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Part one: Dealing with Disaster

Kicker
What is something annoying that happened to you in the last week?

Im looking for little things that just set you off. Drivers that tailgate or go too
slow. Shoppers with thirty items in the express lane. Those coworkers that talk
too loud, work too slow, or take credit for your ideas. Do you ever experience
anything like that? Lets hear about it.

Do you ever do anything about these annoyances, or do you just put up with
them?

Leader: Have an example of your own available. And rememberwere not

looking for major crises, just those minor peeves.

We deal with minor annoyances every day, but then something big happens.
An accident, an illness, a family issueor maybe a national or international
emergency. An attack, a war, a hurricane.
Suddenly our minor peeves dont matter
much anymore. But we still wonder what Teaching ip T
we can do. You could select an expert
reader from the group to read
In the Bible, Nehemiah became aware the passage. You just need
of a crisis. How did he handle it? Turn to the reading to flow. Youre
Nehemiah chapter 1. He is in Persia, working not stopping to study at this
in the royal palace, when some fellow Jews point, just setting up the
tell him about the situation in Jerusalem. video. Marcus Goodloe refers
Lets pick up the reading in verse 3. to the crisis in Jerusalem and
to Nehemiahs prayer. This will
help people know what hes
Leader: Read Nehemiah 1:3-11 yourself. talking about.
Now lets watch.

Video Teaching
Show video clip Nehemiah: Dealing with Disaster


Processing
Obviously the video was using images from Hurricane Katrina and the
devastation it caused in New Orleans and Mississippi plus the tsunami in
Indonesia. I want you to think about these catastrophic events.

What was your initial reaction to hearing about the tsunami devastation
around the world and then with the hurricanes in our own country?

Did you personally know anyone affected by these disasters? What was it
like for them?

Did you do anything to help?

Leader: Be ready with your own story of hearing about the disaster and
reacting to it.

Nehemiahs Story
Lets go back to Nehemiah 1. But before we dig into it, let me give you a little
background.

In the late 600s BC, the major power in the Mideast was Babylon, in the area now
occupied by Iraq. With their powerful army, they swept through the region. In
the year 586 BC, they conquered Jerusalem and took many of the Jews captive,
transporting them to Babylon.

But in 539 BC, the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians, who took over
their empire. The Persians were a kinder, gentler empire, and their policy was to
let captive people return to their homelands. And so a number of Jews returned
to Judah, while others stayed where they were. Many of the captive Jews had
settled into their new homes in Babylon and Persia. Somelike Daniel (and later
Esther, and Nehemiah)attained positions of prominence there.

Decades went by, with some Jews firmly

rooted in Persia and others back in Judah,
struggling to reclaim their land. In 458 BC,
Ezra led a group back to Judah to kick-start
the rebuilding effort. The book of Nehemiah
begins a dozen years after that (445 BC)
in the city of Susa, capital of Persia, where
Nehemiah had a position in the royal court.
A messenger arrives in the palace with a
report from Judah. Somebody read the report in verse 3.
L G
et s et isual V
A map and a timeline might
be helpful for this opening
session, to help people get
their bearings in history.

What was the problem? (The returning Jews were in great trouble and
disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the city gates were
burned.)

Whats the significance of a city wall and city gates?

In short, the wall is security the gates are society. Up until modern times, city walls

have always provided protection against enemies. An attacking army would find
it difficult to invade a walled city. At this point, Jerusalem wasnt threatened by
major armies, but probably by roving gangs of bandits. With a sturdy city wall,
you could basically close up the city at night and sleep in peace. Without it, the
whole city was at risk.

City gates were not only the entry points,

but also centers of government and
commerce. Town leaders would meet at
certain gates, judges would try cases, and
merchants would do business. This was
where society functioned. Its not too much
of a stretch to say these were the trade
centers of Jerusalem. With the city gates
burned, the city was hardly a city anymore.
In the video, of course, we saw the
comparison of Jerusalems situation to
the devastation in New Orleans. Is that
an appropriate comparison?
Its worthy of discussion, but obviously we
think the comparison works. The walls of
New Orleans are its levees. It needs security
not from armies, but from floodwaters.
When that security was breached, the city
lost not only its physical structures but also
a great deal of its social structure.
Whether or not you want to dig that deeply,
Katrina was a disaster for the region. In the
video, this guy gets the report of the disaster
and is saddened by it. Just like Nehemiah.
According to verse 4, what did Nehemiah
do about it? (He sat down and wept,
mourned, fasted, and prayed.)
Why is fasting involved? (In the Bible, we
often find people fasting in times of deeply
emotional prayer. The idea seems to be that
we place this communication with God
at our highest priority level, above even
eating. It shows God, and ourselves, that we mean business. In this case, fasting
might also be a way of sharing the misfortune of the people hes praying for.
How can I eat while my brothers and sisters are suffering so much?)
Words Worth
Nehemiah prays to the God
of heaven. That might seem
rather commonplace, but the
term is actually rather unusual
in Scripture. Almost all of its
Old Testament uses are in Ezra,
Nehemiah, or Daniel--from
the period of the exile, and
connected with Persia. (In fact,
2 Chronicles 36:23 has Cyrus,
king of Persia, calling Yahweh
the God of heaven.)
So what? Up until that time, he
was the God of Israel, the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
the God who inhabited the
Temple in Jerusalem. But once
the Temple was destroyed, and
as the Jews were living among
Gentiles, they had to find a way
to communicate their God to
others. So they began talking
about the God of heaven. This
was someone even a Persian
could worship.
God didnt change, but the
Jews understanding of him
did, as well as their expression
of him. It might make us think
about how we talk about God
with our unchurched culture.

Leader: Hand out a piece of paper to each person.

Take a couple of minutes now to look over the rest of this chapterNehemiahs
prayer in verses 5-11. Write down the subjects of his prayer. What is he praying
about? What are the different components of this prayer he prays? See if you can
come up with about five things.

[After a few minutes]

What was Nehemiah praying about? What are the components?

He praises God (v. 5)

He asks that his prayer be heard (v.6)
He confesses his sin and the sins of his people (vs. 6-7)
He reminds God of his promises (vs. 8-9)
He asks God to fulfill those promises (vs. 10-11)
He asks God to grant him success in a plan he is
formulating (v. 11)

Why would you start a prayer with praise? (Its a great

communication technique with anyone. Start by buttering
them up. God enjoys hearing our praises. With God,
however, its also for our benefit. Were reminding ourselves
who were dealing with.)

Why does confession belong in a prayer like this? (It puts us in the realm of
grace. We are not demanding that God do something because we deserve it.
We are humbly admitting that we dont deserve anything, but we rely on Gods
forgiveness and his gracious blessing.)

Have you heard Christians who quote

Scripture when they pray? Isnt that
rather silly? I mean, doesnt God know Cross-Check
what he said? (You might think that, but In 1:7, Nehemiah seems to
this and other biblical prayers serve as be condensing a couple of
examples. Its perfectly valid to remind God Scripturesthe scattering
of what he has said. Yes, he knows already, of Leviticus 26:33 and the
but its nice to know youre being listened promises of Deuteronomy
to. Also, it reminds us of what he has said.) 30:1-5.

The chapter ends with a reference

to Nehemiahs position. What was that? (Cupbearer to the king.this was
someone of high status who the king would have trusted with his very life. An
occupational hazard for kings was getting poisoned. Therefore it was important
to have a very loyal person guarding the cup you drank wine from.)

As the prayer ends, Nehemiah seems to be planning something. What is it?

(Without looking ahead, we can guess that he will use his position to influence
the king to do something about the situation in Jerusalem. Thats exactly what
he does in chapter 2.)

Some have said that we are often the answers to our own prayers. Do you
think thats true? If so, how?
In the New Testament, its clear that the church is the body of Christ. We are his
ambassadors, acting on his behalf, in his power. So it makes perfect sense that,
when we pray, Lord, help my friend, he might say to us, All right, and Ill use you
to do it.


We have a great example of that right here
with Nehemiah. He instinctively turns to
prayer, which is great. But it really seems
that, while he is praying, he realizes that he
has the connections to make something
happen. He asks for Gods powerful support
of his people, but then he suddenly asks for
success in his own plans to help his people.
Have you ever experienced that sort of
thing? Has God ever used you to answer
your own prayers?
NT Window
Turn to Matthew 6:9-13. You might be familiar with these verses. Lets read them
together.
As you look at your paper from
Nehemiah 1, how many of these same
components are in the Lords Prayer?
Praise, with hallowed be your name.
Confession, with forgive us our debts.
Your kingdom come; your will be done
has a hint of the reminder of Gods
promises. (That is, God will accomplish
what he wants; were just indicating our
desire to go along with it.)
Daily bread is a specific request for help.
(And note: even the Father in heaven
mirrors Nehemiahs phrase God of
heaven.)
When Jesus told his disciples to pray
in this way, what did he mean? Did he
want them to recite the words verbatim?
(Reciting the words can be a great way to
stay on track, but surely he was referring
to the content of the prayer. As weve seen,
the components of this prayer match up
with other biblical prayers. This is the sort of
thing we should pray for.)
Art Stopper
When was the last time you saw
a character on a TV show pray?
Its rareapart from religious
shows like Touched by an Angel,
7th Heaven, or Joan of Arcadia.
Can you think of examples? If
so, what was the situation, or
the result? If not, why not? Why
is this so rare?
Take It to Heart
Jesus offered the Lords Prayer
as a corrective to some of the
prayer practices that were
prevalent in his day. Its ironic
that many modern Christian
take his prayer and do exactly
what he was teaching against.
Just before giving the Prayer,
Jesus criticized the pagans
who kept repeating the words
of their rote prayers in the
hope that they would be heard
because of their many words.
Jesus said clearly, Do not be
like them (Matthew 6:7-8), and
in the very next verse begins
teaching the Lords Prayer.
And yet how often do we race
through the Lords Prayer,
thinking that God will receive
the prayer simply because
were uttering the right words?
Jesus taught that prayer is
rooted in a relationship with
a God who already cares
about our needs. Lets make
that conversation with him a
meaningful one.

You Are Here
When you learn of some disaster happeninga hurricane, a flood, a war, an
attack, an accidentwhat do you do? We respond to emergencies in various
ways. Which is your tendency?

Do you ignore the news as long as you can? Sometimes people just dont want
to hear bad news of big disasters. They turn the channel, play a video game.

Do you become fascinated by it? Some people become news junkies, glued to
cable news for the latest updates. Its all they can talk about.

Do you get depressed? Some people are deeply saddened by the misfortunes
of others, especially when its so thoroughly reported.

Do you look for someone to blame? Some get quite

angry and try to find a culprit. They rip the government,
the terrorists, the other political party, or even God.

Do you jump into action, just to do something? Some

need to get involved, even if theyre not sure what to do. Its
hard to sit on the sidelines.

Do you pray about the situation? Some folks decide

thats all they can do, so they throw themselves into prayer,
maybe even calling others together for prayer meetings.

From the reading weve done today, what kind of responder was
Nehemiah?
You could probably make a case for all of the above. He might have been
ignoring similar news for a while (Ezras group had been in Jerusalem for
13 years.) But on this occasion he was eager to hear about it. He went into
mourning, and while he doesnt show anger in this chapter, he does square
off later against some local villains. And of course Nehemiah both prayed and
jumped into action.

But enough about him, lets talk about you? Whats your usual response to
disaster? How did you react to Katrina, to 9/11, to other emergencies?

What kind of responder would you like to be?

Theres probably a midpoint of attention-level we want to shoot for, between
denial and lurid fascination. The emotional response will be there; depression
and anger are natural responses. We wont be able to change those very much.
But prayer and action are healthy responses that we can nurture.

What can you do to become that kind of responder? Is there anything you
can do to develop that tendency?
There might be various ideas floated here, but its a tough question. However,
you might not want to wait for the next disaster. Can you make prayer and
action important parts of your response to everyday situations? Then theyll
probably come more naturally in emergencies.


Go and Do
Do you still have that paper you were writing on? Somewhere on that paper I
want you to add three things.

1. A person you know who is in need. It could be emotional need, spiritual

need, or physical need.

2. An organization of some kind that has needs. It could be a church, a town,

a companyany kind of group or institution.

3. Another situation youre concerned about. This is a big blanket category,

but lets not make this about your own life. Someones marriage thats shaky,
someones job situation, someones attitude, some community policy.

Now look at those three things and ask yourself two questions.

A. Am I praying about this?

B. Is there some way that God might use me to help answer this prayer?

Leader: If theres time, spend some silence to begin this praying process.

Extra Stuff
If you have a longer session, consider developing this material.

Prayer in Tough Times

Text: Isaiah 37:14-37

Youll need to consult chapters 36-37 for the full story, but King Hezekiah of
Judah found his country threatened by the army of the superpower Assyria. With
the army ready to pounce, the Assyrian commander sent a threatening letter to
Hezekiah, demanding his surrender. Hezekiah spread the letter out before the
Lord and prayed over it. Read his prayer and then the miraculous results.

Text: Acts 4:23-33

The early Christians were being harassed by the authoritiesthe same
authorities who had executed Jesus a few months earlier. Peter and John were
arrested for healing a lame man, then released. As the church welcomed them
back, they launched a powerful prayer. Read the prayer and Gods stunning
response.

Text: Philippians 4:6-7

These should be memory verses for anyone serious about prayer. Worrisome
situations will arise, but we can bring them to God. Verse 6 offers some
components of prayer, and verse 7 promises peace.


Part two: Risk

Kicker
Which would you say is riskier?

Driving in a NASCAR race . . . or driving on _______________?

Leader: Obviously you need to fill in your local superhighway or main street.
Have fun with these questions. Pause to take a vote if you like. Ask followup
questions like Why? Whats risky about that? Change anything to make it fit
your location.

Sending thousands of dollars to help some Zambian businessman who

emailed you personally, promising to repay you handsomely for the
kindness youve shown . . . or buying a condominium?

Bungee-jumping from the ________ Bridge (or any high point in town) . . . or
volunteering to teach a Sunday school class of fifth grade boys?

Hiking up Mount Everest . . . or walking down the aisle to get married?

This is mostly for the guys.

Asking your boss for a raise . . . or stopping to ask for directions?

This is mostly for the women.

Trying a new restaurant or trying on
bathing suits?
And finally, Quitting your job to join the
Peace Corps . . . or quitting the Peace
Corps to get a job?
Its clear that risk means different things
to different people. In certain situations, it
might be worth the risk to get married, buy
a condo, or even drive downtown. As well
see in the video, Nehemiah was moved by
a situation of great need, and he took a risk.
Lets watch.
Art Stopper
Whats the last movie you saw
where somebody took a risk?
What was it?
Risk is an important part of any
drama. There should be many
examples.
Followup: Why did they take
that risk? What was at stake?

Video Teaching
Show video clip Nehemiah: Risk

Processing
The video was telling us a story. What was it? (This guy was moved by the
destruction in New Orleans, so he decided to do something. He went to ask his
boss about it.)

What do you think he was talking to his boss about?

(Probably time off to go and help. Maybe even some kind of
company support for the disaster victims.)

The theme of the video was risk. Why might it be risky

for this guy to talk to his boss? (Some bosses are just
scary. In this case, if the guys asking for time off, the boss
might deny it. He might also consider the guy a shirker and
fire him. Who knows?)

Assuming that this guy was taking a major risk, as

Nehemiah did, to go to his bosswhat made him do
that? What made it worth the risk? (The need was so
great, he had to do something. People were suffering. He had to be willing to
suffer with them.)

Nehemiahs Story
Turn to Nehemiah 2. Of course the video is based on Nehemiah, but lets go to
the source. Somebody read verses 1-2.

Do you remember what Nehemiahs job was? (Or you can peek back at the
last phrase of chapter 1. He was cupbearer to the kingthe role of a trusted
servant, which might have meant anything from a butler to an administrator.)

In these verses, does Nehemiah do anything out of the ordinary? (He

doesnt do anything unusualits his job to bring the winebut he is unusually
sad, and not hiding it.)

What does the king ask? (Why are you sad?)

What was Nehemiahs emotional reaction to that question? (He was very
much afraid.)

Why would Nehemiah be afraid?

On the surface, it seems like a very sensitive question on the part of the king.
He notices Nehemiahs sadness and asks about it. Maybe it was sensitive. But
we need to understand the power of this kinghe could have had Nehemiah
executed on the spot. I dont want sadness in my throne room! Off with his
head! That was a possibility Nehemiah had to be ready for.


In addition, Nehemiahs answer might
not please the king. It was a geopolitical
Cross-Check
In Esther 5, we see the same
situation in Judah that Nehemiah was upset
sort of dynamic happening
about, something the king was ultimately
thirty years earlier, and
responsible for. The king might see this
possibly in the very same
as criticism of his own policies andyou
room. Esther has heard of a
guessed itOff with his head!
plot against the Jews and
wants to ask the king for help.
The fact that Nehemiah was afraidand
But, as she explains in Esther
very much afraidtells us a great deal
4:11, anyone approaching
about the dynamics of the situation in this
the king without being sent
room. One misspoken word and Nehemiah
for was usually sentenced
might not walk out of there.
to deathunless the king
extended his scepter and
Do you think Nehemiah just couldnt
invited them to stay. Esther
hide his sadness, or do you think he
takes the risk, and the king
didnt want to?
responds favorably.
This has all the markings of a scheme,
similar to Esthers. Remember that
That king was Xerxes I, father
Nehemiah had prayed that God would
of Artaxerxes I, who was king
give him success in approaching the
in Nehemiahs time. Nehemiah
king. But he couldnt just barge in and
had a similar situation, a
make his request. Instead, he intentionally
similar request, and he took a
looked sad, in order to see if the king was
similar risk.
interested in hearing his request. The king
took the bait, and thats when it got scary.
Nehemiah had to follow through.

Somebody read verses 3-5.

How did Nehemiah answer the king? How did he explain the problem?
(He described it as he had heard itcity ruined, gates burned. But he added
a personal touch. It was his ancestral city of Jerusalem, where his fathers were
buried. He personally identified with the need.)

Do you think it was a risk for Nehemiah to identify himself as a Jew?

Maybe, maybe not. Remember that the Jews were a minority in Persia, though a
substantial one. It was only a generation earlier that a prince of Persia developed
a plan to exterminate the Jews (and was thwarted by Esther). So apparently
there was anti-Jewish feeling in this land.

Certainly the king knew Nehemiah was a Jew. You would expect a cupbearer to
go through extensive background checks. And yet it appears that Nehemiah had
assimilated himself well into Persian society. The king might sometimes forget
that Nehemiah was Jewish, and so it was risky to remind him.

How did the king respond to Nehemiahs problem? (What is it you want?)

Do you hear this as genuine interest, or is it an annoyed Get to the point?

(Could go either way, but since the king eventually grants the request, he was
probably interested.)


What did Nehemiah do next? (He prayed.)

What do you think this prayer was like? What did he say? (Maybe, Help!
Maybe, Thank you! Maybe, Oops, Lord, what have you gotten me into?)

Maybe youve heard these called arrow prayers. You dont have a lot of time, so
you just shoot an arrow toward heaventhanking, calling for help, asking for
guidance. We dont see a lot of these prayers in Scripture, but heres one, tucked
into a conversation with the king. The encounter is going extremely well. Maybe
Nehemiah didnt expect it to get this far, but now the king is asking Nehemiah
to fill out a purchase order, and Nehemiah is wondering what to write. Judging
from what we know of Nehemiah, he may have had a
lifestyle of prayer so this could have been a natural part of
his constant conversation with God.

What does Nehemiah request in verse 5? (Time off, to go

and rebuild Jerusalem.)

At what point do you think Nehemiah decided that he

needed to go personally and work in the city? Was this
his plan from the start? (Could be, but theres no mention
of it until now. Maybe he thought the king could just send
an army over there to restore order, but now Nehemiah has
to put his own effort where his mouth is.)

So what was the kings answer? What does he say in verse 6? (Hes already
setting the travel itinerary. Yes, it pleased the king to send Nehemiah in this
project.)

Take a look at verses 7-9. Nehemiah doesnt know when to stop. Youd think hes
be happy with this permission from the king, but he asks for even more.

What else does Nehemiah ask for? (Letters to the governors of the regions
hed pass through, guaranteeing safe passage. And a gift certificate for lumber
from the kings forest.)

Look at the end of verse 9. What other muscle did the king provide? (Army
officers and cavalry.)

In Ephesians 3:20, we find a reference to God who is able to do immeasurably

more than all we ask or imagine. That seems to be the case here. Nehemiah
took a risk, and things went better than he could have dreamed.

NT Window
Turn to Matthew 25:14. Jesus told a story that had something to do with risk.
Somebody read verses 14-18.

Whats a talent? (Its a huge sum of money, usually considered a years wages
for a common laborer.)


What did the servants do with the money
they had been given? (Two servants
invested their money and doubled it. The
third hid it in the ground.)
As the parable continues, the master
returns and commends the first two
servants for their wise investments.
But then he turns to the third servant.
Somebody pick up the story in verses 24-27.
Why didnt the servant invest his money?
(He was afraid of the master. What would
the master do to him if he lost the money?
He didnt want to take any chances with it.)
Did this please the master? (No. The
master was angry that the servant hadnt at
least earned interest on the money.)
So how do you interpret this parable? Is
the master God?
There may be various interpretations,
but yes, in Jesus parables the master
usually stands for God, even when the
masters are portrayed in some negative
terms. Elsewhere Jesus told of an unjust
judge who gave in to a widows repeated
requests. It was a point of contrast. The Lord
is not an unjust judge, but if that rascal
responds to frequent pleading, how much
more will our good God? That might be the
idea here. This master is a hard man, who
grabs everything he can get. The servant
is afraid to lose his money. But the servant
should have been afraid to fail to make
money. If a hard master wants his servants
to do the most they can with what they
have, how much more will God want that?
This whole chapter is about being ready
for the Lords return. The five foolish virgins
were unprepared, the third servant buried
his talent, and the goats failed to help
those in need.
What then do the talents stand for?
Uh, our talents. But dont stop there. The
talents in the parable can be everything
weve been entrusted with. Our spiritual
gifts, our relationships, our resources. We
need to be using all of these things to serve
the Master.
Bible Trivia
When the translators of the
King James Version came
across the Greek word talanton
in Jesus parable, they knew it
meant a sum of money, and
so they just called it a talent.
At that time, the word talent
did not have the meaning of
ability--it just meant this
amount of money. But as
people studied the parable,
they began to apply it to
their lives, and the abilities
they had been given by the
Master. And so the English
word talent came to mean
ability--not just from a
Bible translation, but from a
common interpretation of a
biblical parable.
Bible Moment
At the burning bush, God
gave Moses a task: Confront
the Pharaoh and demand
the release of the Israelite
slaves. Moses offered all sorts
of excuses. At one point, God
asked, What is that in your
hand? (Exodus 4:2).
It was a shepherds staff. This
one-time prince of Egypt was
now tending dirty sheep in the
desert. This staff was the symbol
of everything that was wrong
with his life. God asked Moses
to throw it down. When he did,
God turned it into a snake.
What is in your hand? What do
you have that you can throw
before God? Your job, your
relationships, your hobbies?
Maybe God will turn it into
something powerful, even
dangerous.

What was Nehemiah entrusted with? And how did he use this to serve the
Lord? (He was cupbearer to the king. His proximity to royal power enabled him
to make things happen to help his people. Later well see that he also had a
talent for leadership.)

You Are Here

Along the same lines, then, what has been entrusted to you?

Leader: Allow some response to this question, if it happens, but then hand a
piece of paper to each person.

Divide this paper into three parts. In the first, write POSITION. In the second, write
POSSESSIONS. In the third, write PASSION.

There may be other categories of things youve been entrusted with, but pretty
much everything can fit into one of these. And the words sound cool together.

If Nehemiah were filling out this form, what would he put down for
Position, Possessions, and Passion? (His position is clearcupbearer. We dont
really know about his possessions. As a Cupbearer he was probably living the
good life as someone fit to be trusted by the king. But his passion was obviously
for the city of Jerusalem.)

Now I want you to think about your POSITION for a minute. Write down what
youve been entrusted with. First, youre probably thinking of your job, where
you work. Good. What other responsibilities do you have, in the community or
the church? Then pull back and think about all the networking you do. What
relationships do you have that might help you serve the Lord?

[After a minute or so] Now think about your POSSESSIONS. What do you own? Or
at least, what are you using while you pay off the bank? Your home? Your car?
Your baseball card collection? You dont need to write down everything you
have, but keep it in mind.

Now think about your PASSION. What do you care about? What talents do you
have? What expertise do you have? What do you know more about than anything
else? Music? Sports? Computers? Gardening? Write down your main passions.

Now take a look at this paper. This is your talent, in the biblical sense. This is
what youre entrusted with. What are you going to do with it? Will you bury it in
the ground? Or will you use these things to serve the Lord?

How can you use something on this list to serve the Lord? Give me a specific
example of something on your list and how you could use it.

Leader: It might take a little while for people to respond. You might want to
prime the pump with your own example. Or you could prompt them by asking
what theyre already using to serve the Lord. And if serving the Lord sounds a
bit vague, you could talk about helping the needy.


Some possible responses might be: giving money, opening your home for
church meetings, starting a church sports team, teaching a skill to some kids in
the youth group, pushing a charitable giving program at work.

Would there be risk involved in doing any of these things? Would it be scary to
try to use something on that list to serve the Lord (or help others)?

Go and Do
Lets switch gears a bit. Let me ask you: What need is there, in the
community or in the world, that you are deeply concerned about?

Whether or not you answer out loud, I want you to have something specific in
mindsomething you care about, something you pray for, some place or some
person or some situation.

Now look at your paper again. Of all those things youve been entrusted
with, how could you use one of them to help meet that need youre
concerned about?

True Jersey Story

B was the director of an inner-city youth ministry in New Jersey. R was a
layman at a suburban church, but he often volunteered to help out that
ministry. One day, R had a crazy idea. We have lots of business people in our
church, including some high-ranking executives. What if we got them to use
their influence in their companies to reinvest in the city, to take a chance on
urban areas rather than fleeing to the suburbs? What if they worked to provide
jobs for the people in your city?
That would be nice, B agreed.
But what if ten churches did this, or twenty? R continued. There must be
hundreds of Christian executives in the region who could use their position to
help the inner city rather than hurt it.
But not just executives, B added. Ive got people here who need dentists but
dont know any. They need someone to help them with the paperwork at the
motor vehicle office. They need job counseling. You probably know a couple
dozen people who could help you if you needed it. My friends in the city dont
have that social capital.
They decided to try to help suburban church people network with inner-city
students. The program is just beginning.
Feel free to develop the concept in your area.

(extras on next page)


Extra Stuff
If you have a longer session, consider developing this material.

Esther
Esthers story is remarkably similar to Nehemiah 1-2. She too had a position
(queen) in the royal court of Persia. She became aware of a threat to the Jews
and was courageous enough to approach the king unbidden. Mordecais
challenge to her in 4:14 is worth emphasizing: And who knows but that you
have come to royal position for such a time as this?

The Spies
Talk about risk! The Israelites sent twelve spies into the Promised Land and ten
of them recommended that the people turn back. The inhabitants were too big
and strong for them to fight. Two spies, Caleb and Joshua, saw the same giants in
the land, but recommended that they risk an invasion anyway. Do not be afraid
of the people of the land, they said, because we will swallow them up. Their
protection is gone, but the LORD is with us (Numbers 14:9). Study the story for
yourselves in Numbers 14.

Confronting Kings
Several biblical figures had to come before kings with requests, challenges, or
defenses. You could create a mini-study of these encounters.
Moses before Pharaoh (Exodus 5-11)
Nathan before David (2 Samuel 12)
John the Baptist before Herod (Luke 3:19-20)
Paul before Agrippa (Acts 26)


Part three: Broken and Burned

Kicker
When I say the city, what do you think
of? What words or images come to mind?
Responses might be positive or negative,
or neutral. Cities are where people go
for concerts, plays, sporting events, and
nice restaurants. In some areas youll find
danger, poverty, and drugs. Theres great
energy in the city, also great need. There
are some wonderful urban leaders, and also
some who are corrupt.
Why are cities so important in our
culture? (You dont need to get too deep
into sociology here, but simply put, thats
where the people are. By definition, cities
put lots of people in a rather small area,
and so they tend to experience everything
thats good and bad about the human race.
Culture, innovation, art. Violence, corruption, addiction.)
Make It Your Own
Do you live in a city? Or near
one? Or is the nearest city
a days drive away? Your
reactions to this questions
about the city will depend on
your proximity to it. Feel free
to ask about your specific city.
If youre from the city, ask what
people like and dislike about
living there. If youre from the
suburbs, ask about how the
city affects them? If youre
farther away, ask people when
and why they visit the city.

Nehemiah was a man on a mission, and his mission was the city he loved:
Jerusalem.

Video Teaching
Show video clip Nehemiah: Broken and Burned

Processing
The video made a big deal about the walls of the city being broken down.
Why? What effect would that have had on Jerusalem? (It compromised the
security of the city. They no longer had the confidence that they could withstand
an enemy attack. Any gang of thugs could roam in at night and wreak havoc. The
citizens had to be vigilant all the time.)

What effect would this have on the citys
morale? (It would be stressful to live in a
city without a wall. People would live in fear.
It would also be bad for city pride. Without
a wall, it was hardly a cityjust a collection
of homes built close together. And without
the city gates functioning as centers of
commerce and government, there would
be a further erosion of city identity.)
In the video, Marcus Goodloe asked,
What do we look like when our walls
are broken down? What walls was he
talking about? (He seems to be talking
about the structures of society, perhaps
basic moral principles on which society
can be built. But hes also talking about
Christians and our commitment to Gods ways.)
Art Stopper
Various recent films, historical
and fantasy, have shown
medieval-style warfare, with
armies trying to conquer
walled cities. From The Return
of the King to Kingdom of
Heaven to Tristan and Isolde,
and your group can probably
name five others. A walled city
could be breached, with siege
towers, ramps, battering rams,
and secret passages, but it was
very difficult.

He mentioned some specific damages that result from these broken walls
of society. Do you remember any of these?
He said: Often we cease to function the way we are supposed to. We may lose
the relationships that keep us accountable. We stagnate. We forget to help
others, because were too pre-occupied with helping ourselves. We begin to look
like the world. We are no longer set apart.

Have you seen this sort of thing happen in modern society? Where? How?

Nehemiahs Story
Turn to Nehemiah 2:10. When we last left Nehemiah, he was asking the king to
send him to Jerusalem to rebuild it.

How did the king respond to that request? (An emphatic yes. The king gave him
time off, letters of safe passage, and even timber from the royal forest. Oh, and he
sent the royal cavalry too.)

So Nehemiah travels to Judah and

everybodys happy. Well, almost everybody.
Somebody read verse 10.
Fact Check
Sanballat was governor
of Samaria, just north of
Who are these officials, and why are they Judah. (Horonite means
upset? he came from the town of
Beth-horon.) Tobiah was
These are the bad guysSanballat and governor of Ammon, across
Tobiah (later well meet a third one, the Jordan River, to the east
Geshem). They appear every so often of Judah. Geshem the Arab
throughout this book, taunting and teasing was a regional king of Kedar,
Nehemiah as he does his work. As leaders south and east of Judah.
of the surrounding nations, they feel that a Each had a vested interest in
strong Jerusalem is bad news for them. the continuing weakness of
Jerusalem.

Somebody read verses 11-16, and as you listen, try to picture it in your mind.

Before he announces his rebuilding plan, what does Nehemiah do? (He goes
out at night to inspect the damage.)

Why do you think he did this at night? (Apparently he didnt want too many
people knowing what he was up to. At least not yet. Why? Maybe he wanted
to get all his facts straight before he went public. Maybe
he feared that his enemies would start a smear campaign
before he even got started.)

Imagine that youre one of the few men who went with
Nehemiah to survey the city. How would you feel about
what you see? (Stunned by the enormity of the problems?
Eager to get started? Worried about the opposition?)

Finally, though, it was the right time to announce the

building plans. Somebody read verses 17-18.

Nehemiah said this to them. Whos them? (Rewind a

verse and see the list in 16the people, priest, nobles, officials, and workers. Or
possibly just the workers.)

What does he tell them? (Theres a need. Lets rebuild. No more disgrace. God is
with us. The king supports this.)

If youre one of those workers, how do you feel about what hes saying?

Lots of feelings could be swirling around, but Nehemiah does some classy
communicating here.

(1) He starts with them, and the problem as they see it. Hes not saying, Let me tell
you about your problem. He says, You see it.

(2) He builds the team. Come, let us rebuild. He invites them to work with him.

(3) He portrays a vision. And in the process, he grabs them at an emotional level.
Imagine a Jerusalem thats no longer a disgrace, he says. Thats what were
aiming for.

(4) He acknowledges Gods power on him.

This has two effects. He is claiming
the call of God, but hes also relying on
Gods gracious hand. He is humble
but authoritative at the same time.
(5) He establishes his human authority. He
has the kings backing.
Nehemiah does all this in a verse-and-a-
half, making it easy for his hearers to get on
board with him.
Leading Leaders
Nehemiah was more than a
cupbearer. He had leadership
skills, which God used in a
powerful way. Those in your
group who are especially
interested in leadership
might want to keep studying
Nehemiah after these sessions
are over, focusing especially on
his leadership style and tactics.


How did they respond? (Lets do it, and they started.)

Somebody read verses 19-20.

What was the charge made by these enemies? (That Nehemiah was rebelling
against the king.)

Why would they say this? Did they really think he was leading a rebellion?
(No, they should have known he had the kings support. After all, Nehemiah had
letters of safe passage. This seems to be simply a big lie put forth in an effort to
undercut the rebuilding process.)

How did Nehemiah respond to these charges? (He didnt. In this response, he
didnt say anything about the king. It was Gods support that he cared about.)

Nehemiahs response in verse 20 is eloquent. He doesnt need to put down his

enemies, or prove them wrong. He merely points out that they are irrelevant.
Jerusalem belongs to God and his people. God empowers the rebuilding effort.
Gods servants will start the work. Sanballat and the others are outsiders. They
can say whatever they want, but this rebuilding has nothing to do with them.

You Are Here

So Nehemiah rallies the people for a construction project. They will rebuild the
walls and reestablish the city gates. In the video, Marcus Goodloe suggested that
we think of Nehemiahs situation in larger terms. The walls are broken down in
society, even in the church. And maybe we can even think of some breakdowns
in our personal lives. We need a rebuilding project.

So thats my question: What do you need to rebuild?

Is your personal life in need of rebuilding? Are your

priorities messed up? Do you find yourself busy with
things that are ultimately unimportant?

Does your family need rebuilding? Are there relationships

with your spouse, your children, or your parents that have
broken down?

Do we need to work together at rebuilding the church?

Have we lost our energy, our focus? Do we need to get our
priorities straight?

Are you interested in the rebuilding of your community, or society in

general? Are you concerned about the breakdowns in our culture?

Or is it your faith that needs rebuilding? Have you been struggling in your
relationship with God? Do you need to put that back together?

Choose one. You dont need to tell us which it is, but try to think specifically
about one of these areas as we consider the following questions.


What can we learn from this section of Nehemiahs story about rebuilding?
Can we pick up any tips? How did he go about the rebuilding process?

There could be several responses here, but here are a few:

1. He took time to study the situation.

How does that apply to our rebuilding efforts? (It helps to know what youre
dealing with. Sometimes the need to rebuild is less than we expect; usually its
greater. Youre not going to fix your family, your church, or your faith with a few
taps of a hammer. Be willing to see the full extent of the need.)

2. He gathered his team and communicated honestly with them.

How does that apply to our rebuilding efforts? (You wont do this rebuilding
alone. Even if youre trying to rebuild your own life or your faith, you need
people to help you along. Look for mentors, counselors, or confidants. And
certainly, if youre rebuilding your family life, you need to get your whole family
working together on the project.)

3. He wasnt overly concerned about his enemies.

How does that apply to our rebuilding efforts? (There may be enemies around
you who dont want to see you rebuild. They may throw some obstacles in your
path, but they are largely irrelevant. Dont focus on defeating your enemies;
focus on rebuilding. Also consider that the enemies may not be people, they
could be your past, your relationships, your career, any issue or circumstance that
goes against your life of faith.)

4. He looked to God to grant him success.

How does that apply to our rebuilding efforts? (It wont be your own skill that
accomplishes this rebuilding. It will be the power of God. So keep connecting
with that power.)

NT Window
Leader: Assign each of the following texts to an individual reader. After each
one is read, ask, What does this teach us about rebuilding?

Luke 14:28-30
Revelation 3:2-3
Luke 6:47-49
Ephesians 2:19-22

Luke 14:28-30
What does this teach us about rebuilding?
Its not an impulsive move. You sit down and count the cost. You plan it out.
Because if you start it, you need to finish it.

Did Nehemiah take time to plan and count the cost? Yes.


Revelation 3:2-3
What does this teach us about
King Fling
Jesus comments about not
rebuilding?
finishing a building project
This might be obscure, but the challenge
were probably a not-so-subtle
is to strengthen what remains. That was
dig at King Herod and his
Nehemiahs task as he surveyed the city, to
heirs. Before Jesus was born,
find the sections of the wall that were still
Herod the Great began a
solid, to strengthen them, and to rebuild from
massive reconstruction of the
there. This Revelation text finds the patient
Temple complex in Jerusalem.
nearly comatose, but theres still a pulse. What
Herod was despised by the
is the pulse of your faith, your family, your
Jews and surely did this to
church? Start rebuilding from there.
curry favor with them. But
as Jesus said this, the project
Luke 6:47-49 still wasnt finished (see John
What does this teach us about 2:20). Of course, Herod had
rebuilding? died, passing responsibility for
We must build our lives on the foundation the project to his successors,
of Jesus words. Then the structure will be including the Romans. So
solid. this was probably a standing
jokethe towers (of the
And what words are those? Love, grace, Temple) that were constantly
humility. We often assume that building under construction.
our house on the rock means we should
be good, putting righteousness at the
foundation of our lives, but isnt that what the Pharisees built on? Jesus calls us
to build on the humility that comes from knowing we need forgiveness, from
God and others.

Ephesians 2:19-22
What does this teach us about rebuilding?
This passage is about the church, but we might draw some additional insight
for our individual lives. The cornerstone is Jesus. Other key people may be
foundational, but everything needs to line up with Jesus. The church is built
together as a temple to God, a home for Gods Spirit.

Who does the building? In this text the verb is passive, which often means that
God is doing the action.

Go and Do
When a major building project begins, theres often a ceremonial eventa
groundbreaking. Some dignitary digs up a shovels worth of soil and hooray! The
work has begun. That might seem sillyone shovelful of earthbut the project
has to start somewhere.

Whatever youre rebuilding, the work has to start somewhere. So, what will your
groundbreaking event be? Do you need to talk to someone, pray with someone,
apologize to someone? Do you need to spend quality time with God in prayer?
How does the rebuilding start?

Maybe youve already been rebuilding for a while. Maybe the project has lagged
lately. Maybe you didnt count the cost accurately, and things got tough so you

stopped working. In any case, whats the next shovelful? How do you get it going
again?

I urge you to get a specific step in mind, something you can door start to
dothis week.

As we close our time, I want to re-enact a scene from Nehemiah. Your line is this:
Let us start rebuilding. Say that together when I nod to you.

The Nehemiah Closing

Speaker: Come, let us rebuild the wall.
Group: Let us start rebuilding.
Speaker: The God of heaven will give us success.

Extra Stuff
If you have a longer session, consider developing this material.

Building Projects
What kind of dedication and planning were necessary in various biblical
building projects?

Noahs ark (Genesis 6)

The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11)
The Tabernacle (Exodus 26; see also 31:1-11)
The Temple (1 Kings 6)

Haggai
What Nehemiah did for the wall of Jerusalem, the prophet
Haggai did for the Temple. When the rebuilding project
lagged, Haggai egged the people on with a word from
the Lord. Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in
your paneled houses, while [Gods] house remains a ruin?
(Haggai 1:4).


Part four: What Do You See?

Kicker
Are you normally an optimist or a pessimist? Do you generally take a
positive view of life or a negative one?

Can you give an example of a time when you demonstrated an optimistic or

pessimistic attitude?

Why do you think youre like that?

Do you think its good to be that way, or do you sometimes wish you looked
at things differently?

Optimists generally bring hope and joy Lets Get Visual

to a situation, but sometimes their cheery
attitude isnt based on the facts. Pessimists
consider themselves realists, since life
seldom works out the way optimists
say. Pessimists prepare for the worst, so
occasionally they get pleasantly surprised.
You could start the opening
discussion by bringing in a
glass of water thats filled half-
way. Ask: Is this glass half full or
half empty?

Todays video focuses on the importance of how we see things. Lets watch.

Video Teaching
Show video clip Nehemiah: What Do You See?

Processing
How do you feel after seeing that? (Motivated? Eager to get to work on
something? Cynical? Left out?)

In the video, Marcus Goodloe said, Like Nehemiah, you are uniquely
created to do something that no one else can do. Do you agree with that?


Some might think its overstated. Arent some gifts duplicated? Say I can teach.
Well, others teach too. But the point is that each of us uses the ability in a slightly
different way. No one can teach exactly like you do.

The video served as a big pep talk, but

pep wears down. Do you think this
motivation will last through the week?
What could you do to stay motivated?
Perhaps the best way to extend the power
of a pep talk is to act on it. Start something.
Use this motivation to make an initial
commitment, and then just follow through
on that commitment.
One of the smart things about this video
is that it wasnt just about doing better. It
was about seeing differently. We all resolve
to do the right thing, but that resolve easily
fades. Yet when we change our outlook,
that can change our lives.
New Years
Resolutions
How many of your New Years
resolutions have ever stuck with
you? We take advantage of
the calendar change to try to
make a difference in our lives.
But a month later . . . a week
later . . . even a day later, many
of our resolutions are broken.
When youve kept a resolution,
what have you done differently
to help you keep it?

What should we change about our outlook? (The video was suggesting that
we see the possibility of positive change, and that we see ourselves as active
agents of that change. Thats how Nehemiah saw his situation.)

Nehemiahs Story
Turn to Nehemiah 3. Were not going to read this chapter, but I want you to skim it.

[After a minute] What do you see there? (Lots of names. Lots of workers doing
different tasks.)

These are the credits that roll at the end of the movie. The gaffer. The third
assistant. The caterer. All those people who do their work diligently and faithfully.

Why do you think Nehemiah put all those names in this book? (He knew that
they were the heart of this building project. They did the digging, the lifting, the
plastering. Without them, the wall doesnt get built.)

Turn to chapter 4. The opposition continues. Somebody read verses 1-4.

How would you describe Sanballats view of

this project? Or Tobiahs? When they look at the
construction, what did they see? (Obviously they saw a
threat, or they wouldnt have bothered to criticize it. But
their tactic here is to discourage the workers by portraying
their work as meaningless and feeble.)

Now fast-forward to today, your own life. When you try to

accomplish something, do you hear Sanballat and Tobiah?
Maybe these are voices in your head, or maybe they are
people around youbut theyre out to discourage you.

What do these voices tell you? (Usually its very similar to what we read in 4:1-
3. Youre so feeble, you wont accomplish anything! Do you really think you can
do anything important?)

How did Nehemiah respond to this? (He didnt respond to them. He prayed
about them.)

Do you think thats an effective way to respond?

Theres a great piece of wisdom here. We all have our naysayers. Sometimes
they are people very close to usfamily and friendsbut it becomes clear that
they see us as inconsequential. As they see it, well never accomplish anything
significant, and if we try, were just fooling ourselves.

Now we can try to argue back, except

then it starts sounding like a soap opera.
Or we can throw ourselves into the effort
saying, Ill show them! But even then
were distracted from our main purpose.
Its not about proving anything to anyone,
its about building the wall. Nehemiah
pointedly ignored the criticism. As he saw
it, Sanballat and Tobiah had no place in this
project, so why should he listen to them. He
prayed about them and trusted God to deal
with them.
Somebody read Nehemiah 4:7-9.
As the wall kept going up, how were the
enemies reacting? (Angrily. They were
plotting an attack.)
Cross-Check
The Christian principle of
non-retaliation is based on
the premise that God can be
trusted to punish evildoers, so
we dont have to. It is mine to
avenge, says the Lord, I will
repay (Deuteronomy 32:35).
The Apostle Paul quotes this
verse in Romans 12:19, adding,
Do not take revenge, my
friends, but leave room for
Gods wrath. That seems to
be what Nehemiah was doing
with Sanballat and Tobiah.

How did Nehemiah and the Jews respond to that? (They prayed and kept
watchand kept working.)

Somebody read verse 14.

How did Nehemiah want the people

to see the situation? (They needed
to keep their focus on the Lord, not on
their enemies. Fear would not help them.
They had to remember that the Lord was
great and awesome. They also needed to
remember the people who would benefit
from this wall. Their own families.)
As you look over verses 15-18, do you
get the picture? What did that look
like? (Workers worked with one hand on
a sword. Half of the crew stood watch. The
Persian officers had their backs.)
Leadership 101
They call it vision-casting.
One of the most important
things a leader can do is to
tell the people where to look,
to tell them how to see. A
leader defines the situation
and reminds the people what
theyre working for, what
theyre fighting for. Nehemiah
did that masterfully.


Why do you think Nehemiah kept the trumpeter close by? (He liked jazz music.)

No, it wasnt the music. The trumpeter would sound the alarm if an attack came.
Nehemiah wanted to make sure that alarm sounded properly. The people were
already spooked, and Nehemiah didnt want any false alarms. If there was an
attack, Nehemiah would know of it and mobilize the response.

Rebuilding Society
In our last session we talked about the broken walls of society, and how various
social structures seem to fall apart. At this point in the story, the wall is getting
rebuilt. And in the remaining chapters of Nehemiah, its interesting to see the
social structures coming back.

Leader: Break into small groups of 4-6 and assign each group one of three
texts listed below. Give them a minute or two to read the text silently, then a few
more minutes to discuss the questions. Then pull the groups together to report.

Text Assignments:
A. Nehemiah 5
B. Nehemiah 8
C. Nehemiah 10 (begin in verse 28)

Questions:
What aspect of society is getting rebuilt?
How is it getting rebuilt?

A. Nehemiah 5
What aspect of society is getting rebuilt? The economy.

How is it getting rebuilt?

Without corruption.

Nehemiah put an end to exorbitant interest rates on the

part of money-lenders. He instituted land reform, giving
farmers the ability to own the fields they worked. He also
refused to live an exorbitant lifestyle as their governor,
though this was expected.

B. Nehemiah 8
What aspect of society is getting rebuilt?
Worship

How is it getting rebuilt? They rediscover the Scriptures.

Ezra reads the Word in public and the Levites explain it.
They begin to observe the religious festivals and holidays,
reminding themselves of their history and their commitment to God.


C. Nehemiah 10
What aspect of society is getting rebuilt?
Law
How is it getting rebuilt? They reject
intermarriage with foreigners. They observe
the Sabbath. They commit to give offerings
for the Temple worship, money, crops, and
animals as needed.
OT Window
Turn to 2 Kings 6. Theres a great story about
the prophet Elisha. Lets look briefly at it.
As this story begins, the king is angry at
Elisha and has sent an army to capture him.
Somebody read 2 Kings 6:15-16.
Elishas servant sees the surrounding
army. How does he react? (With fear?
Confusion?)
What does Elisha say about the
situation? (Those who are with us are more
than those who are with them.)
Of course thats exactly what you expect a
prophet to say. Theyre always saying some
sort of spiritual platitude, right? But lets
keep reading. Somebody read verse 17.
What did Elisha pray? (That his servants
eyes would be opened.)
Once his eyes were opened, what did
the servant see? (Horses and chariots of
fire standing guard for Elishas protection.)
So lets think about this eye-opening.
Was this a hallucination, or what? (No.
Every indication is that the servant was
enabled to see true reality, something that
the prophet Elisha was used to seeing. The
full truth of the situation is that the enemy
army was trumped by Gods more powerful
army.)
You Are Here
So the question of the video comes back
to us: What do you see? Nehemiah saw a
broken-down wall that just hadnt been
Puzzlement
Whats the deal with
intermarriage? Why is that such
a big deal in Nehemiah?
The identity of Israel was at
stake. This had been a huge
problem in the previous few
centuries, as the Israelites were
conquered and captured. The
ten northern tribes were so
thoroughly assimilated into
other lands that we call them
the lost tribes. In the south,
many Jews were carried off
to Babylon and assimilated
into life there. Some of
those remaining in the land
intermarried with Canaanites.
The land of Samaria, where
the northern kingdom of
Israel had once been, was now
a mixed-race nation with a
mixed-up religion.
The Jews were Gods holy
and chosen people. In that
moniker they were called out
to separate themselves from
the rest of the world to show
themselves pure and holy. So
they went to amazing lengths
to show the rest of the world
that they were serious about
being Gods holy and chosen
people just skim through
Leviticus sometime. This idea
of being set apart was huge
for them because it helped to
seal their identity. This value
carried over into what they
ate, how they cleaned things,
where they spent their money,
and even into who they would
marry. In the New Testament
Jesus comes and gives a new
covenant that also sets his
followers apart from the world.
However, the new covenant
isnt bound by rules and laws,
but by the concepts of grace,
love, mercy and justice.

rebuilt yet. He saw eroded social structures that just hadnt been reestablished
yet. He saw the problem, but he also saw Gods power solving it.

As you look at the issues in your life, maybe the broken-down corners of your
faith, your family, or your neighborhoodwhat do you see? This isnt about
being cheerful and optimistic. You can see the problem and mourn over it, as
Nehemiah did. But you need to see the problem as the first chapter in this story,
not the last. Theres a lot of rebuilding to do.

Elishas servant saw the true reality of Gods power, and you can too. Open your
eyes to see how God can transform the problem areas of your life, of your home,
of your world. See how he might use you to do it.

Go and Do
Leader: Hand out an index card to each person.
Pep talks last a few minutes. Maybe an hour. Maybe a day. Let me suggest that
you write yourself a message on this card that you can look at repeatedly. Write a
message about seeing. Remind yourself of how you want to look at life.

Let me suggest that you write something about seeing the problem. Dont
deny it. Dont turn away. Dont play the blame game. Dont be too cheerful about
it. See it as something that needs rebuilding.

Then write something about your power

source. Who is going to do the heavy
lifting? Who is going to transform this
situation? God, of course. In your own
words, remind yourself of that.
Finally, see your own role in the
rebuilding. Youre not perfect. You dont
need to be. But God has given you unique
abilities to help solve the problem. What
will you do?
And if you can fit all of that on one card,
youve already solved one problem.
The Nehemiah
Closing
Consider using the Nehemiah
Closing again for this session.
Speaker: Come, let us rebuild
the wall.
Group: Let us start rebuilding.
Speaker: The God of heaven
will give us success.

(extras on next page)


Extra Stuff
If you have a longer session, consider developing this material.

Seeing Differently
How were the following situations transformed by the way people saw them?

Joseph being victimized by his brothers (Genesis 50:20)

The report of the spies about the invasion of the Promised Land (Numbers 14)
Gideon going to battle against the Midianites (Judges 7)
David stepping up to fight Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
A poor widow offering her last coins (Mark 12:41-44)
The sheep and goats at the final judgment (Matthew 25:31-46)
Pauls recognition of who he was persecuting (Acts 9)
Peters vision on a rooftop, opening the gospel to Gentiles (Acts 10)
Contention among the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1-3)