Nehemiah
Up & Down
June 3, 2012
In Nehemiah chapters 8-13, we see God’s Word read and explained, and the people of God responding to it with excitement, repentance and covenant obedience. However, as time passes, people lapse into their former ways, and reformation must happen anew. Doesn’t this sound familiar? If we are to become a city within a city, renewal and reform must be constants in our life of faith. We have a natural bent toward compromise, backsliding, and disobedience, so it is crucial to keep vigilant watch over one’s heart, stay in the Word, and remain a faithful part of the covenant community of faith.
Doing a Great Work
May 27, 2012 • Nehemiah 6
Life in the city can get so hectic sometimes, wouldn’t you agree? There’s always something else to do and somewhere else to go someone else to see. There’s always a game to watch, or a show to see, or another assignment to do or project to complete. So with this hustle and bustle, all too often we lose sight of what really matters. As we run around doing a lot of good things, we sometimes forget about the great things. This week, we’re focusing our attention on Nehemiah chapter 6, where the big idea is found in verse 3, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” Nehemiah has zeroed in on his “great work” and was so focused on doing something GREAT for God that nothing simply GOOD could distract him. This story is rich with practical truths for our lives.
God's Will. The Eye of the Storm.
May 13, 2012
When is the last time you asked God about revealing His will to you? Do you ever wonder about what you can practically do to discern God’s will? A couple times in his book, Nehemiah says something along the lines of “what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem” (2:12, 7:5). Join us as we meditate on how to develop a sensitivity to what God puts in our hearts to do for His Kingdom.