Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 8 - Happy Ever After?

Life is never happily ever after, but that doesn’t change who God is. The story of Nehemiah doesn’t end how we think it should, but we can learn from this “non happily ever after” story.

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Reading: Nehemiah 13

Discussion Questions:

  1. In what ways does the idea of “happily ever after” hurt us as we grow older?

  2. Read Nehemiah 13. What are all the way’s that the people are being disobedient to God?

  3. How can spiritual carelessness lead to sin?

  4. How have you seen sin in your own life hurt you or the people around you?

  5. Why is our relationship with God so important when it comes to the temptation of believing in “happily ever after”?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 7

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Reading: Nehemiah 13

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is one of the biggest celebrations that you have had in your life? A birthday party, wedding, etc.

  2. Read Nehemiah 8. What sticks out to you about this chapter with the people’s response to Ezra and Nehemiah?

  3. What parts of scripture do you know that you have trouble applying? Why do you think you struggle to apply it?

  4. How does celebrating God reveal himself more? How does it produce joy? How does it help you worship?

  5. How can you celebrate God better?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 6 - Live Your Repentance Out Loud

Confession is confidence that God will provide a way out. For the Israelites in Nehemiah 9, they confessed their sins corporately among a trusted circle of other believers. It’s in this prayer from the Levites that we learn the power of humble confession and a righteous response to our sin.

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Reading: Nehemiah 8-12

Discussion Questions:

  1. Who is in your "trusted circle"? If you can't think of anyone, take this time to invite them. (Remember, not asking is an automatic "no")

  2. Reread the prayer in Nehemiah 9. What are some themes or patterns you notice?

  3. "Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith," Do you agree? Do you find it easy or difficult to repent and talk to God if you fall short?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 5 - Do Not Go Down

Nehemiah is a great example of a godly leader. When the opposition tries to distract him, he chooses the good work God had given him. What if we responded the same way as Nehemiah?

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Reading: Nehemiah 8-12

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some of your biggest distractions in life?

  2. What is one of the ways Nehemiah showed godly leadership that inspires you in your leadership?

  3. Read Nehemiah 6:1-15. What sticks out to you with how Nehemiah replies?

  4. What is your wall?

  5. What are the obstacles you need to remove?

  6. What or who do you need to eliminate?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 4 - The Walls

Nehemiah felt a calling from God: to rebuild the wall. Walls are there to protect what is important. How does Nehemiah’s calling help us create boundaries in our lives today?

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Reading: Nehemiah 6 & 7

Discussion Questions:

  1. Read Nehemiah 1:5-11. What sticks out to you about this prayer from Nehemiah in the midst of the problem he has heard about?

  2. How have you seen God’s will play out through connected life events in your life?

  3. Failure happens all the time, from ourselves to people around us. Why is it good news that God’s will happens even in the midst of failure?

  4. Opposition comes when you are trying to do God’s will. What is a real life example of opposition you have faced while trying to live out God’s will?

  5. Why are creating healthy boundaries so important? Are there any boundaries you need to create in order to say “no” to protect the “yeses”?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 3 - The Law and Community

In Ezra 7-10, we see Ezra return and rebuild the Torah and the community, but at the end of Ezra we see a decision that we aren’t sure is the best decision. What do we do to make the best decisions possible?

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Reading: Nehemiah 1-6

Discussion Questions:

  1. What decisions have you made in your life that looking back you still aren’t sure if it was the right decision or not?

  2. Why is reading God’s word consistently so important to making good decisions in life?

  3. Read Ezra’s prayer to God in Ezra 9:6-15. What sticks out to you about his prayer?

  4. Who is the wise counsel in your life? If you do not have any, who can you ask to be that counsel?

  5. Why is focusing on making the godly decisions better than focusing on the right decisions?

  6. Why is remembering that we aren’t that important and that God is always in control so important?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 2

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  1. Reflect: What are ways that God provided for you in ways that you did not expect?

  2. Based on the evidence, how do you interpret Zerubbabel’s rejection of the local people to help rebuild the Temple?

  3. Name times when you successfully or unsuccessfully applied discernment when faced with opposition/challenges?

  4. What is our role in breaking generational curses? What is God’s role?

Ezra & Nehemiah: Week 1 - Return and Rebuild

Ezra and Nehemiah show us that God is in control even when things don’t go as planned. How do the Israelites returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple apply to us?

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Reading: Ezra 1-7

Discussion Questions:

  1. How much knowledge do you have of Ezra-Nehemiah? What did you know prior about these two books?

  2. Read Ezra 1:1-5. How do these verses show that God is in control no matter what?

  3. What are the 4 Covenants we see in the Old Testament? Why do these 4 matter to us today?

  4. The only way we can return and rebuild is with a new heart. Why does a new heart help us return and rebuild?

  5. How do you need to return and what do you need to rebuild?