Posts with the category “nehemiah”

INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with, or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENING QUESTION(S)Do you have someone in your life who is your prayer warrior? Someone you love to hear pray or that you look up to as i...  Read More

Sad Face Nehemiah 2:1-3Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified, but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For...  Read More

Confession Nehemiah 1:6-7I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses..Matthew 6:11-12 Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.Before we move on to the second chapter of Nehemiah,...  Read More

Prayer Nehemiah 1:5-11Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, ...  Read More

Time Nehemiah 1:4When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.Nehemiah 2:1Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan…I love action. Many of us do. But I love it to the extreme. This may be why I struggle to remember to ask questions or listen carefully to the responses. If I can be vulnerable for a moment, I often need to scold...  Read More

Tears Nehemiah 1:2-4Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn do...  Read More

INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with, or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENING QUESTION(S)If you could have a sit down with an historical figure, aside from Jesus Himself (too easy), who would it be and why? ...  Read More

QuestionsNehemiah 1:2Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.I have a longtime friend, Phil, who routinely finds himself in the most amazing conversations. Whether it’s with close friends or perfect strangers, if I step away for a ...  Read More

The CupbearerNehemiah 1:1These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa.Nehemiah 1:11In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.The story of Nehemiah is considered the last recorded activity before the Old Testament Scriptures fall silent, anticipating the coming Messiah of the...  Read More

Prologue Continued - EstherEsther 4:14“… who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”Many scholars believe that Nehemiah was the last book of the Old Testament to be written. Authorship is typically attributed to Ezra, who is also considered the likely author of 1st and 2nd Chronicles (originally a single book), as well as Ezra and possibly Esther. The Chronicles ar...  Read More

Prologue Continued – The TempleEzra 4:24-5:2So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel an...  Read More

Prologue - CyrusEzra 1:1-4In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the LORD fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jeru...  Read More

Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.All of Scripture chronicles God's audacious rescue mission as He seeks to bring His fallen children home. The story repeats in concentric circles. His children succumb to selfishness and wayward thinking, drift further from God, and become ensnared. This...  Read More