REFLECTION: remembering the main points
- Together with Zerubbabel and Ezra, Nehemiah contributes to restoring Jerusalem from ruin and ridicule
- Nehemiah seemed to be an intercessor: standing in the gap (in prayer) between people and God
- 4 factors seemed to motivate and inspire his intercession: His identity as a Jew, his intensity in feeling the pain of destruction and his intimacy with God
DISCUSSION: choose one or more questions
- As you watched the unfolding drama in Paris – what did you think/feel?
- How does Nehemiah’s context compare to your/our context today?
- If you would have been Nehemiah – what would you have been tempted
to do/not do?
- Do you sense a call of God in your location and vocation?
- Is crying the only way to demonstrate the effect of intense spiritual heartbreak?
- What tools/tips can help us grow in our intimacy with God?
APPLICATION: ideas that work
- What could be identifies as ‘ruins’ in our local communities?
- Will determine to live as intercessors for those ruins? What will that mean for the Life Group? Long term, not just as a one-off?