Message Notes for July 27, 2025

Series: Mountaintop Moments

Title: Mount Moriah – A View of God’s Presence

Mountains are a destination place for people all over the world.  Mountains are places to engage in the awe, the pristine, the beautiful.  They are places to rejuvenate our souls, challenge our resolves and re-awaken the possible.

Mountains are the places God met with His people and elevated their view to see more clearly His love, His direction and His presence. This summer let’s meet God on the mountain.  He is waiting!  Prepare your soul! 

History of Mount Moriah:

1900 BC – Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed. 

1000 BC – King David purchased the location for an altar to God. 

957 BC – King Solomon built the first temple.

587 BC – The temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar. 

515 BC – The second temple was built by King Darius.

18 BC – King Herod greatly added to the temple – calling it Herod’s Temple.

70 A.D. The temple was destroyed by Roman armies of Emperor Vespasian under General Titus.

685 A.D. The Muslim Dome of the Rock was built.

…The Future Temple

What God wants us to know about Him on Mount Moriah.

∙ God desires and honors faithfulness.  (Genesis 22:1-19)

∙ Following God is an act of trust. (2 Samuel Chapter 24)

∙ Mount Moriah is the place where God’s glory shines. (Matthew 5:16)

Revelation 21: 22-27 ESV “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb ²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb….”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Family/Group Study Notes for the week of July 27, 2025

Series: Mountaintop Moments

Title: Mount Moriah – A View of God’s Presence

• Mount Moriah means “The Land of Yahweh”. Share with each other where you experience the presence of God the most? What makes that place and/or experience so special? 
• Read Genesis 22:1-19.  What was God asking of Abraham? What was Abraham’s immediate response to God’s command? What does Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac reveal about faith and obedience? What does Isaac’s compliance say about his own trust in his father and his God? How can the story of God providing the ram for Abraham encourage you in your current season? In what ways is God still calling Christians to sacrifice today?  How can these sacrifices bring us into a more trusting relationship with God?  What does God want to show us through these sacrifices in life? 
• Read 2 Samuel chapter 24.  Where did things go wrong with God for David? Why did David feel he needed to count everyone in Israel?  What did that say about David’s pride and trust in himself rather than God? When it comes to what God wants to do through your life, in what ways do you count instead of trust?  Why do we need to build an altar before the Lord?  Why was it important for David’s sacrifice to God to cost him something?  
• What similarities and differences are there between the events involving Abraham and David on Mount Moriah? How does the theme of sacrifice develop across Mount Moriah stories? Have you ever felt tested by God like Abraham? How did you respond? What does Mount Moriah teach us about worship, obedience, and God’s presence?
• Read Matthew 5:16. What does it look like to let your light shine, so others see God’s glory?
• Pray for each other.