Sermon Notes:
What does the God who remembers, rebuilds, and renews, want for your life?
I. His heart within you (Neh. 2:1-5)
II. His hand upon you (Neh. 2:6-18)
III. His purpose, through you (Neh. 2:19-3:32)
Follow-up Questions from Sunday:
Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?
Digging Deeper:
1. Read Ezekiel 36:24-27. God’s plan for his people has always been to put a new heart in them. Why do we need a new heart? What is a “heart of stone” and how does that develop as we live our lives? How does a hard heart prevent us from following God’s decrees (v. 27)?
2. Nehemiah asks the King of Persia a big request but precedes it with a quick prayer (Nehemiah 2:4-5). Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? What situations might elicit that kind of prayer? Why is it important to have this kind of prayer in your daily arsenal?
3. Read Nehemiah 2:8 and 2:18. What is the gracious hand of God? Why does Nehemiah mention this in connection with his dialogue with the king and then tell those in Jerusalem? When can we expect the gracious hand of God upon us? When might we not expect it?
4. Read Nehemiah chapter 3. It’s a long list of names, though these are just a sample of the many people who worked to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Why do you think God preserved this list? What are some characteristics of the kinds of people who are mentioned? (Hint: How many were professional builders and architects?) If God cared enough to preserve their names in Scripture, what does this say about his desire to use people in all places and times?
5. Read Nehemiah 3:12. In this verse we have a glimpse of a man working on a section of the wall with his daughters. One might expect (given the difficult task of hauling large stones to the wall) that only the biggest and strongest would be listed, but here we are given a picture of a man and his daughters, working side by side. What does this tell us about our relative strength as we approach God’s work? Read Zechariah 4:6. Zechariah was a prophet during the time of the temple’s rebuilding (immediately before the book of Nehemiah). Why is this an important reminder to each of us, today?
Prayer:
Close your group with prayer, asking the Lord to give us wisdom for our daily lives in these unique days we’re living.