
Money?
Attention?
Security?
Achievement?
A relationship?
Your reputation?
This is the heart of the night.
Don't rush it.
4. PRACTICE — NAMING OUR MASTERS
Explain:
We can easily recognize Pharaoh in someone else's life.
It's harder to recognize the things we serve.
So rather than only talking about this, we're going to invite the Holy Spirit to show us what's happening inside us.
STEP 1 — SILENCE
Invite everyone to sit comfortably.
Take 2–3 minutes of actual silence.
You might say:
"Holy Spirit, show me anything I'm serving that is keeping me from living free."
Then offer these questions slowly, leaving silence between each:
What do I think I need in order to be okay?
What am I most afraid of losing?
Whose approval feels essential to me?
What do I have difficulty saying no to?
What makes me disproportionately angry when it's threatened?
Where do I feel an unusual need to stay in control?
Don't make people answer each question.
They're simply prompts for listening.
STEP 2 — NAME IT
After the silence, invite everyone to write one sentence:
I think ________ may have more of a hold on me than I realized.
No one is required to share.
But encourage people who feel comfortable to share briefly.
STEP 3 — REPLACE, DON'T JUST REMOVE
Remind the group:
The message of Exodus isn't simply:
Stop serving Pharaoh.
It's:
Come serve the God who sets you free.
Freedom isn't simply removing a bad master.
It's putting our lives back under the loving leadership of God.
Ask:
What might it look like this week to trust God instead of this master?
Make it small and concrete.
If my master is approval → maybe I don't check reactions/likes after posting something.
If it's productivity → maybe I stop working at a predetermined time.
If it's control → maybe I deliberately entrust one unresolved situation to God in prayer each morning.
If it's money/security → maybe I practice generosity.
If it's my phone → maybe it sleeps outside my bedroom.
If it's being right → maybe I choose to listen rather than win an argument.
If it's comfort → maybe I say yes to serving someone when it's inconvenient.
The practice should respond to the master we've identified.
5. PRAYER + MINISTRY
Don't rush this section.
If the group is large, break into groups of 2–3.
Invite each person who is comfortable to finish:
"Jesus, I want freedom from ________, and I want to trust You with ________."
Then have the others pray briefly and specifically for that person.
Encourage people not to give advice or fix one another.
Just pray.
Leave some silence.
Make room for the Holy Spirit.
If someone senses an encouraging word, Scripture, or picture for another person, share it humbly and allow the recipient to discern it.
6. PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK
Before everyone leaves, return to the one concrete action they identified.
THIS WEEK:
NOTICE
When does this "master" show up most strongly?
NAME
When you recognize it, simply acknowledge it:
"This is the thing we've been talking about."
TURN
Pray:
"Jesus, You are my Lord. Teach me to trust You here."
PRACTICE
Follow through on the one small action you chose tonight.
The goal isn't to conquer something in seven days.
The goal is to begin noticing what forms us and intentionally placing that part of our lives under the leadership of Jesus.
LEADER NOTE
A successful night does not mean you finished every question.
If someone gets honest and the group begins ministering to that person, stay there.
But try not to skip the practice because conversation went long.
We're trying to establish a rhythm:
SCRIPTURE → HONESTY → PRACTICE → PRAYER
We're not simply learning what Exodus says about freedom.
We're learning together how to live free.