Nehemiah - Disciplined Leadership - Week 10

BIG DECISIONS

Preview Question: What factors do (or did) you consider when determining where you live and work? Why?

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 11

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you feel if you were one of the Jews asked to live in Jerusalem? How would you prepare for that kind of life change with you and your family?
2. What personal decisions (past and future) about where you live and how that impacts your service to God do you think are possible? Are there any lessons from this passage to help you clarify how you should make those decisions?
3. Are there any areas of your life for which it is more difficult to accept God lordship over it? Explain the impact that might have.
4. What else did you learn?

Nehemiah - Disciplined Leadership - Week 9

CONFESSION & COMMITMENT

Preview Question: What role does confession play in your relationship with God? What role do you think confession should play in the Christian life?

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 9-10

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think they spent so much time confessing and identifying with the sins of their ancestors?
2. The passage mentions several times how the people had separated themselves from the neighboring people. Are the times in the present day where it is important for us to be separate? Practically how might you apply that in your life?
3. What is the signficance of the list of commitments being so focused on the material/physical, rather than simply the spiritual? What connection do you see between the two in your life?
4. What else did you learn?

Nehemiah - Disciplined Leadership - Week 8

REVIVAL

Preview Question: Compare your ability to celebrate God with your ability to repent before him. Does one come more easily? Explain?

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 8

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think the people were having a conflict of emotions?
   
2. How do you interpret Nehemiah's and Ezra's instructions to the people? What was the result of their message?
   
3. When you hear the word "sacred," what reaction do you have? What is sacred in your life? Is there joy associated with it?
4. What is the source(s) of joy in this passage (see verses 12 and 17)? How can we apply this passage to our lives?
5. What else did you learn?
   

Nehemiah - Disciplined Leadership - Week 7

Family History

Preview Question: How many generations back can you go in tracing your family name? Share a fond memory of a favorite member in your family history. What makes that person significant to you?

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 7

Discussion Questions

1. Are you proud or embarrassed about your family history? Explain?
2. Why do you think "God put it into his (Nehemiah's) heart" to register the families? What purpose might this have had?
3. What was the result of the registration?
4. How does the thought that you will be in some one's Christian family tree affect you? How will this thought compel you today?
5. What else did you learn?