7.5.26 - The Mercy That Defines Us (Kenny Camacho)
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 32-33 & Deuteronomy 34
YOU CAN ALSO READ KENNY’S MANUSCRIPT FOR THIS MESSAGE HERE!
REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
In this series, we have defined spiritual formation as a journey from being 'self-centered' to being 'other-centered.' What does that shift actually look like in everyday life, and what tends to get in the way of making that move?
Where would you honestly place yourself on that spectrum right now—more self-centered or more other-centered—and what is one specific thing that keeps pulling you back toward self-centeredness?
In Exodus 32:30-32, Moses pleads with God on behalf of the Israelites and says, 'Please forgive their sin — but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.' What does it mean to truly intercede for someone, and why is that kind of selfless 'standing in the gap' so rare?
Can you think of a time when you absorbed a consequence or a cost that wasn't really yours to carry? Looking back, do you see God's hand in that moment?
Moses’s life ends in an anonymous grave, his resting place unknown to anyone. Kenny said this reveals that 'the fruit of it all is rarely something we get to see.' How do you personally wrestle with serving faithfully when you may never see the results of what you've given?
'Mercy defines us’: not power, not success, and not even ‘just being good people.’ What do you think it actually means for mercy to be the thing that defines your life, and how is that different from how most people think about what makes a life meaningful?