Faith Under Pressure · Session 4 of 14
Daily bread and wilderness dependence
Step 1
Read
Exodus 16; Deuteronomy 8:1–18; Matthew 6:11
Use your preferred translation.
What does receiving enough for today teach us about control, gratitude, and remembering?
Step 2
Observe
- What does the passage say? Restate it in your own words before interpreting it.
- Who is speaking, and to whom?
- What is the surrounding context — what comes just before and after?
- Which words or phrases repeat or stand out?
Step 3
Discuss
- What happened when people gathered more manna than they needed? What was God teaching?
- Deuteronomy 8 warns about forgetting God in prosperity. Why might abundance be more dangerous than the wilderness?
- How does praying “Give us this day our daily bread” challenge our desire for control?
Step 4
Apply
Where are you trying to store up security rather than trusting God day by day?
Step 5
Practice
Share a meal or groceries with someone this week, practicing the generosity that daily dependence makes possible.
Step 6
Pray
Ask God for today’s bread, and thank Him for the ways He has provided before.
Facilitator notes
- Invite participation without requiring personal disclosure.
- Let people disagree respectfully.
- Avoid speculation about someone’s salvation or explaining why a particular tragedy happened.
- Never pressure participants to describe trauma publicly.
- Discuss beliefs honestly without expecting any participant to represent an entire community.