Neh.12-13 Bible Study

Perhaps there is nowhere in the book where Nehemiah’s pointing us to Jesus is more profound than in his orchestrating the worship that provides the context for the dedication of the walls (see e.g. Heb.2.12).  Worship is the epicentre of Christian spirituality.  In fact, one way to answer the question of why Jesus came into the world would be to say: ‘To find worshippers’ (Jn.4:23).  We are made in the image of a God who sings (Zeph.3:17).  And there is something incredibly appropriate when our ability to sing is brought to the service of worship. 

One of my favourite verses in this section is Neh.12:43: The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.  They rejoiced because God had given them great joy (also v.43).  There is a time to recognise what God has done in and through His people... and to worship joyfully in the light of it.  There is of course a deeply prophetic dynamic in all of this (Heb.12:22-24), but for now maybe we can focus on the sheer emotional and spiritual energy that is on display as these immense choirs lead the ancient Church in their worship?   

We can easily turn up to worship not having prepared.  I’m not talking here only about the spiritual preparation that will have gone into this!  But think for a moment about the logistical planning and organisation that went into this incredibly choreographed event.  There is a rather bizarre idea around that the more ‘spontaneous’ something is the more spiritual it is.  Laying aside the cynicism of then making things look spontaneous when they aren’t, we only have to look at a passage like Neh.12 to see how vacuous such a notion is.

This must have taken weeks to plan out.  Creating the space in everyone’s diaries, seeking out the Levites from wherever they lived (12:27), bringing together the musicians (12:28-29), the rites of purification (12:30 & 45), the rehearsing...  and so it goes on.   Space was given to the complex preparing of and participating in this momentous event.  This wasn’t something squeezed in between all the other demands on people’s time.  Although this is a unique spiritual moment, it reflects the sense that the ancient Church is recapturing the rhythm of worship as having a routine claim on people.  Weekly, monthly and annually, time is now being given to worship, and this liturgical ebb and flow underpins everything else in the Church’s life. 

Of course, this isn’t just about what happens in a ‘service’.  We’ve seen in Ch.10, and again now in Ch.12 the commitment there is to live a life that reflects that worship at both corporate and individual levels.  We might struggle with the stridency of Nehemiah’s reforms, but we can understand the urgency in the light of the ongoing systemic compromise.  Twelve years have elapsed since the walls were rebuilt (compare Neh.2:1 & 13:6).  And in a classic pattern of two steps forward, one step back, compromise and sin had resurfaced in the life of the Church.  Nehemiah’s return seems a far cry from the joy and celebration of Ch.12, but seasons of rejoicing and seasons of reform are both part of the Church’s cycle.  It is unlikely we can have one without the other!

Questions:

How important is it to you that worship services and events are well planned and executed? 

How can we stop well planned worship becoming a performance?  ...or does it matter whether it is a performance or not? 

Is there any contemporary equivalent to the idea of purifying yourself before being involved in worship (12:30)?  How do you prepare for being involved in the corporate worship of the Church?

Is 13:3 an over-reaction to what the people heard in the Book of the Moses?  How do we make sense of the exclusion from Israel ‘all who were of foreign descent’?  Was this right?

How do you think Eliashib justified providing Tobiah (see 4:3) with a large room in the Temple complex?  Why does Nehemiah see it as a problem, and is it an over-reaction to call it ‘evil’ (13:7)?  Does this mean we should rent out Church facilities to those who aren’t Christians?

Is Nehemiah’s response in 13:8 appropriate behaviour for a leader in the Church?  And we could ask the same question about his behaviour in 13:25?  Is Nehemiah’s anger and propensity to violence actually a disqualification for Church leadership (see Titus 1:7)?

Why is there such an emphasis on protecting the integrity of the Sabbath in 13:15-22?  Does this have anything to say about our own attitude to the Lord’s Day?

What do you make of Nehemiah’s response to those who had married people who weren’t Christians, or who had given their children in marriage to those who weren’t Christians (13:23-25)?  Does Nehemiah’s action here align with Paul’s teaching in I Cor.7:10-16?

Do you think God did remember Nehemiah with favour (13:14, 22, 30), or did Nehemiah’s intolerance, stridency and violence tarnish that memory?

Neh.9-10 Bible Study

The (re-)building of the life and mission of a Church begins when God takes the initiative, when God speaks.  When we come into Neh.9, it’s been 3 ½ weeks since Ezra started his preaching marathon, and God is clearly still at work by His Spirit, convicting the people of their sin as they engage with the ‘Book of the Law of the Lord their God’ (Neh.9:3, i.e. Leviticus or Deuteronomy).  The juxtaposition of conviction of sin (9:2) and praise (9:5) might seem strange to us, but it is no less authentic because of that.  When God reveals Himself by His Spirit, through His word, we are both drawn out in joy and worship because of who He is, and sorrow for who we are.  Being confronted with His blazing righteousness, we are confronted with our sin.  And so we live in this deep tension where we are captivated by the beauty of the holiness of Jesus, and we are devastated by our sin, and our failure to bear the image of the God we love; with the Spirit is constantly bridging that gap to reassure us of the atoning work of Christ and the transforming work of the Spirit.

And as the Spirit instructs the Church (9:20), we are faced by the perennial decision of whether to return to slavery in Egypt, or to press on to learn how to live in the freedom of God’ good, right and just commands (9:13).  When God speaks, it is possible to harden our hearts, but in Neh.9-10, the people choose a different path.  And they don’t allow it to remain a vague spiritual intention.  They spell out specific commitments and detailed obligations.  They bind themselves to a public oath (9:38).  This is no flash-in-the-pan spiritual elation...  as if they were caught up in the moment.  There is a profound and considered determination to separate themselves appropriately from the world, to maintain the worship of the Church and the proclamation of the Gospel, and to walk towards the vision of life they are called to inhabit as the Church.

It is all rooted in the epic retelling of the history of God that spans most of Ch.9.  It might seem strange that so much space is given to rehearsing the failure of the Church.  Except, of course, it isn’t just the failure of the Church they are reminding themselves of, but the faithfulness of God in the face of that failure (9:17, 19, 27, 31, 33).  This is a crucial part of the process.  In reminding themselves so forcefully of God’s grace in the past, they are confident of His grace in the present.  This is the atmosphere that allows them to be honest about their failure, and ambitious in their reform.

Questions:

How can we stop sorrow over our sin from spiralling into an unhealthy self-obsession or spiritual depression?  How can you tell the difference between Satan’s condemning, and the Spirit’s convicting?

Why do people who aren’t Christians so often think you have to be a good person to be a Christian?  How is the Church’s self-assessment throughout Neh.9 different from that caricature?

Do you think people can fall away from being a Christian?  Neh.9 celebrates God’s preserving of his people – but what about passages such as Heb.6:4-6 or Heb.10:26-31?  Is God stricter in the New Testament, or less compassionate?

When we read through to the end of Nehemiah (Ch.13) we find that the people singularly fail to keep the commitment they make here in Ch.10.  What do you make of that?  Does it discourage you?  Can you think why they failed?  What are we supposed to learn here?

Does it strike you as strange that throughout Neh.9 (an OT passage) God is described in terms of goodness, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, faithfulness, grace and abounding in love?  Why / Why not?  Do you see the Lord’s commands as just and right and good (e.g.9:13)? 

As you read through Neh.10:30-39, why do you think these are the issues that are being focussed on?  What could be contemporary equivalents to the promises and commitments being made?  Are these commitments that today’s Church should be making?

Is the separation of Israel from all foreigners (9:2; 10:30) an expression of racism?  How might the building of the walls be a parable for such separation?  Is there any sense in which a similar attitude should be appropriated amongst Christians today? 

Neh.8 Bible Study

We’ve approached the Book of Nehemiah, and the building of the walls as a visual aid, a parable for the building up of the life and mission of the Church.  It’s been amazing to learn about Jesus, and to see how He builds His Church, in spite of our sinfulness, and in spite of the opposition to His great project from without and within.  In Neh.8 the parable becomes most transparent, the visual aid, and the reality to which it points synchronise. 

At this key moment in the project of rebuilding the life of Jerusalem, Nehemiah brings Ezra out of retirement for one last monstrous preaching effort.  We often assume that preaching is a cultural hang-over from a time when the world was used to sustained monologues.  That leaves us with the uneasy feeling that perhaps there are more ‘culturally appropriate’ methods of engaging with Scripture today?  ...that maybe the days of preaching are gone, or should be gone?  This is of course patent nonsense.  Preaching – in the context of the Church’s worship (Neh.8:6) - is a God-ordained means for the building of the life and mission of the Church.  It has always been God’s preferred delivery system for His Word into the life of His people.  To put it another way, the Bible is designed to be preached!

Which is not to say God doesn’t speak through His Word in other ways. We’ve all experienced God speaking through His Word in our own personal reading and in smaller groups…  BUT, His key way, and the way that legitimises and shapes and informs all other ways, the way God wants His word delivered into the life of the Church is through preaching.  The Church’s interaction with the Scriptures can be more than, but never less than, the Word of God being preached!

It is not a coincidence that every revival in Church history has focussed on a revival of preaching (the one notable exception in Wales 1904-6, was arguably a disaster from which the Church in Wales has not yet fully recovered).  In 1934, Duncan Campbell noted the ‘eager attention with which young and old listened to the preaching of the Word’.  This was also an emphasis of one of the greatest revivals of all, the Reformation.  The Church of England – seen by many on the continent as the ‘jewel of the Reformation’ – grasped this when it named preaching as a defining feature of the Church: ‘The visible church of Christ is a congregation of believers in which the pure Word of God is preached...’.

And so, as we work our way through Nehemiah, that is so explicitly focussed on the question of building the Church, of course the epicentre of the book will be about the preaching of the Word of God, ‘making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read’ (Neh.8:8).

Questions:

If this is true (and that might be something you’d want to discuss in your groups), what do we make of Churches where preaching isn’t a priority for either the minister or the congregation? 

How important is it to you that you hear the Scriptures preached? 

Why do you think that the evening service (where preaching has a greater emphasis in the service) is so poorly attended at MIE?

Why is it so dangerous to start a discussion about a Bible passage with the question: What does this mean to me?  How can we make sure that our Homegroup discussions are connected to the preaching at MIE?

One Reformer, in a sermon on II Tim.1:1, said: “It is certain that if we come into a church we shall not hear only a mortal man speaking, but we shall feel (even by His secret power) that God is speaking to our souls, that He is the Preacher”.  Is that your experience of listening to preaching?  Why do you think that is?

Do you think we should publically read the Scriptures in the same sustained way that Ezra does (8:3)? 

What characterises the congregation (8:3, 6, 9, 16)?  How can we cultivate this attitude at MIE?  What is the responsibility of the preacher?  And what is the responsibility of the congregation?

Why do you think the people’s response is so confused, and as it turns out, inappropriate (8:9-11)?  Do you think there are always appropriate and inappropriate ways to respond to the Word preached?

We can read about the Festivals being marked in Lev.23:23-44 (note the dating in Neh.8:2).  What are these festivals (trumpets, atonement and tabernacles / tents) designed to teach the people?  Why does this result in such great joy (Neh.8:17)?

How should all this translate into our own experience of worship and discipleship?

Why not spend some time praying for those who share in the preaching and teaching ministry throughout MIE? 

Family Worship Ideas Nehemiah 5 - Greed in the Church

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Neh.5 Bible Study

Nehemiah 5 is one of the most troubling parts of the whole book.  Having considered external opposition and hostility last week, we are confronted with the internal corruption and sinfulness of the Church this week.  For some reason we don’t expect that!  Maybe it’s because we don’t really grasp the reality of God’s grace?  When we see the Lord use someone to do something ‘holy’ we tend to assume that person must be super-spiritual and righteous.  In fact, they are only ever a redeemed sinner, and still plagued by their sin – like all of us.  So when we ponder the amazing work achieved by this generation of the ancient Church, and the extent to which the Lord has worked through them, we may assume they were amazing Christians, zealous for righteousness and the pursuit of Christ!

But in Nehemiah 5, the reality of exploitation and greed, and Christians taking ruthless advantage of their brothers and sisters can leave us feeling shocked and uncertain.  How could God use such people as these?  These are not the kind of low-grade ‘respectable’ sins that we can see God overlooking.  Financially exploiting those who have given up everything to (re-) build the Church is pretty heinous – even if it might make good business sense to buy when the market is low!  And making profit out of selling other Christians’ children into slavery, knowing that the Church has committed itself to buying them back (Neh.5:5-8) is likely to turn the stomach of even the most cynical! 

And these are the people God is working through to build the walls?  How can we justify that?  How can God justify that?  This is the destabilising reality of grace, and it is something that every one of us has experienced in our own lives.  Apart from Christ, there are only sinful creatures.  That includes you and me.  And our sin runs far deeper and has far greater potential for violating God’s Law than we likely realise.  The fact that – for whatever reason – it hasn’t fully realised that potential doesn’t negate the fact that it is there (Gen.6:5; Rom.3:10-20 etc.).

If there is a distinguishing characteristic, it is what they were prepared to do when they were confronted with the reality of their sin.  Neh.5:12 is their confession of sin, and their repentance.  If anything, this is what renders them (and us?) useful to God and usable by Him.  It isn’t so much whether we are sinful (we are), but whether we repent of our sin when it is exposed.  Even by the end of the book, the people of Jerusalem are hopelessly compromised (see Neh.13).  But God is not the kind of workman who blames His tools.  It is His wisdom and genius that takes people like us and weaves them into His purposes.  As Paul would tell us, generations later: ‘we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Eph.2:10).

Questions:

Do you think there is any correlation between someone’s ‘holiness’ and their being used by the Lord?  What is it?

Why do you think the people were so blind to the reality of their sin, given how blatant it was?  How would they have justified their behaviour to themselves?

What would you say to someone who argued that it didn’t matter then if you grew in Christlikeness or not?

Is repentance real if we keep committing the same sin?  Are we able to be free from any given pattern of sin?  How would you counsel a Christian who was distressed because they kept doing the same thing over and over again?

Do you get angry when you see sin in other people (Neh.5:6)?  Should we?

How does the Bible command those who are rich to relate to the rest of the Church (e.g. I Tim.6:6-10 & 17-18)?  How can we make sure that this isn’t, in turn, exploited?   How do we reconcile this with e.g. II Thess.3:10?  How should the internal finances of the Church family work?

It is often alleged that the Bible condones slavery.  Do you think it does?  What passages would you reference to make the case that in fact, it doesn’t? 

Should there be this sort of direct confrontation of sin when we see it in the life of the Church (see 5:7-11)? 

Why does Nehemiah put them under oath (5:12), and threaten them with excommunication (5:13) if they fail to follow through on their commitment?  Should we treat people like this today in the Church? 

Why does Nehemiah go to such lengths to show his own handling of finance (5:14-18)?

Family Worship Nehemiah 4 & 6

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Neh. 4 & 6 Bible Study

At a distance of two and half thousand years, it’s easy to read this without feeling the sting of opposition.   But anyone who has endured mockery and jeering, let alone the force of someone’s anger, knows it can be a profoundly disturbing and destabilising experience.  It can take quite some time to recover.  Even in the absence of physical violence, let’s not underestimate the psychological, emotional and spiritual impact of what’s happening in Nehemiah 4 & 6.

It is all too easy to be dismissive of the fact of opposition to the building of the Church.   We can fall foul of a kind of spiritual triumphalism that assumes the Church won’t face antipathy, and if it does, then surely it can simply sweep aside any antagonism or disapproval from others after a good prayer meeting!??   On the other end of the spectrum lies a sensitivity to opposition that leads us to conclude that if we face any criticism from any quarter we must be doing something wrong.  If Nehemiah had taken that approach the walls would never have been built. 

Somewhere in the midst of those extremes is a settled confidence in what the Lord has called us to do as He uses us to build His Church, and a simple but steadfast refusal to be deflected from that task.  Nehemiah doesn’t change tack to build hanging garden, because that way the Church can be doing something, but without provoking hostility.  But Nehemiah’s tenacity means the tensions escalate in Ch.6.  The enemies of the ancient Church aren’t so simply dissuaded.

One of the lessons we can learn from this section of the story is need to cultivate a kind of spiritual resilience that will allow us to continue to be faithful to Christ’s vision for the mission and ministry of the Church even when we are opposed.  Christ Himself faced criticism and hostility, persecution and anger.   And like Nehemiah who foreshadowed Him, He simply carried on doing what He knew He had been sent into the world to do.  When the opposition doesn’t evaporate, and the people are discouraged (4:10) they continue to do what the Lord has called them to do.

We have an enemy who will do all he can to oppose those who faithfully seek to build up the Church.  This means there are spiritual dynamics at work in any form of opposition to the Gospel.  And so part of the Church’s response is to pray together (e.g. 4:9).  But there aren’t only spiritual dynamics, and so Nehemiah takes practical steps as well as prayerful ones (4:9).  It’s a good holistic approach to facing opposition. 

Whatever may or may not happen, the walls must be built – because that is what God has called them to do. 

Questions:

What can we learn from Neh.4 & 6 about Nehemiah’s spiritual resilience?  Where does it come from?  How could we cultivate (or continue to cultivate) that same resilience in our own experience of discipleship?

Have you ever heard anyone pray in a similar vein to Neh.4:4-5?  Do you think it would be appropriate for Christians to pray like this?  How does this fit with Jesus’ teaching in Matt.5:43-45?

As you read through Neh.4 & 6, how does the opposition develop?  How does Nehemiah’s response vary as things become more serious?  What can we learn from this to help us navigate opposition to building the life of a Church?

What concerns are being raised from within the Church community?  How does Nehemiah respond to these internal tensions?  What can we learn from this about our own situations?

Should the Church expect opposition from the surrounding culture and society?  What spiritual and human elements feed into such opposition when it is experienced?

How do we know how to interpret opposition?  When should it be faced and overcome, and when should we understand it as a sign that we are doing something wrong and need to change?

In 6:10-13, why would it have been a sin for Nehemiah to act in a way that protected his own life?  Is this a good policy to adopt when facing danger and intimidation?

Family Worship ideas for Neh.2-3

This week’s reading might not look promising in terms of Family Worship, but there are two are three themes that are, in fact, rich for children to engage with.  First, this week’s bricks...  could include ideas such as ‘vision’ and ‘team-work’ or perhaps – depending on age - ‘survey’ (as Nehemiah takes the time to understand the actual state of affairs, rather than relying on second hand accounts).

But once we get another brick in the wall (sorry!) there is a great opportunity to explore how everyone gets involved with bringing the vision of Nehemiah (and remember who Nehemiah represents – the Great Church Builder, Matt.16:18) into reality.  No-one is off doing their own thing, or doing it in their own way!!  That would be chaos, and at the end of the day no wall worthy of the name would have been built.  Everyone throughout Neh.3 (with the exception of the Tekoan nobles, 3:5) is getting stuck in.  But everyone is working to a pre-agreed vision that has been cast by Nehemiah.  The long list of names might seem tedious, but is actually a way of recognising and honouring the work being done.

so: two questions for you to reflect on as a family in Family Worship time this week...

(i)               where are we involved and taking responsibility for building Jesus’ vision in to the life of the Church? 

(ii)              who else is involved, and how could we recognise and honour them for what they do for MIE?  Could we send them a card thanking them for what they do?  Can we pray for those involved in different areas of MIE’s life and ministry each day this week?

For older children / youth, there are deeper conversations about taking responsibility in the life of the Church.  It is tempting to start with the question of what I feel I am ‘gifted’ to do, or where my experience might put me – but then, it is unlikely that perfume makers (3:8), or goldsmiths (3:32) would have ever got involved!  In Neh.3, they started with the question of what needed to be done to make Nehemiah’s vision a reality.  We end up with very different answers, depending on which questions we start with!

Another question that older children / youth might enjoy exploring is whether Nehemiah is right to refuse the help of those who aren’t Christians (3:20)?  Why does He do this?  Is it still right for the Church to decline help from those who aren’t Christians?

Rend Collective: Build your kingdom here

Neh.2:11-3:32 Bible Study

Nehemiah is the kind of guy who likes to get things done.  He is a member of the king’s court, and lives in the world of politics and bureaucracy, but I’m not sure he is a man who naturally enjoys ‘red tape’.  In a very matter of fact way, he relates his journey to Jerusalem and a period of rest – and then he turns to the task in hand.  He is appropriately discreet (2:12 & 16), and quietly surveys the reality of the situation.  Only when he has examined and assessed the condition of the walls, and understood the undertaking before him, does he share his God-given vision to rebuild.

As we began to see last week, there is more going on here than merely the rebuilding of a city walls.  The state of the walls is a visual parable of the state of the Church.  Jerusalem is not merely another ancient city, despoiled by war and ravaged by the militaristic expansionism of ancient civilisations.  There have been many such tragedies in the history of empires.  Jerusalem is the promised city, and like so much of the Mosaic Covenant points beyond itself to heavenly reality: Zion.  The New Creation is portrayed throughout the Bible as a New Jerusalem (see Rev.21:2).  As with life in the land more generally, life in Jerusalem – centred as it was on the Temple – was designed to show the world what life could be like under the reign of Christ, lived in the shadow of the Gospel. 

We continue that privileged ministry of modelling the life of the New Creation before a watching world.  The writer to the Hebrews puts it like this:

‘...you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’.

(Heb.12:22-24)

The story of Nehemiah is nothing like as remote as it may first appear.  We are still involved in building the life of the heavenly city.  And we have much to learn from Nehemiah about how to do that.  One of the first critical lessons is the way everyone gets involved, regardless of their perceived skill sets, gifting, experiences or preferences.  A wall needs to be built, and Neh.3 points us to the fact that building it isn’t the preserve of a few dedicated individuals.  In fact, Nehemiah is conspicuous by his absence.  The expectation is that everyone is involved – to the point that those who aren’t are named (e.g. Neh.3:5).  Everyone works to the vision Nehemiah has cast.  They are recognised and honoured for their contribution.  They are aware they are contributing to something greater than their own specific contribution.  The responsibility for the work is de-centralised.  And the result is that more is achieved than is humanly possible.

Questions:
What is the connection between the dereliction of the walls, and the disgrace of the people (2:17, though see also 1:3)?

Is Nehemiah right to not include too many people in the initial part of his assessment and strategizing (2:12)?  How would you have felt realising you weren’t included in that first part of the planning, but were now expected to deliver against a vision you had no part in developing?

Should the setting of a Church’s vision be a collaborative effort?  How should a Church’s vision be shaped?

Is Nehemiah right to reject the help of Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem (2:19-20)?  Should the Church follow this example and still not accept help (or funding?) from those who aren’t Christians? 

What would have happened if people had not worked within the context of the vision Nehemiah had set, recognising they were part of something bigger than themselves and their own contribution?  What has this to teach us about the ministry we are involved with in the life of any Church?

Is Nehemiah right to identify those who weren’t willing to get involved (3:5)?  Would it be appropriate for anything like this to happen in today’s Church?  Why / why not?

Nehemiah 3 is a roll call honouring the work done by so many in the life of the ancient Church?  How could we honour the work done by folk in our own Church?  How appropriate would it be to do so?

Remembering that Nehemiah is a foreshadowing of Christ (the Church Builder, Matt.16:18), what can we learn about Jesus’ vision for Church life and ministry in this section?

Family Worship ideas Neh.1:1-2:10

Introduction:

The Book of Nehemiah is a great book to use in family worship.  It has such a visual component built into the very story!  For centuries the Church has seen the condition of the walls as a visual parable for the condition of the Church.  The story of building the walls then is actually a story about building the Church, and of the problems that have to be overcome as we are involved in that great project.  Of course like many of the Old Testament characters, this makes Nehemiah a foreshadowing of THE great Church-builder, Jesus.

Matt.16:18, And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

A Summer-long activity!

We’ll be following the story over the summer period, so it would be great (and easy) to develop a running theme over the next few weeks.  Using boxes, bricks, or cut out pictures of bricks to stick on the fridge door, build a wall, adding to it week by week.  On the bricks can be verses, or pictures of key ideas from the sermon we’ll have heard in the service.  So this week, the key verse is Neh.1:4.  Nehemiah’s mourning, fasting and praying are the foundation on which the rest of the book is built. So 3 ‘bricks’, with ‘mourn’, ‘fast’ and ‘pray’ – either words or pictures. 

...and with them a discussion about how this can shape our own engagement with the life of the Church (both local, and nationally).  What is there that should make us feel sad..?  How can we pray for the Church to be built up?  Why not have a fast as a family.  If this is something you’ve never done before, try skipping just one meal and praying together for MIE.

How do we pray?

There is a lot to learn about how to pray from Nehemiah 1.  It’s easy to assume we just know what prayer is about, but have a look at Rom.8:26!!!  We do not know what we ought to pray for...

here is a simple way to outline Nehemiah’s prayer.  You could use each of these key elements as a basis for writing a prayer as a family.

1:5-6.  Look at the way Nehemiah’s addresses God...  Is it any wonder that he is so confident that God will answer?   How do we envisage the Lord as we come before Him in prayer? 

1:6-7.  Nehemiah takes stock and confesses his (and the Church’s) sin.  We help you know how to do this every week in Church when we say a confession together.  Here is the one we used this week, so you can use it again as you pray together as a family.

Lord God,

we have sinned against you;

we have done evil in your sight.

We are sorry and repent.

Have mercy on us according to your love.

Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.

Renew a right spirit within us

and restore us to the joy of your salvation,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

1:8-9.  Nehemiah’s request is rooted in Scripture.  He has specific passages in mind – things God has said in the Bible that he then bases his prayers on.  What do you want to pray about?  What passages can you go to in the Bible that will help you know how to pray about those things?

1:10-11.  There is no presumption here.  Nehemiah doesn’t simply expect God to hear and answer!  There is a humble confidence...  but not presumption!

finally:  Neh.2:1-10 is the story of how God begins to answer Nehemiah’s prayer.  It is so important that we share with our children how God answers our prayers.  If so such stories spring to mind, try keeping a prayer journal with your child(ren), and checking in to see how God is answering your prayers as a family.

The life of George Muller is an extraordinary testimony to the faithfulness of God in hearing and answering prayer.  You can watch a short animated version of Muller’s biography here.

Neh.1:1-2:10 Bible Study

Nehemiah 1:1-2:10The story of Nehemiah puts us at the end of the exile.  Actually, beyond it.  Some of God’s people have already gone back to the Land.  The events of Nehemiah may be about 60 years after the return of the first exiles.  It is the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes (1:1), and 15 years since the events of Ezra.  So Nehemiah is hardly arriving out of the blue.  There is already a long history of God raising up people to lead the Church in rebuilding her life in the Land.  Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai and Zechariah have also all played their part in recent history...  A lot of progress has been made, and obstacles already overcome.  But while there is much to celebrate, there is much to lament.  The glorious work of rebuilding the Church has stalled, and with Nehemiah, we enter the narrative at a critical moment. 

What should Nehemiah do when he hears of the state of the walls of Jerusalem?  He could simply celebrate what has already been done.  He could easily have seen the progress that had been made and decided that should be where the focus should lie.  So much had already been achieved.  Might it not be discouraging to focus on what is still needing to completed?  Or he could assume it should be someone else’s responsibility.  There were leaders in Jerusalem.  He could easily justify not getting involved.  Here, in this position of influence in the king’s court, this is where he could more for the cause of the Gospel.  He was a politician, a bureaucrat, not an architect or builder.  Or, he could simply accept the situation as it was.  The Church will always be derelict and incomplete in this age...  this is just the way things are. 

In fact, Nehemiah does something that we don’t see anyone else doing.  He weeps (1:4).  It’s easy to miss the significance of this.  But it seems he is unique in being so deeply affected by the news of the state of the Church.  The people are in great trouble and distress, and when he heard that, Nehemiah sat down and wept.  Others could see the condition of the Church as well as he – likely better as they had actually been there.  Yet there doesn’t seem to be the same distress of soul.  And it isn’t that Nehemiah is a particularly emotional guy, who breaks down at the slightest provocation.  His emotional response is linked to a spiritual response.  ‘For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven’.  And in these days the foundation is laid for the rest of the book and everything that is achieved in the coming chapters.  Before he requests anything of the king, before his journey, before his surveying, vision-casting, organising, responding to the political enemies of the Church, before his reforming activities, there is mourning, fasting and prayer.  Could it be that without this, none of the rest of what is recorded in the book of Nehemiah would have ever come to pass?

Questions:

For almost as long as Nehemiah has been written, the Church has seen the state of the walls as a ‘visual aid’, a kind of parable for the spiritual state of the Church at the time.  The story of Nehemiah then is the story of how to (re-)build the life of the Church.  Do you think this is good way to read the book of Nehemiah? 

Following this line, Nehemiah is seen as a fore-shadowing of the archetypal Church builder, Christ (Matt.16:18).  What can we learn from Nehemiah about Jesus and His vision and heart for the Church?

Why do you think we aren’t told of anyone else responding to the state of the Church in the way that Nehemiah does?

Do you think Nehemiah’s response to the situation is appropriate?  Why / why not?

Have you ever wept over the state of the Church? ...or beyond that, mourned, fasted and prayed?

re-read Nehemiah’s prayer in 1:5-11.

Do you think Paul is overstating the case when he says that we don’t know how to pray (Rom.8:26)?

To what extent should we use prayers like this one from Nehemiah to shape our own prayers for the Church?

What is it about God that gives Nehemiah such confidence as he prays (1:5-6 & 8-10)? 

How do you feel about Nehemiah’s qualifying God’s keeping His covenant of love with ‘those who love Him and keep His commandments’ (1:5)?  What does this mean for people who don’t love God and keep His commandments?

Why does Nehemiah identify himself so strongly with a history of sin in the Church?  In what way has the people of God acted ‘very wickedly’ towards God?  Is this sort of language appropriate?

Does Nehemiah think that God doesn’t hear the prayers of those who don’t revere his name (1:11)?

Family worship Ideas 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 (the Temple of the Holy Spirit)

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I Cor.3:10-17 (Temple of the Spirit) Bible Study

The pursuit of the dream home is something of a national pastime – at least if TV listings are anything to go by.  A whole plethora of programmes focus on buying, renovating, matching houses with and for prospective owners.  Some people work their whole lives inspired by a long-carried vision of the perfect home.  Many have to make do with what they have, but they can still work on it and inch it closer to their ideal...  Brits spend on average over £2,500 / home each year on DIY.  That’s £75 billion / year across the UK. 

Whilst it might be fun to dwell on what constitutes our perfect house, in this Bible Study we’re reflecting on the home that is being built for the Holy Spirit.  One of the most incredible ideas in the Bible is the Spirit’s dwelling in and amongst His people.  Not that He waits until we are fully renovated.  He lives in us now.  This is worked out at both an individual (I Cor.6:19-20) and corporate (I Cor.3:10-17; Eph.2:19-22) levels.  I wonder how different our attitudes to both our own selves and our Church might be if we could grasp this incredible reality?

For Paul as a pastor, it inspires incredible care as he – by the grace given him by God – builds the Church.  In a graphic image, drawing on Solomon’s building of the Temple in I Kings 5-7, Paul highlights his sense of the sacred and beautiful work he is caught up in.  The foundation is, of course, Christ (3:11).  And Paul is acutely aware of the fact that how he builds and what he builds will be the subject of scrutiny on the Day of the Lord.  And this isn’t something he anticipates being the preserve of the Apostles, or even Church leaders more generally.  This aspect of the Day will be more serious for those entrusted with overseeing the pastoral ministry of the church (Jas.3:1), Paul has Christians more generally in mind.  We will be answerable to the Lord on the Day for how we have treated and engaged with the life of the Church (so, v.12, ‘anyone’ and v.13, ‘each person’s work’).  This isn’t a question of whether we are Christians or not, but of our engagement as Christians with the Church.

Why such an intense perspective?  Because the Church is a sacred thing.  This is where the Lord Himself dwells. ‘Don’t you know’ asks Paul, ‘that you yourselves are God’s Temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells among you?’ (v.16).  How we treat that Temple is of immense interest and importance to God.

Questions:

How can you build the Church ‘with care’ (v.10)? 

What do you think Paul is using the different sets of materials to represent (v.12)?

Why will we need to wait till ‘the Day’ to discover the quality of each person’s contribution to the building up of the Church?  Isn’t it obvious when someone is building up, and when they are tearing down?

What is ‘the fire’ Paul anticipates testing each of our work (v.13)?

Paul follows Jesus’ language about Christians receiving rewards (see e.g. Matt.5:12, 10:41, 16:27 etc.).  Is Paul teaching that people will receive different rewards depending on how they have built the Church? 

Based on this passage, will different Christians have different experiences of the Day of Judgment? How does that square with the idea that we are saved by grace?

By contrast, in what way could a builder ‘suffer loss’ on the Day (v.15)?

How could you tell whether someone believed what Paul is teaching here about the Holy Spirit living amongst Christians?  How would it affect their engagement with the Church?

It would be easy to assume that in v.17, Paul has in mind those who aren’t Christians who are in some way attacking, or opposing the Church, possibly even persecuting it.  How do we know this isn’t what Paul has in mind?  Who is he thinking of? 

What does Paul mean when he says that God’s temple is ‘sacred’ (v.17)?  Are you used to thinking of the Church in those terms? 

Family Worship Ideas 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 - The Church - The Body of Christ

Here is the link to this weeks Family worship resources.

I Cor.12:12-31 (Body of Christ) Bible Study

One of the images of Church that we are probably more familiar with is the Body of Christ.  It’s the Apostle Paul who really enjoys developing this picture (Rom.12:4-5; Eph.4:4, 12-16; Col.1:18) and usually in ways that stress our mutual interdependence on each other if we are to be all Christ has called us to be.   It is important to remember that it is the Body of Christ that Paul has in mind (I Cor.12:12).  Our belonging to His Body is by virtue of our Baptism by/with/in the Spirit (12:13).  Whatever our background before our conversion, and whatever our cultural or spiritual context or socio-economic status we are together brought into the life and body of Christ. 

There is a beautiful symmetry in Paul’s one/many language.  We are unified without being reduced to uniformity; and diverse without becoming divided.  Our distinctive contributions are celebrated and valued, but without allowing for any sense of superiority, or arrogance (12:15-20).  Our positioning in that Body is at the discretion and wisdom of the Head (12:18).  And yet there is no naïve egalitarianism: not all parts of the body are equally ‘strong’ or ‘honourable’ (12:22-23).  That gives room for service for encouraging and building up one another.  And our integration as the Body is so integral and profound that ‘if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it’ (12:26).  That makes for a complicated Church life, for often there are people suffering and being honoured at the same time!

Our unity as one body is not a rhetorical ideal, but a call to realise the spiritual truth we celebrate at Communion week by week.  I Cor.10:17, Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.  Our sharing the bread commits us to Spirit-led attitudes and patterns of behaviour that build that unity and protect it.  Those whose behaviour threatens the unity of the Body are to be avoided (Rom.16:17-18; Titus 3:10 etc.).  The failure to recognise the unity of the Body (i.e. the Church) is the reason why Corinthian worship does more harm than good (I Cor.11:17), and why ‘many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep’ (I Cor.11:30). 

the Unity of the Body then, is not simply a pragmatic convenience...  as if the total of Paul’s teaching would be that if we could all just work together we’d get so much more done – a kind of spiritual equivalent to ‘teamwork makes the dream work’.  It is a far deeper reality than that.

Questions:

How has this term’s teaching on the Church changed your attitude, thinking or behaviour toward others at MIE?

Based on this passage, what does Paul mean when he talks about us being part of the body (12:15-16)? ... or even more suggestively, as ‘belonging’ to the body ((12:16)?

If someone in a congregation doesn’t fulfil their responsibilities (and that in itself could be part of the discussion), what damage does that do to the life and mission of the Church?  How serious would that be? 

Read 12:18 again...  how does that make you feel?  about your own involvement in Church life?  ...and about others people’s? 

When we strip away the analogy, why would anyone in the Church ever think or say that they didn’t need someone else, and their contribution? 

What does Paul have in mind when he talks about the ‘unpresentable’ or ‘less honourable’ parts of the Body of Christ?  What kind of Christian is Paul highlighting here?  How should the rest of the Church relate to them?

and by contrast, what makes someone a ‘presentable part’ (12:24) of the Church?  How should the rest of the congregation relate to them?

12:26 is a key verse in the ministry of Open Doors (one of our global mission partners).  Do you really believe that we suffer with the persecuted Church?  What does Paul mean here?  How should we support other Christians elsewhere in the world?

Why – after everything he has said – does Paul rank differently gifted people in 12:28-30?  How should these verses shape the life of a contemporary congregation ... if at all? 

Why does Paul tell us to ‘eagerly desire the greater gifts’ (12:31)?  Can we determine our gifting in some sense based on our desire?

Rom.8:12-17 (Church as Family): Ideas for family worship

It’s quite revealing to ask your child(ren) to think of as many words that describe Jesus as they can: Lord, Saviour, King, Son of God...  how long will it take to get to: Brother?  And yet this one of Jesus’ favourite titles for Himself. 

Heb.2:11, Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

He loves being our (eternally) older Brother.  What does this help us to understand about Jesus? ...and about what it means for us to be Christians?  ...and what kind of relationship He wants with us? 

Can you fill in the ‘Family Tree’ above? What would a Family Tree for the Church look like!!??

Another great verse is from I John 3:1, See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God.

To talk about the Church as the family of God is to tap into this rich vision of our relationship with different members of the Godhead.  Our reading this week (Rom.8:12-17) talked about the Spirit as well, as the Spirit of Adoption.  When we are adopted into the family of God, we are treated just the ‘natural’ Son of God – Jesus.  We are treated and viewed by the Father, just as He treats Jesus.  And He gives us the power (through the Holy Spirit) to grow more into the family likeness!

Something that the Bible gets very excited about is the hope that this gives us.  We will share in the inheritance of the New Creation with Jesus too!  Until that day, our Father promises to be always with us.  Maybe have a read through the Matt.6:25-34.  What does this teach us about what it means to call God ‘Father’?

You could spend some time talking about what makes your children’s relationship with you unique..?  Why can they call you Mum / Dad, but no-one else can?  What privileges do they have as children in your family?  What responsibilities?  What do they get to be part of that no-ne else joins in with?  Are there equivalents in the life of the Church? 

You can read a bit more about the Church as the Family of God in section 103 of My First Books and more...

Rom.8:12-17 (Family) Bible Study

One of the most extraordinary claims of the Bible is that when we become Christians we are adopted into the family of God.   We’re so used to it that we might almost forget how breath-taking a privilege it is, and the glory of what it means often comes into sharp relief when we consider not only what we are saved to, but also what we are saved from.  We see that from Jesus’ own designation of the religious leaders as children of the devil (Jn.8:42-47); but only slightly less disturbing is Paul’s language in Eph.2:2-3, where in describing the Ephesians’ reality before becoming Christians, he writes literally of how they followed ‘the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience … we were by nature children of wrath’ (emphasis added).  Against this background, the idea that we are now adopted into the family of God is staggering.

The Bible speaks of our becoming Christians as having many different facets - some are ‘legal’, others moral or spiritual.  Adoption into the family of God speaks much more directly and intimately to the question of our relationship with God as Father, on the basis of Christ’s own Sonship.  So it is no surprise to read that one of the highest proveleges of being in the Family is that of coming to God as Father in prayer.  As we are now identified with Jesus, our Brother, we are able to come before His Father as our Father.  Jesus consistently approached God as His Father (Matt.11:25; 26:39, Jn.17:1 etc., in fact the only exception is His cry of dereliction, Matt.27:46).  We would never dare such presumption without explicit mandate from Christ.  Even then, the invitation to such intimacy threatens irreverence.   We keep our balance by remembering that He remains ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name’ (Matt.6:9).  Our Father remains our Lord.  

The Fatherhood of God is also the basis of our receiving the Spirit of His Son with a view to our growing more like our Brother in the family likeness (Lk.11:13; Rom.8:14; Phil.2:15).  This sense of growing to be like our Father is a key idea linked with our being children of God (Eph.5:1, I Pet.1:14-16), and lies in the background to Heb.12:4-11, which alerts us to the fact that the love of our Father means He is not willing to leave our sin unchallenged.  As Judge, God no longer sees, or remembers our sin as something for which we need to be judged.  He ‘blots out our transgressions … and remembers our sins no more’ (Is.43:25).  But as Father, He continues to see them as something for which we need to be disciplined, something which hinders our pursuit of the ‘family-likeness’.  In Hebrews this is celebrated as confirming God’s love for us, and that liberates us so that ‘we can share in His holiness’ (II Cor.6:18-7:1).

Few other aspects of our salvation speak to our hearts and redeem our emotional life so deeply as the idea of adoption. 

Questions:

If prayer is so critically linked to adoption, what does this mean for when people who aren’t Christians pray? Should we encourage people who aren’t Christians to pray e.g. the Lord’s Prayer (which speaks of God as Father)?

If we are supposed to reflect the life and character of our God, should Christians be expected to adopt as part of our discipleship?

Read Rom.8:12-17

What does Paul mean by living ‘according to the flesh’? Why does living like that lead to death (8:13)? Is this true even for people who think of themselves as Christians?

How do you ‘put to death the misdeeds of the body (8:13)? What is the role of the Spirit in this? How would help a new Christian to do this?

What is the difference between ‘slavery’ and ‘sonship’ (8:14-15)? Should people who aren’t Christians speak of God as their Father?

Do you think it is sexist and inappropriate to speak of our adoption to ‘sonship’ in the way Paul does here (8:15)?

How does the Spirit testify with our spirit that we are God’s children (8:16)? What would it ‘feel ‘ like? How would you experience this?

Why is it so important? How would you counsel a Christian who was struggling to think of themselves as part of God’s family?

Why does Paul link our being heirs, with suffering (8:17, see also 8:18)? What do you think we are heirs of… what is our inheritance?

Ideas for Family Worship Revelation 19:1-8 Church - Bride of Christ

Please click below for this weeks Family Worship Ideas

Rev.19:1-10 (Bride) Bible Study

The Book of Revelation is immense.  We’re having a whole day looking at it this summer (3rd August), so if it isn’t in your diary, book it in now!! The key to the book is to understand where and how the images have been used elsewhere in Scripture, and to bring that to the passage you’re considering in the Revelation.  This passage is a case in point...  the faithful bride and the faithless prostitute.  This is a not a new image in Scripture.  It has been used before to capture the idea of the Church as faithful to the covenant the Lord has made, in contrast to a faithless world.  It is another way of picturing the contrasting destinies of the two cities: Babylon and Jerusalem (see Ch.18 for Babylon, and Ch.21:9-11 for the identifying of the Bride with the New Jerusalem).   

It is a breath-taking scene, assaulting the senses as we grapple to take on board the cosmic reality of what is being revealed.  A vast echo of the wedding we saw in the opening scene of creation-history (Gen.2:18-25) is heard now in the closing scenes.  It is a theme that has resonated along the corridors of time: the books of Song of Songs, of Hosea, Psalm 45, and glorious passages such as Is.54:5; Is.62:5; Eph.5:25-27 (&32), to say nothing of the numerous parables where Jesus styles Himself as the Bridegroom, and the many times idolatry is presented as adultery...  Given how often it occurs in Scripture, there may be grounds in saying this is one of the Holy Spirit’s favourite images to capture the dynamics of the relationship between Christ and the Church. 

And here in Rev.19, the long awaited ‘wedding of the Lamb’ has finally come.  The Bride has finally made herself ready.  The prospect is so staggering we can understand why the angel has to underline that this is in fact happening (These are the true words of God).  Otherwise we could be forgiven for thinking such a thing impossible.  And the atmosphere of this moment is saturated with worship.  Every moment is punctuated by a roar of worship that echoes through the vaults of heaven.  The Angelic host of heaven (19:1); the Church and the Four Living Creatures (19:4), and Christ Himself (19:5) answer each other in cascading worship, before the whole company of heaven join in a rising crescendo (19:6).  Blessed indeed are those who are invited.  The worship is so infectious, that John is tempted to worship even the angel... and earns a stern rebuke from his fellow servant (19:10)!

Questions:

Does this passage evoke such instinct for worship as you read it?  Do you find yourself longing to be a part of this great company of heaven as they declare the praise of God?

How do you feel about God being worshipped in light of His judging and destruction of the world (19:1-4)?  In light of the response of heaven, how would you respond to someone who said they couldn’t worship a God who came in such cataclysmic judgment?

Do you find comfort in this image of the God whose judgments are just and true?  why is it emphasized that in judging the world He is avenging the blood of His servants (19:2)?  How would you feel about the judgement of God if you had lost those you loved in persecution?

Do you think it is fair of God to judge with an eternal destruction (19:3)?

Why does the Book of Revelation put this imagery in such close proximity to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb?  What is the connection between the two events, and why are they intertwined in worship like this?

What does the imagery of the Church as the Bride of Christ / wedding of the Lamb make you think of?   What passages are informing your thinking on this?

In what sense does the bride make herself ready?  Does that undermine the idea of grace?

What do you think constitutes the ‘righteous acts of God’s holy people’ (19:8, see the contrast of imagery with 18:16)?  How can we support each other at MIE as we pursue these?

Why is it only at the end of the age that the wedding supper of the Lamb takes place? 

In what ways is a Christian marriage service structured to reflect the dynamics of the relationship between Christ and the Church?  If you are married, would you be willing to share how this imagery has shaped your relationship with your spouse?

How important is it that Christian marriages reflect the pattern laid down between Christ and His bride the Church?  Can Christians decide to build their marriage in a different direction?

An Apostolic Church - ideas for family worship

I know we write these as a way of encouraging family worship – but if your family has older children / youth then please feel free to use the regular Bible Study material! 

But if you have younger children, how can we get into this idea of the Church being rooted in the Apostles?  There are a couple of idea: the first would be to build on the very visual image of the Apostles as the foundation of the Church (Eph.2:20, with Prophets simply be those who did the same job as the Apostles prior to the Incarnation of Christ).

Here’s a simple picture of the image in Eph.2:20 that might help:

Eph.2:19-20 would also make a great memory verse.  Here’s a shortened version: ‘You are ... members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone’.

To introduce the idea of making sure we can recognise the Apostles’ teaching, why not have a game where you read a popular saying or sentence and people have to decide if it is Apostle or not Apostle...  (cleanliness is next to godliness?  The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat?)

How can we get better at knowing what the Apostle’s teach (and what they don’t teach!)? 

Another way in might be to think of keeping something safe.  You could entrust something fragile to one member of the family, who keeps it for a day, then passes it on to the next person...  can it be kept safe till the end of the week?  This is a great picture of the Church as it passes on the Apostolic teaching from one generation to another through the ages.  How do we know when it is being kept safe?   ...and when it isn’t?

There are plenty of kid-friendly animations of the story of Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys on Youtube.  One of them – covering Acts 10-28 - can be found here.

with older children, you could take a letter written by an Apostle (i.e. any of the NT epistles) and begin to introduce them to the idea of learning from a passage about the Apostle and what they teach.  If you are using Eph.2:20 as a memory verse, why not take the whole chapter over the course of a few days, and explore some of the big ideas Paul is teaching, and what we are learning about him from what he writes there.  What does he teach us about sin, and the cross, and the Church?  What does he teach us about God and what God is doing through Jesus and why?  Just take it one section at a time, read it aloud as a family (you might find it helpful to make sure everyone has a copy of that section in front of them). 

In Explorers and youth group Bible studies, we often ask the y.p. to draw:

a question mark beside anything they don’t understand... 

an exclamation mark against something they didn’t expect... 

a light bulb next to new ideas... 

a deja-vu sign for anything they have heard before, or recognise from somewhere else in the Bible (see below)…

an arrow to note something we have to do…

a heart next to something they love or get excited about in the passage. 

That sort of thing might be a helpful way to get people talking about what you are reading...