Thursday Bible Study

  [Nehemiah] TEN: Big decisions_   Nehemiah 11     Has anyone ever moved house?   [Discussion starter] What factors do you consider when deciding where to live?   (Think about work, salary, school, church, ministry, family...)   Does it seem weird to you that God is even interested in where you live?     [Read Nehemiah 11]     How did the Jews, in chapter 11, decide who would live in Jerusalem?       If it was decided by lot that you should live in Jerusalem, and you were a farmer with a piece of land 15 miles away from Jerusalem, how would you feel about the decision?       What other reasons do you think the people might have to not want to live in Jerusalem?       In verse 3, what reasons can you think of for these five groups of people to live in Jerusalem?       [Activity] List the kins of jobs/positions that would need to be filled in Jerusalem...      ...

  [Nehemiah] NINE: Confession & Commitment_   Nehemiah 9-10   Though we know we should and though we have every reason  to do it, one of our greatest challenges is to own up to our sins (and the sins of our family) and really ‘come clean’ before God.     [Discussion starter] After what we looked at in chapter 8, how important is the confession of your wrong actions to you in your relationship with God?     The remnant of Israel know they don’t stand a chance to make it in Jerusalem without the help of God... so they’re getting very honest with God and renewing their covenant with Him. This is one of the more serious moments in Israel’s history. They’re recognising that everything they have belongs to God and they’d better start being better stewards of what He’s given them!...     [Read Nehemiah 9]     When you read / listen to Nehemiah 9, what stands out to you about Ezra’s prayer?     As discussed at the begin...