Starting Nehemiah

Hey Everyone!

I'm excited to start our seiries of lessons this month in Nehemiah. Most of the lessons are focused on looking at Nehemiah's example and applying that to our lives, so I focused this morning on the redemptive-historical importance of Nehemiah's life and work. God used Nehemiah to bring about fulfillment of his covenantal promise to Moses and Israel, which ultimately led to the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ. Therefore Nehemiah also gives us a foreshadowing or 'type' of Christ in that he was used by God to further redemtption.

I challenge everyone to read Nehemiah this month (and Ezra too if you want to go all out). As you read and as you hear the lessons, keep in mind that Nehemiah doesn't just serve as a good moral example for us (even though he does), but that we can see God working out His plan of redemption through Nehemiah and the other characters of the story. Try to see Christ in it as well.

We didn't get to dive into the actual lesson this morning from Nehemiah Chapter 1 but I encourage you to consider these questions from the literature as you study it:

1:1-3

1. What do we learn about Nehemiah from these questions?
2. What do you think would be the natural response from someone in Nehemiah's position?
3. What questions should we be asking about the world around us?

1:4-7

1. Why did Nehemiah begin his prayer focusing on God?
2. What do we learn about the character of God from Nehemiah's prayer?
3. How can we embrace the character of God as we pray for the needs of others?
4. How does our commitment to prayer demonstrate our commitment to the needs of others?
5. How would our world be different if Christ followers saw confession as one of our first action steps to meet needs?


1:8-11

1. When we act on the promises of God, what qualities should characterize our service?


Thanks and God bless...

casey