LectureOutline

Lesson 25 – Teaching Outline

Mark Jensen – Teacher

Introduction: The Hearing Heart and the Book of Malachi
1. Solomon’s prayer for an understanding (hearing) heart as the lesson’s entry point (1 Kings 3:9–10)
  1. Solomon asked for a heart tuned to the voice of God so he could lead Israel as God intended.
  2. Literally, a “hearing heart” — pictured as a heart with two ears.
  3. Solomon eventually lost his zeal and passion to listen for God’s voice.
2. Listening to God requires intentional effort
  1. Active listening demands setting aside distractions and focusing deliberately.
  2. Listening to God calls us to slow down, recognize His voice, acknowledge His word, and obey it.
  3. Listening for and to God is at the heart of a deeper relationship with Him.
3. Overview and scope of this lesson
  1. This is a survey of Malachi, not a verse-by-verse exposition.
  2. Key questions: What was happening in Israel? Why did Malachi bring his word? How does it apply to us and to Grace Church?
  3. Malachi, like many biblical books, was addressed to the people of God as a community, not to isolated individuals — readers are encouraged to view it through the lens of their church family.
Historical and Biblical Context of Malachi
1. Malachi’s place in the canon and in history
  1. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament — God’s final pleading with Israel in the Old Testament period.
  2. After Malachi, the voice of God is silent for four centuries until John the Baptist appears.
  3. It is likely that Malachi preached during Nehemiah’s absence from Jerusalem after the wall was completed and before Nehemiah’s return in Nehemiah 13.
  4. Nehemiah 13 records that Nehemiah found much to correct — the people had backslidden far from God and His law.
2. The literary structure of Malachi
  1. A recurring pattern runs through the book: accusation by God, interrogation by the people, and refutation by God.
  2. Of the 53 verses in Malachi, 47 are spoken directly by God — this is emphatically God’s word to His people.
  3. Malachi is fittingly the last Old Testament book: it underscores the sinfulness of the human condition and points forward to God’s solution in the coming Messiah.
3. Messianic prophecy in Malachi
  1. “Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple.” (Malachi 2:17–3:1)
  2. “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (Malachi 4:5–6)
  3. Jesus is found in Malachi through these prophecies of His coming.
God’s Enduring Love for Israel: The Backdrop to Malachi
1. Three great characteristics of God toward Israel seen throughout the Old Testament
  1. He loves His people.
  2. He saves His people.
  3. He speaks to His people.
2. God’s love expressed in election, covenant, and faithfulness
  1. He chose Israel not because of their greatness but because of His love and His oath to their forefathers (Deuteronomy 7:7–8).
  2. Even when Israel rebelled at the Red Sea, He saved them for the sake of His name and to make His power known (Psalm 106:7–8).
  3. His lovingkindness is as high as the heavens above the earth; He has removed Israel’s transgressions as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:8–12).
  4. Some of God’s covenant promises to Israel are yet to be fulfilled.
3. Israel’s tragic forgetfulness of God’s love
  1. By the time of Malachi, the people had forgotten the long history of God’s love for them.
  2. Malachi is addressed to a spiritually backslidden people who no longer understood or treasured God’s love.
The Spiritual Condition of Israel in Malachi’s Day
1. A nation descended into cynicism and apathy
  1. The people had become doubtful of God’s love and had collectively adopted an attitude of cynicism.
  2. Their heart condition was visible in their neglect of temple rituals, the poor condition of their sacrifices, cheating on tithes and offerings, and gross indifference to God’s moral laws.
  3. They questioned whether it was really worth serving God at all.
2. Specific sins addressed in Malachi
  1. Hypocrisy and infidelity.
  2. Mixed marriages and divorce.
  3. False worship and corrupt sacrifices.
  4. Arrogance — they questioned God in response to every accusation He made.
3. A telling contradiction: they questioned God’s blessing while living in disobedience
  1. Despite their hard hearts and deep apathy, they still wondered why God was not blessing them.
  2. God, through Malachi, made clear that the lack of blessing was not because He no longer cared, but because of their compromise and disobedience.
  3. If they would repent and return to God in sincerity, His divine blessing would flow back to them.
4. Peter Adam’s description of Israel’s spiritual condition
  1. “They were not actually running away from God and were not worshiping idols as they had in the past. They seemed to lack the energy to serve God wholeheartedly.”
  2. “They tried to live in neutral territory, neither serving God too enthusiastically nor turning away from God too enthusiastically. In this, they were self-deceived.”
  3. “In fact, they were in a vicious circle, a terrifying whirlpool sinking further and further to destruction.”
5. The fundamental sin underlying all others
  1. The greatest sin of God’s people in Malachi is sin against God Himself.
  2. “Against you, you only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4)
  3. Sin against God is the fundamental sin — the source of all sin — and it is easy to overlook its seriousness while focusing on sins against others or against self.
Three Ways Spiritual Apathy Takes Root
1. Loss of love and passion for God
  1. Emotions are fickle; feelings of apathy can replace the fervor once felt for God.
  2. Maintaining a vibrant walk with God requires being on guard against apathy.
  3. When apathy is recognized, we must look to God and to Christian friends for help to overcome it.
2. Unconfessed sin creating distance from God
  1. Sin causes a felt separation from God, as David experienced (Psalm 51:10–12).
  2. David’s response was confession, asking for a clean heart, a renewed spirit, and the restoration of the joy of salvation.
  3. When spiritually apathetic, the first step is to ask God to reveal any sin in our lives, confess it, and receive His cleansing and renewal.
3. Dead orthodoxy replacing a true love for Jesus Christ
  1. It is possible to obey without love — to hold Christian truths and yet serve God in a loveless, lifeless fashion.
  2. Jesus condemned the Ephesian church: “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:4)
  3. Approximately 30 years earlier, Paul had commended the Ephesians for their faith and love for all the saints (Ephesians 1:15–16); their passion had since faded.
  4. The Ephesians knew the teachings of Christ but were no longer living in His power, and in doing so lost their vibrant love and passion for Him.
Three Steps to Overcome Spiritual Apathy (Revelation 2:5)
1. Remember
  1. Think back to the time when you sensed the warmth and closeness of Christ’s presence.
  2. That state of fellowship can be returned to.
2. Repent
  1. See spiritual apathy itself as sin and confess it to God (1 John 1:9).
3. Renew
  1. Cultivate a renewed commitment not merely to serving the Lord, but to knowing Him, worshiping Him, and fellowshipping with Him.
  2. If daily reading and prayer have stopped or become inconsistent, renew them — this is a primary means of hearing God’s voice.
  3. Seek accountability from Christian friends.
  4. Allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower you so that your life displays the fruit of the Spirit.
  5. If needed, return to community and fellowship with a Bible-believing local church.
Key Truths and Application for the Church Today
1. Key Truths from the Book of Malachi
  1. God’s lack of blessing on His people is not evidence that He no longer cares — it is a call to examine compromise and disobedience.
  2. The central question is not “Is God listening to me?” but “Am I listening to God?”
  3. Within the heart of God’s people there must be a deep, radical, and overwhelming conviction that God loves them — without it, they are spiritually lost.
  4. God loves us, God has saved us, and God speaks to us every day through His word (Romans 8:31–37).
  5. We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:7).
  6. Apathy and cynicism are spiritually contagious and can spread through a church community.
  7. Satan loves apathetic Christians and seeks to use their attitude to draw others into apathy.
2. Malachi as a warning — not a condemnation — for the church today
  1. For Grace Church, Malachi functions as a warning to be alert against apathy, hard-heartedness, and hypocrisy.
  2. Individual spiritual vitality or apathy directly affects the health and culture of the broader church community.
  3. Each member either contributes to the overall vitality of the church or may become a spark that leads others into apathy.
3. Application and Reflection Questions
  1. How are you doing in actively listening for the voice of God every day?
  2. Are you asking God for a hearing heart — one that recognizes His voice and obeys when He speaks?
  3. In what ways might you be settling for “neutral territory,” neither fully serving God nor outright refusing Him?
  4. Is there unconfessed sin in your life that may be fueling spiritual apathy? What steps will you take toward confession and renewal?
  5. Have you, like the Ephesian church, forsaken your first love? Where are you in the process of remembering, repenting, and renewing?
  6. How does your individual spiritual life currently affect the broader health and culture of your church community?
  7. Small group focus: Questions 2 and 5 from Day 2, Question 1 from Day 4, and Question 2 from Day 5.

Lesson 24 – Teaching Outline

Brett Cushing – Teacher

Nehemiah’s Return to Contamination
1. The contrast between his departure and return
  1. Left after successful wall dedication and celebration
  2. Returns after about a year to find sacred things profaned and paganized
2. Understanding key theological terms
  1. Sacred: things set apart and used in service to God
  2. Pagan: common, unholy, not different from anything else
  3. Consecrated: the act of setting something apart
  4. Profane: treating holy things with irreverence or contempt
3. The contamination analogy: Chernobyl nuclear disaster
  1. Released 400 times more radioactive material than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined
  2. 120,000 people from 213 villages relocated
  3. Area uninhabitable for 20,000 years
  4. Sin creates similar contamination that causes holy God to move out
4. Christ’s response versus human response
  1. Jesus moved into our “Chernobyl” because God so loved the world (John 1:14)
  2. Humanity chooses to remain in sin’s contamination rather than choose holy God
The Law Read and Briefly Obeyed (Nehemiah 13:1-3)
1. Promising beginning with God’s Word
  1. Book of Moses read aloud
  2. Heard that no Moabite or Ammonite should enter God’s assembly
  3. Reminded that God turned Balaam’s curse into blessing
2. Immediate obedient response
  1. They heard God’s Word
  2. They responded in obedience
  3. Contamination began almost immediately after
Contamination of the Temple (Nehemiah 13:4-14)
1. The failure of witness to the world
  1. God’s people were to live under God’s rule as bright light to the world
  2. When they failed, they made God seem common and ordinary
  3. “Wizard of Oz effect” – making the awesome God appear as ordinary man behind curtain
2. Tobiah’s contaminating presence
  1. Foreign Ammonite official and adversary of Nehemiah
  2. Exploited relationship with priest Eliashib
  3. Given access to sacred places for storing tithes
  4. Evil one now residing where sacred things should be stored
3. Impact on worship and the Levites
  1. Levites unable to perform worship services (verse 10)
  2. Forced to leave temple work for common labor
  3. Worship declining as evil one intended
4. Nehemiah’s cleansing response
  1. Called Eliashib’s action “evil” (verse 7)
  2. Threw out all of Tobiah’s belongings
  3. Purified and reconsecrated the priests
  4. Parallel to Jesus cleansing the temple
5. Nehemiah’s intercessory prayer (verse 14)
  1. “Remember me for this, my God”
  2. Points to Jesus as our intercessor
  3. Jesus says “Remember my perfect life covering them”
The Church as Temple Today
1. Jesus as the temple (Ephesians 2:19-22)
  1. Believers are “fellow citizens with the saints”
  2. Christ as cornerstone of the temple
  3. Whole structure grows into holy temple in the Lord
  4. Believers built together as dwelling place for God by the Spirit
2. Application for believers today
  1. Do we make allowances and alliances with evil?
  2. Are parts of us contaminating and profaning God?
  3. Solution is not trying harder but trusting more in Jesus
  4. Jesus cleanses us permanently and perfectly
Contamination of the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:15-22)
1. Sabbath turned into marketplace (verses 15-16)
  1. People buying and selling on day set apart for God
  2. Day of grace became day of grit and grind
2. The sacred meaning of Sabbath
  1. Day to observe and remember preciousness of relationship with God
  2. Reminder that God is over everything in our lives
  3. Day to remember God provides for all we have
  4. Reminder of our weakness and need for rest in God
  5. For Israelites: remember redemption from Egypt
  6. For us: remember salvation from sin
3. The choice between dependence and independence
  1. Sabbath represented dependence on God
  2. Contamination showed resort to self-reliance
  3. Same choice as Adam and Eve: tree of life or tree of knowledge of good and evil
4. God’s wrath explained (verse 18)
  1. Not God getting angry but giving people what they want
  2. Giving them His absence rather than His presence
  3. Worst experience imaginable – separation from God
  4. Jesus experienced this on the cross for us
5. Nehemiah’s protective measures (verses 19-21)
  1. Shut doors and warned violators of arrest
  2. Levites purified themselves and guarded the Sabbath
  3. Needed guarding from outside influences and our own hearts
6. New Testament perspective on Sabbath
  1. Early Christians moved Sabbath to Sunday (Lord’s Day)
  2. Moral principle remains: rest, remembrance, reliance on God
  3. Sunday marks Jesus’s resurrection and our true rest in Him
Contamination of Community Identity (Nehemiah 13:23-31)
1. The intermarriage problem (verses 23-25)
  1. Men of Judah married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab
  2. Children spoke foreign languages, not language of Judah
  3. Nehemiah’s violent response: rebuked, cursed, beat, and pulled hair
2. The covenant violation (Deuteronomy 7:3-4)
  1. “Do not intermarry with them”
  2. “They will turn your children away from following me”
  3. God’s concern was apostasy, not ethnicity
  4. Warning against abandoning Yahweh for other gods
3. Understanding “unevenly yoked”
  1. Like two cattle pulling in different directions
  2. One wanting to follow Yahweh, other wanting own way
  3. Creates strain, stress, and ultimately leads to apostasy
4. Nehemiah as “Mr. Clean”
  1. Continually cleaning contamination
  2. Threw out Tobiah’s goods
  3. Confronted Sabbath violators
  4. Used violence against intermarriage violators
Key Distinction: Descriptive vs. Prescriptive
1. Nehemiah’s actions are descriptive, not prescriptive
  1. Not everything God’s people do is example to follow
  2. Too much abuse already in churches
  3. Jesus says love our enemies – that’s prescriptive
2. Nehemiah’s approach versus Jesus’s approach
  1. Nehemiah: force, control, violence
  2. Jesus: compassion, mercy, grace
  3. Better to remember God’s true character (Exodus 34:6)
  4. Better to remember God’s forgiveness (Psalm 130:3)
3. Contrasting prayers
  1. Nehemiah (verse 29): “Remember them… because they defiled”
  2. Jesus on cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”
Application: Our Identity and Community Today
1. Questions for self-examination
  1. Do we compromise through intimate relationships with non-Christians?
  2. Do we contaminate through hatred toward others or ourselves?
  3. Do we compromise through political tribalism?
  4. Are we more like Mr. Clean (forcing righteousness) or Christ (serving on cross)?
2. What are we “married to” that’s inconsistent with Christ?
Three Summary Points from Nehemiah 13
1. Humanity needs new interior, not exterior
  1. Don’t need new wall, need new will and heart
  2. Pattern: construction to dedication to immediate decline
  3. Cycle: reform, relapse, reform, relapse
2. Need world Savior who is God, not worldly leader who’s godly
  1. Both Nehemiah and Jesus brought cleansing
  2. Nehemiah: human force through control and condemnation
  3. Jesus: divine force through service, suffering, sacrifice
  4. Nehemiah’s effects temporary, Jesus’s effects eternal
3. External reform versus renewed heart
  1. Can worship faithfully, believe orthodoxy, clean up behaviors
  2. Still battle deep-rooted sin continually
  3. Must live in perpetual dependency on Christ’s sufficiency
Final Contrasts: Mr. Clean versus the Cross
1. Nehemiah’s methods versus Jesus’s methods
  1. Nehemiah restored priests, Jesus replaces priesthood as true high priest
  2. Nehemiah enforced Sabbath, Jesus fulfills Sabbath
  3. Nehemiah rebuked compromised community, Jesus redeems it
  4. Nehemiah fought intermarriage leading to idolatry
  5. Jesus marries unfaithful bride and makes her pure (Ephesians 5:25-27)
2. Different prayers and perspectives
  1. Nehemiah hoped for God to gaze upon him as righteous
  2. Jesus’s intercessory prayers give us God’s gaze upon us as righteous
3. The choice before us
  1. Aim to be like Nehemiah (Mr. Clean) attempting external force and control
  2. Point to Jesus on cross and encourage faith in compassionate Savior
  3. Jesus cleanses internally with new heart – His heart

Lesson 23 – Teaching Outline

Scott Neubauer – Teacher

Introduction: God Uses Ordinary People for Extraordinary Purposes
1. Medal of Honor recipients were ordinary soldiers who became extraordinary through acts of valor
2. Nehemiah 11-12 contains lists of ordinary people used by God for extraordinary purposes
  1. Local leaders, singers, temple servants, and priests
  2. People who likely never thought their actions were noteworthy
  3. Similar to anonymous biblical figures like the servant girl who helped Naaman (2 Kings 5), the woman at the well (John 4), and the repentant thief on the cross (Luke 23)
3. Key Truth: God uses ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plans
Review of Nehemiah’s Journey So Far
1. Chapter 1: Nehemiah poured out his heart to God for the people
2. Chapter 2: Nehemiah pled with the king to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls
3. Chapter 3: Organization and beginning of construction
4. Chapter 4: Opposition and response to it
5. Chapter 5: Internal strife and overcoming it
6. Chapter 6: Dealing with assassination attempt and completing the wall
7. Chapter 7: Genealogy and generosity of the people
8. Chapter 8: Ezra read the law and the people responded in faith
9. Chapter 9: Confession of sins and repentance
10. Chapter 10: Written covenant about future living
Who: The People and Their Settlement (Nehemiah 11:1-12:26)
1. Physical limitations of Jerusalem
  1. Area inside walls was only about 60 acres, shaped like a spatula
  2. Two-thirds of a mile in length, 1200 feet across
  3. Temple located near the top center, surrounded by rebuilt gates
  4. City was still a mess with construction materials and burned rubble
2. Settlement arrangement
  1. Leaders chose to live in Jerusalem as a sacrifice
  2. One-tenth of remaining people chosen by lots to live in the city
  3. Everyone else lived in surrounding areas and towns
  4. People blessed those who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:2)
3. No recorded arguments or divisive disagreements in the resettlement process
4. Various roles listed: priests, Levites, musicians, singers, temple servants, praise leaders, gatekeepers
5. Key Truth: It took everyone to restore the city and the temple
What: The Dedication and Service (Nehemiah 12:27-47)
1. The dedication of the wall
  1. Purpose: to celebrate with gladness, thanksgiving, singing, cymbals, harps, and lyres (Nehemiah 12:27)
  2. Required logistical planning and spiritual preparation
  3. Priests and Levites purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall (Nehemiah 12:30)
  4. Two groups processional around the wall using antiphonal worship style from David and Asaph’s tradition
  5. Great sacrifices offered and great joy that God initiated in their hearts (Nehemiah 12:43)
  6. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away
2. Service in the temple
  1. Restored traditions from David and Solomon’s time
  2. Provided for Levites, singers, and gatekeepers
  3. Ensured continuity of service to the Lord and purification according to the law
Why: The Foundation of True Worship
1. Worship is our response to God for what He has done in and through Jesus
  1. God is the initiator, not a reactionary
  2. His plan revealed in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3)
  3. The return from exile was God’s fulfillment of His 1600-year-old promise
  4. Their great joy was a response to God’s initiative
2. Worship is grounded in truth, not emotions or circumstances
  1. Based on who God is: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
  2. Founded on the Gospel truth of salvation from sin and secure eternal future
  3. When grounded in Gospel truth, hearts respond naturally with great joy and thanksgiving
3. Unity within the body is essential for worship
  1. No recorded disagreements or dysfunction among the people in Nehemiah’s account
  2. Paul’s emphasis on unity in multiple letters (1 Corinthians 1:10, 12; Philippians 2:2; Romans 12)
  3. Ephesians 4:1-3 pattern for unity: humility, gentleness, patience, bearing one another in love
Application and Reflection
1. Personal examination questions
  1. How am I doing with humility and gentleness in my relationships with family, coworkers, and neighbors?
  2. How am I bearing with people around me – with criticism and scorn, or with patience and encouragement?
2. Key Truth: Unity among followers of Jesus is directly tied to our worship of God
3. When we remember God’s grace toward us and extend that same grace to others, we can worship together with great joy

Lesson 22 – Teaching Outline

Nehemiah 9-10

Mark Jensen – Teacher

Introduction and Context: National Confession and Repentance (Nehemiah 9:1–10:39)
1. After hearing the public reading of God’s Word, the nation of Israel came together to confess their sins, repent, and commit to being obedient (Nehemiah 8–9).
2. Confession and repentance as a national process is unusual to our modern thinking, but in Nehemiah 9–10 this is exactly what took place.
3. Historical Parallel — Germany’s National Reckoning
  1. Germany’s reckoning with the Holocaust did not happen all at once; it unfolded over decades shaped by political leadership, public debate, and a growing willingness to confront the past.
  2. After the war, the people of Germany struggled with denial, silence, or selective memory; the Allies led the first major steps through war-crimes trials and denazification.
  3. The Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946) publicly exposed the scale of Nazi atrocities and established a legal and moral framework for accountability.
  4. Over the following decades, Germany moved from silence toward acknowledgment through education, memorials, reparations, and laws against Holocaust denial.
  5. Germany’s process mirrors what Israel did in Nehemiah 9–10: acknowledging national sin, refusing to make excuses, and committing to change going forward.
The Power of God’s Word and the Role of Teaching (Nehemiah 8–9; Romans 10:14–17)
1. A key theme in Ezra and Nehemiah is that God’s Word, taught faithfully, produces transformation in the hearts of the people.
2. Paul’s words in Romans 10:14, 17 illustrate the principle at work: “How will they hear without a preacher? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
3. The Completion of the Wall and Its Spiritual Effect
  1. The wall was completed in 52 days — a visible display of God’s goodness, favor, and presence with the people.
  2. The completion of the wall improved safety and security and demonstrated that God was with them.
  3. The building program was a pause in Ezra’s teaching, but completing it motivated the people to want to know more of God’s law; they themselves asked Ezra to continue teaching.
4. The People’s Emotional Response to the Word
  1. When the people heard Ezra’s teaching, they wept — they were remorseful over their past disobedience and contrite over their sins (Nehemiah 8:9).
  2. The leaders encouraged them not to grieve but to rejoice, for “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
5. The Feast of Booths Observed for the First Time Since Joshua
  1. This was the first time the Feast of Booths had been observed by the entire nation since the days of Joshua son of Nun (Nehemiah 8:17).
  2. The people had placed higher priority on spiritual things, including the care of the restored temple.
The Great Prayer of Confession (Nehemiah 9:1–37)
1. Setting the Scene (Nehemiah 9:1–5)
  1. On the 24th day of the month, the Israelites assembled with fasting, wearing sackcloth, and putting dust on their heads (Nehemiah 9:1).
  2. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners; they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers (Nehemiah 9:2).
  3. They read from the Book of the Law for a quarter of the day, and for another quarter they made confession and worshiped the Lord (Nehemiah 9:3).
  4. The Levites stood on the stairs and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God, calling the people to stand up and bless the Lord from everlasting to everlasting (Nehemiah 9:4–5).
2. The Character of the Prayer
  1. This is one of the longest recorded prayers in the Bible and covers a vast sweep of Israel’s history.
  2. It is biblical praying — a prayer of events seen from God’s point of view, recited back to Him.
  3. God’s faithfulness is acknowledged throughout; His mercy and grace are recognized as the only foundation upon which the nation can stand.
  4. Israel did not make excuses; their prayer is honest, vulnerable, and does not sugarcoat their sin — they simply acknowledged what God’s Word had recorded about them.
3. Key Themes within the Prayer
  1. Creation: God alone made the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them, and He preserves them all (Nehemiah 9:6).
  2. Abraham: God chose Abram and made a covenant with him, promising the land (Nehemiah 9:7–8).
  3. The Exodus and wilderness: God saw the affliction in Egypt, heard the cry at the Red Sea, delivered with signs and wonders, led by pillar of cloud and fire, gave commandments and manna and water (Nehemiah 9:9–15).
  4. Israel’s repeated rebellion: they acted arrogantly, did not listen, appointed a leader to return to slavery, yet God in His great mercy did not forsake them; He gave His good Spirit to instruct them (Nehemiah 9:16–21).
  5. Conquest, prosperity, and further rebellion: God gave kingdoms and peoples, the people ate, were filled, and delighted in God’s great goodness, yet they became disobedient and cast the law behind their back (Nehemiah 9:22–26).
  6. Cycles of judgment and mercy: when they cried out, God heard from heaven and delivered them — again and again, according to His great mercies (Nehemiah 9:27–31).
  7. The present distress: they acknowledge that God has been just in all that has come upon them, for He has dealt faithfully while they have acted wickedly (Nehemiah 9:32–37).
4. Devotion in the Prayer
  1. The depth and duration of the people’s prayer shows true devotion — spending a quarter of the day in reading and a quarter in confession and worship.
  2. Their devotion must have truly pleased God; out of that devotion, God began a restorative work in the hearts of the people.
The Written Covenant (Nehemiah 9:38–10:39)
1. Because of all that had been confessed, the people made a firm covenant in writing and sealed it (Nehemiah 9:38).
2. Nehemiah’s name heads the list of signatories, followed by the priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the people (Nehemiah 10:1–27).
3. The rest of the people — priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands — joined in a binding oath to walk in God’s law, given through Moses (Nehemiah 10:28–29).
4. Specific Stipulations of the Covenant
  1. They would not give their daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for their sons (Nehemiah 10:30).
  2. They would not buy on the Sabbath or on a holy day from peoples bringing wares; they would forgo crops every seventh year and cancel debts (Nehemiah 10:31).
  3. They imposed an annual temple tax for the service of the house of God (Nehemiah 10:32–33).
  4. They cast lots for the wood offering and made provision for firstfruits, firstborn, and tithes for the Levites (Nehemiah 10:34–39).
  5. The people proclaimed: “We will not neglect the house of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39).
Key Truth: Confession Is the Road to Revival
1. Confession is an acknowledgment of sins to God or to a neighbor whom we have wronged — simple to define, often difficult to practice.
2. Why Confession Matters: It Restores Our Relationship with God
  1. God’s judicial forgiveness through Christ covers all sins eternally — Christ paid it all on the cross.
  2. However, when we sin we damage fellowship with God; the relationship remains intact but becomes strained until we acknowledge the wrong and seek restoration.
  3. Confessing our sin to God restores fellowship and brings about reconciliation.
  4. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
3. Confession Involves Genuine Transformation and Repentance
  1. It goes deeper than mere acknowledgment or regret; it involves an actual turning away from sin.
  2. True repentance means genuinely changing direction — not just saying “I’m sorry” but pursuing a different course of life.
4. Confession Keeps Us from Spiritual Blindness
  1. Unconfessed sin leads to hardened hearts and resistance to the work of the Holy Spirit.
  2. Israel’s history shows a repeated pattern: prosperity led to complacency, complacency led to disobedience, and disobedience led to judgment.
  3. Confession breaks that cycle; it keeps us sensitive to God’s voice and responsive to His Word.
Key Truth: God’s Restorative Work — Then and Now
1. God’s work in Ezra–Nehemiah was not merely rescue or deliverance; He was forging a new heart within the people, replacing their resistance and inclination to sin with His Spirit and a willingness to rely on Him.
2. Ezra and Nehemiah as Pictures of Christ
  1. They left all to serve the people of God; they confronted the people’s sin with the Word of God.
  2. Nehemiah confronted unjust practices (Nehemiah 5) and endured persecution from enemies outside the city, just as the Lord Jesus dealt with ignorance, injustice, and sin while enduring opposition.
  3. Ezra and Nehemiah pointed the people to God’s Word as the source of life and obedience.
3. The People’s Renewed Commitment
  1. At the beginning of Ezra, the first order of business was the restoration of the temple and worship.
  2. Now the temple and the wall are restored; and in one sense, so are the people — they are back to their Lord, having confessed their sins and repented.
  3. They declared, “We are ready to obey.”
4. Just as God was at work restoring Israel, He is ready to do — and is currently doing — a restorative work in us.
Application and Reflection
1. When we confess our sins and truly repent, we receive forgiveness, our fellowship with God is restored, and we experience revival — the joy of the Lord is revived within us.
2. In that restored state, the Holy Spirit is able to work more fully in and through us; but when there is unconfessed sin, God cannot use us as fully as He would like.
3. Consider your current state of joy in the Lord: Is it vibrant and passionate, or is it growing lukewarm?
4. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
5. “If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1–2).
6. We are to test ourselves not by comparing ourselves to the world but by measuring ourselves against the standard of God’s Word.
7. Are we living in accordance with our faith, or has our love for God become lukewarm? Let us always be ready to respond to God’s call, allowing His Spirit to renew our hearts and restore our fellowship with Him.
8. Epilogue: The people proclaimed, “We will not neglect the house of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39) — a statement of renewed devotion to keep as our own.
9. Study Questions for the Week
  1. On Day Two, work through questions one and three.
  2. On Day Four, work through question three.

Rooted – Lesson 21

Bob Coughlin – teaching

Rooted – Week 21: Freedom through the Cross

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 | Presenter: Bob Coughlin

Introduction: The Context of Weeks 21–24 — Fighting for Internal Freedom
1. Previous lessons established belonging (Week 19), building (Week 20), and stepping up in church responsibility.
2. A foundational tension: you cannot build strong externally while crumbling internally; you cannot disciple others while hiding chains in your own life.
3. Weeks 21–24 are deliberately focused on internal freedom — not performance, image, or behavior modification.
4. The MANUP motto: “If you really believe what you believe to be true, how will you live your life?” — If you don’t live it out, do you really believe it?
  1. The goal is not to sit quietly in bondage, but to go to war — literally and figuratively.
The Scope of the Battle: Naming the Reality
1. Up to 70% of men in Bible-believing churches struggle with pornography or some form of sexual addiction.
  1. This statistic is not meant to shame — it is meant to wake men up.
  2. This is not a fringe issue; it is a church-family issue.
  3. Whether or not a man personally struggles, he is “shoulder to shoulder” with men who do.
2. Sexual addiction is the most visible stronghold, but strongholds also include:
  1. Anger that controls you.
  2. Bitterness rehearsed repeatedly.
  3. Control and passive-aggressive patterns.
  4. Passivity and excused laziness.
  5. Work that becomes one’s identity.
  6. Pride that isolates.
3. Weeks 23–24 will address these additional strongholds; the tools and strategies discussed here apply to all of them.
4. Key Truth: This is core training — not a side topic — for every man and for every man he is called to disciple.
Understanding the Battlefield: Scripture Defines It (2 Corinthians 10:3–5)
1. Paul’s declaration (2 Corinthians 10:3–5): “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2. We are in a war — and we must be prepared to fight, but not in the way the world fights.
  1. Our weapons have divine power — not human willpower or worldly strategy.
3. What strongholds actually are — not primarily behavior problems, but belief problems:
  1. Lies entrenched in our thinking — repeated long enough that they start to feel like identity.
  2. Examples of stronghold lies: “I always struggle,” “This is how I’m wired,” “It doesn’t matter,” “No one needs to know,” “I deserve this,” “I’m not hurting anyone.”
  3. Walls are built brick by brick, thought by thought, agreement by agreement.
  4. Scripture does not call us to manage strongholds — it calls us to demolish them.
4. Key Truth: Strongholds are arguments and pretensions raised against the knowledge of God — they are primarily a belief problem, not a behavior problem.
How Strongholds Are Built: The Cycle of Temptation (James 1:14–15; Matthew 5:27–28)
1. James 1:14–15 describes the pattern: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
  1. The cycle: desire → conception → birth → growth → death.
  2. Simplified: A thought becomes a desire; a desire becomes an intent; an intent becomes an action repeated over and over; that repeated action becomes identity reinforcement.
2. No man wakes up addicted or enslaved overnight:
  1. It begins with ignoring the thought stage, entertaining the lie, rehearsing it, justifying it, and building it.
  2. The battle is not simply “I just need to stop doing this” — it is “I need to stop agreeing with it.”
  3. Waiting until the behavior stage to fight means fighting five steps too late.
3. Jesus moves the battle inward (Matthew 5:27–28): “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
  1. Jesus addresses not just the act — but the look, the imagination, the internal world.
  2. Sexual sin is not just a private habit; it shapes how a man sees women, loves his wife, views his daughters, and walks in integrity.
4. Key Truth: The demolition starts at the thought — if transformation must happen, it must begin in the mind.
5. Romans 12:2 confirms the path: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
  1. Transformation is not by trying harder, not by accountability alone, not by guilt — but by renewal.
  2. “We don’t out-discipline a stronghold. We out-truth it.”
  3. Transformation is belief replacement: replacing lies with truth.
6. Contrasting lies vs. truth:
  1. Lie: “I just need to cope.” Truth: “God is completely sufficient.”
  2. Lie: “This defines me — this is who I am.” Truth: “Your identity is in Christ.”
  3. Lie: “No one will know; it doesn’t really matter.” Truth: “Sin always shapes the soul.”
The Weapons of Our Warfare: God’s Arsenal Against Strongholds
1. The Word of God (Hebrews 4:12): “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
  1. The Word exposes lies and cuts through rationalization.
  2. Jesus modeled this: He did not negotiate with temptation — He declared, “It is written.”
  3. We respond to temptation not with emotion, but with truth.
2. Prayer — an active weapon, not a passive posture:
  1. Prayer is how we bring the power of God into our weakness.
  2. We are not strong enough to fight this alone — and we were never meant to be.
3. Community and Brotherhood:
  1. Isolation strengthens strongholds; allies weaken them.
  2. Truth, exposure, light, and prayer weaken strongholds — this is the arsenal.
4. Sexual sin is not the unforgivable sin:
  1. “Sexual sin is not the unforgivable sin — it is the common sin. And common sin must be confronted with uncommon seriousness — and without shame.”
  2. Shame says, “You’re dirty.” The gospel says, “You’re redeemed — now live like it.”
5. Key Truth: Our arsenal — the Word of God, prayer, community, and truth — carries divine power to demolish strongholds. White-knuckling and willpower are not sufficient substitutes.
Repentance as Warfare: Breaking Agreement with the Lie (1 John 1:9)
1. The heart of the battle is repentance, not trying harder:
  1. 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
  2. Repentance is not groveling — it is turning. It is agreeing with God instead of agreeing with the enemy.
2. The biblical definition of repentance (Greek: metanoia — change of mind):
  1. More than intellectual agreement — it is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction.
  2. It is breaking agreement with the lie and realigning with the truth about who you are in Christ.
3. Distinguishing regret from repentance:
  1. Regret says, “I hate these consequences.” Repentance says, “I hate the lie I believed — I want transformation.”
  2. Regret keeps a man in shame; repentance moves him into renewal.
4. How strongholds are built and demolished:
  1. “Strongholds are built when we repeatedly agree with the lie. They are demolished when we repeatedly agree with the truth.”
  2. Repentance is breaking that agreement — declaring: “That thought no longer has my loyalty. That thought no longer has authority in my life.”
5. The practical process of repentance:
  1. Confess — go to the Lord honestly and be real.
  2. Receive grace — God’s grace is sufficient for past, present, and future sins. It is a free and undeserved gift.
  3. Stand up and be renewed again.
6. Key Truth: Strongholds are built by repetition — and they are demolished by the repetition of truth. Men must become men of the Word to stand on that truth.
7. The broader danger — men don’t implode overnight:
  1. Erosion begins with one quiet lie, one unmanaged thought, one tolerated compromise — and decades of faithfulness can collapse.
  2. Not because a man doesn’t love Jesus, but because he didn’t demolish the stronghold early enough.
The Call to Action: Awareness, Declaration, and Wartime Community (1 Corinthians 16:13–14)
1. This week is about awareness: “We cannot demolish the strongholds we don’t name.”
  1. Men are called to name it, be honest, step forward, and claim victory.
  2. This is not shame — it is clarity.
2. The MANUP foundational verse — 1 Corinthians 16:13–14: “Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”
  1. Be watchful — Don’t drift mentally; it starts in the mind.
  2. Stand firm — Not willing to negotiate; not willing to compromise.
  3. Act like men — Take responsibility for your inner life, thought life, imagination, and the things that pull you away.
  4. Be strong — Not from ego, but from full dependence on God; strength comes from Him.
  5. Let everything be done in love — Fight out of love (for Jesus, wife, children, brothers), not out of fear.
3. The Declaration — to be brought back to MANUP groups:
  1. “I am declaring war on this stronghold. This does not define me in Christ.”
  2. “I am free by God’s Word and Spirit. This stronghold will fall.”
  3. This is not an emotional declaration — it is wartime resolve rooted in divine power.
4. Weeks 22 and 24 will provide structure, tools, framework, and practical pathways for demolishing strongholds.
5. Application and Reflection Questions:
  1. What stronghold(s) — whether sexual, anger, bitterness, pride, or passivity — do you need to honestly name this week?
  2. Where are you currently trying to fight a behavior problem rather than the underlying belief problem?
  3. What lies have you been agreeing with that feel like identity? What is the corresponding truth from Scripture?
  4. Are you fighting this battle in isolation? Who in this group can you invite as an ally against your stronghold?
  5. What does repentance — not regret — look like for you right now? What would it mean to break agreement with the lie?
  6. Can you speak the declaration aloud with your group: “I am declaring war on this stronghold. I am free by God’s Word and Spirit. This stronghold will fall”?

Lesson 21 – Teaching Video

Jeremy Thomas – Teacher

Introduction and Opening Prayer (Nehemiah 6:9)
1. Jeremy Thomas opens Lesson 21 covering Nehemiah chapters 7 and 8, a continuation of the MAN-Up: Men’s Second Exodus study.
2. The lesson begins with a prayer drawn from Nehemiah 6:9 (KJV): “Now therefore, O God, strengthen our hands.”
  1. The prayer asks God to strengthen hands, bring clarity to ears and hearts, and be glorified in this hour of teaching.
  2. This prayer arose from the people’s experience of opposition; they were being intimidated, yet they prayed not out of fear but out of faith.
3. The lesson is described as a shorter, focused study moving from the construction of the walls to the consecration of the people.
Organizing the People and Appointing Faithful Leaders (Nehemiah 7:1–4)
1. With the wall completed, Nehemiah shifts his focus from building structures to organizing and leading people (Nehemiah 7:1–2).
  1. The doors were set up and three groups were appointed: gatekeepers, singers, and Levites.
  2. The gatekeepers served as security officers for the city and the temple, a practical and honorable role.
  3. The mention of singers and Levites reminds us that the entire building project was never ultimately about walls; it was always about worship.
2. Nehemiah entrusted leadership to two men: Hanani and Hananiah (Nehemiah 7:2).
  1. Hanani was Nehemiah’s brother, first introduced in Nehemiah 1:2 as the one who brought the original report about Jerusalem’s broken condition. The man who identified the problem also became part of the solution.
  2. Hananiah was the governor of the castle (the citadel or fortress near the temple). He was described as “more faithful and God-fearing than many” (Nehemiah 7:2).
  3. Hananiah’s character preceded his position; he was known for godly integrity long before being elevated to leadership.
3. The condition of Jerusalem at this time (Nehemiah 7:4): the city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been rebuilt.
  1. Jerusalem at that time would have resembled something between a war zone and a refugee camp.
  2. The wall was finished, but the city was not yet flourishing on the inside.
  3. A leader like Nehemiah, however, looked at the ruins as a place of phenomenal potential. He acknowledged reality but, as a man of faith, he saw the future state of what the city could and should be.
The Genealogy and Registration of God’s People (Nehemiah 7:5–73)
1. God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be enrolled by genealogy (Nehemiah 7:5).
  1. This was not merely Nehemiah’s strategic idea; God directed his heart to do this.
  2. Nehemiah found the book of the genealogy of those who had first come up with Zerubbabel, roughly 90 years earlier.
2. The genealogy list (Nehemiah 7:6–73) mirrors Ezra 2 and records the families who returned from exile.
  1. This record was not merely administrative; it was an act of honoring what God and His people had done in the past and pointing forward in hope to what God would yet do.
  2. The list establishes a clear precedent: God’s people openly identify with His covenant community, and that identity is recorded and preserved.
  3. Lists matter because people matter, and knowing history helps us see where we have been and decide where we should go.
3. Some people could not prove their ancestry and were excluded from the priesthood until a priest could consult with Urim and Thummim (Nehemiah 7:63–65).
  1. Identity within the covenant community required verification; it was not assumed or taken lightly.
Principles of Biblical Worship from Nehemiah 8:1–7
1. Nehemiah 8 provides one of the clearest pictures of corporate worship in Scripture. Though not a church service, these timeless principles inform how we should approach worship today: biblical in principle and wise in practice.
2. Principle 1 — Unified Gathering: All the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate (Nehemiah 8:1).
  1. Many people in one place for one purpose: to put themselves under the Word and worship God.
  2. “One man” speaks to unity of heart and mission (Hebrews 10:25).
  3. We are called not to neglect the assembling of ourselves together; being part of a gathered community for worship matters.
3. Principle 2 — Scripture-Centered Worship: The people asked Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses (Nehemiah 8:1–3).
  1. The gathering was initiated by the people’s hunger for God’s Word, not merely by a leader’s agenda.
  2. They wanted to know what God commanded, not stories to make them feel better about themselves.
  3. We should seek churches and leaders that faithfully preach God’s Word, not personal opinions or cultural commentary.
4. Principle 3 — Inclusive Assembly: Ezra read the Law before men, women, and all who could understand (Nehemiah 8:2–3; Deuteronomy 31:12).
  1. This included everyone who had capacity to hear and comprehend the Word of God.
  2. This is a timeless principle with timely application: children’s programming, special-needs ministry, services in other languages are all ways of ensuring all people can hear and absorb God’s Word.
  3. There is no single mandated format, but the principle stands: make God’s Word accessible to all who can receive it.
5. Principle 4 — Attentive Worship: Ezra read from early morning until midday, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law (Nehemiah 8:3).
  1. The people listened for hours, demonstrating deep reverence and hunger for the Word.
  2. Attentiveness is a responsibility shared by both the teacher and the listener.
  3. Practical application: prepare yourself the night before, arrive early, engage your heart in worship before the sermon begins so you are ready to hear.
6. Principle 5 — A Platform Built for the Word: Ezra stood on a wooden platform made for that purpose (Nehemiah 8:4).
  1. The physical setup was intentional and purposeful, designed so people could see and hear the Word proclaimed well.
  2. There is nothing ungodly about practical design in worship spaces; it is purposeful, practical, and meant to be worshipful.
7. Principle 6 — Reverence for Scripture: Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood (Nehemiah 8:5).
  1. The people recognized this was not merely one man’s opinion; it was the Word of God.
  2. Standing when Scripture is read is not mandated, but it has biblical precedent and can be meaningful when done intentionally.
8. Principle 7 — Prayerful Worship: Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God (Nehemiah 8:6).
  1. When Ezra began to speak, the worship was not ending; it was continuing and growing.
  2. Preaching and the reading of Scripture are acts of worship, meant to stir our hearts to bless the Lord.
9. Principle 8 — Expressive and Responsive Worship: The people answered “Amen, Amen,” lifting their hands, then bowed their heads and worshiped with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:6).
  1. Biblical worship involved verbal responses, lifted hands, bowed heads, and even prostration before God.
  2. These physical expressions are not emotionalism or showmanship; they are biblically precedented responses to God’s Word.
  3. The heart must be genuine, not man-centered; be biblically grounded and God-centered in what you do.
  4. This is not a mandate that every service must look exactly this way, but it is a precedent that such expressions are valid and good when they flow from a sincere heart.
10. Principle 9 — A Diversity of Teachers: The Levites helped the people understand the Law while the people remained in their places (Nehemiah 8:7).
  1. Ezra was not the only one teaching; a team of Levites also helped the people understand.
  2. This is biblical precedent for multiple teachers, small groups, Sunday school classes, men’s and women’s Bible studies, and discipleship groups.
11. Principle 10 — Expository Teaching: They read from the Book of the Law of God clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading (Nehemiah 8:8).
  1. The Word of God is perfect, but our understanding is not; therefore we need the Holy Spirit working through godly teachers to give the sense and meaning.
  2. This is a clear precedent for expository preaching: reading the text, explaining what it means, and helping people walk away with understanding.
12. Principle 11 — The Word Impacts Emotionally: All the people wept as they heard the words of the Law (Nehemiah 8:9).
  1. The Word of God, rightly read and taught, moved the people to tears as they recognized their failure and sin.
  2. Emotional response to Scripture is not weakness; it is the natural fruit of a heart confronted by God’s truth.
The Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength (Nehemiah 8:8–12)
1. The people wept when they heard the Law because they recognized their failure to keep God’s Word (Nehemiah 8:9).
  1. Their weeping was personal and corporate; they saw themselves in light of God’s perfect standard and realized how far they had fallen.
  2. This mirrors the pattern described in James 1:23–25, where the Word of God is a mirror that reveals who we truly are.
2. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites redirected the people from mourning to joy (Nehemiah 8:9–10).
  1. “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep” (Nehemiah 8:9).
  2. “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
3. Understanding “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
  1. The Hebrew word for “strength” can also be translated as stronghold, fortress, refuge, or shelter.
  2. Nehemiah is not saying merely that God gives emotional energy; he is saying God’s joy is a fortified fortress to which we can run and find safety.
  3. “The joy of the Lord” is best understood as God’s joy over His people, not merely our joy in Him (Zephaniah 3:17).
  4. God’s joy over repentant sinners is what gives them strength; His delight in them becomes their refuge.
4. The people were told to celebrate, not to wallow in grief (Nehemiah 8:10–12).
  1. They were to eat rich food, drink sweet wine, and share with those who had nothing.
  2. The celebration was an act of trust: accepting God’s joy and forgiveness rather than remaining in self-focused mourning.
  3. The people obeyed and went their way to eat and drink and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them (Nehemiah 8:12).
Nehemiah 8 as a Pattern: The Word Exposes Sin, and God Speaks Joy (Luke 15)
1. Nehemiah 8 is not just history; it is a pattern that repeats throughout Scripture and in our lives.
  1. The Word exposes sin, and the people weep.
  2. Then God speaks comfort, joy, and restoration.
2. The Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates this same pattern (Luke 15).
  1. The prodigal son returned home expecting a stern father, preparing a speech about his unworthiness.
  2. Instead, he found a father who joyfully ran toward him, embracing and welcoming him home — not because of what the son had done, but because of who the father is.
  3. Many of us, when we return to God in repentance, expect to find a disappointed judge. Instead, we discover a Father whose joy over our return becomes our strength and stronghold.
3. The invitation of the Father echoes Nehemiah 8:10: “This day is holy to me. Do not mourn. You have seen your sin, but that is not the biggest thing happening today. Now you will know my love. Come to my table, eat my rich food, and drink the sweetest of wines.”
  1. Our weakness and failure are real, but they are not the final word; God’s joy over His returning children is the final word.
  2. In the embrace of the Father, we learn to rejoice in His stunning joy over us.
Key Truths
1. The ultimate purpose of all God’s building work — walls, temples, communities — is worship, not structures.
2. Faithful character must precede positions of leadership; godly integrity is the foundation for godly influence (Nehemiah 7:2).
3. God directs the hearts of His leaders to accomplish His purposes at the right time (Nehemiah 7:5).
4. Biblical worship is marked by unity, Scripture-centeredness, attentiveness, reverence, prayer, expressive response, faithful teaching, and emotional honesty before God.
5. The Word of God is perfect, but our understanding is not; we need godly teachers empowered by the Holy Spirit to help us comprehend and apply it (Nehemiah 8:8).
6. The joy of the Lord is not mere emotional energy; it is God’s own joy over His people that becomes our fortified refuge and strength (Nehemiah 8:10; Zephaniah 3:17).
7. Repentance opens the door, but it is God’s joy — not our sorrow — that restores and strengthens us.
Application and Reflection
1. Like Hanani, are you willing to be not just someone who identifies problems but also someone who becomes part of the solution?
2. Is your character being built before God gives you a larger platform? Are you faithful in the small and hidden things?
3. How can you be more intentional about preparing your heart for corporate worship — arriving early, engaging fully, and giving attention to the Word?
4. Do you allow the Word of God to function as a mirror, honestly revealing your sin, rather than deflecting or minimizing what it shows you?
5. When the Word exposes your failure, do you remain stuck in self-focused grief, or do you receive the Father’s joy and forgiveness as your new strength?
6. Consider the image of the prodigal son: do you expect a stern, disappointed God, or have you learned to see the Father who runs joyfully toward you?
7. How can you share the joy and provision of God with those who have nothing — both materially and spiritually (Nehemiah 8:10)?

Lesson 20 – Teaching Outline

“But Wait, There’s More”:
God’s Restoration Requires More Than Rescue

Brett Cushing

Nehemiah 5–6

Introduction and Main Point
1. The lesson is drawn from Nehemiah chapters 5 and 6, continuing the study of God’s restorative work through the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall.
2. Brett uses the infomercial catchphrase “But wait, there’s more” to frame the theme: God’s restoration goes far beyond a single act of rescue.
3. Main thesis: God’s restoration requires more than rescue. It is —
  1. Beyond deliverance — Deliverance is good and necessary, but alone it is insufficient.
  2. Based on dependence — We depend on Jesus, not ourselves, to reshape every aspect of our lives.
  3. Endures resistance — God’s restorative work has always been reviled and resisted in this world.
  4. Attained by reliance — It is not about our resolve to do better; it is about God replacing our resolve with His heart and Jesus’ effort.

Beyond Deliverance: Discord and Defiance Within God’s People (Nehemiah 5:1–5)
1. The context: God’s people had been delivered from Babylon and returned to Jerusalem, just as God had prophesied through King Cyrus of Persia.
2. Despite deliverance, there was a great outcry among the people and their wives against their fellow Jews (Nehemiah 5:1).
  1. This outcry echoes God hearing His people cry out under Egyptian slavery (Exodus 3:7).
  2. It is striking that they are crying out again so soon after being delivered from Babylon.
3. The people faced desperate conditions:
  1. A shortage of grain threatened life itself (Nehemiah 5:2), echoing the famine context of Joseph’s provision in Genesis 41.
  2. People mortgaged their fields and vineyards just to obtain grain (Nehemiah 5:3).
  3. They borrowed money simply to pay the king’s tax (Nehemiah 5:4).
4. The root cause: God’s people did it to themselves (Nehemiah 5:5).
  1. Wealthy Israelites exploited their fellow brothers and sisters.
  2. Fellow Israelites lost their fields and vineyards, and their children were enslaved — to other Israelites.
  3. This was an intense violation of the Mosaic Law.
5. Key Truth: Deliverance alone is insufficient. We need deliverance from besetting sins and hardships, but we also need ongoing dependence upon God as He forges a new heart within us.

Nehemiah’s Response: Righteous Anger and Godly Leadership (Nehemiah 5:6–18)
1. Righteous anger (Nehemiah 5:6–7a)
  1. Nehemiah’s anger is understandable — God’s people are exploiting one another.
  2. This anger is akin to Jesus cleansing the temple, where God’s people were exploiting others for profit.
  3. Nehemiah first consults himself before acting.
2. Right accusation (Nehemiah 5:7b)
  1. Nehemiah confronts them directly: “You are charging your own people interest.”
  2. This practice violated the Mosaic Law, which prohibited charging interest to fellow Israelites (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35–37; Deuteronomy 23:19).
3. A call to repentance (Nehemiah 5:9–12)
  1. Nehemiah urges the nobles and officials to stop the exploitation and return what they have taken.
  2. The people agree and take an oath to follow through.
4. Nehemiah as a righteous example (Nehemiah 5:14–18)
  1. Nehemiah denied his own privileges as governor for twelve years — he did not collect the food allotment that was rightfully his.
  2. He provided generously from his own table, feeding 150 Jews and officials daily, plus visitors from surrounding nations.
  3. He identified with God’s people, refusing to lord his authority over them.
5. Nehemiah’s prayer: “Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people” (Nehemiah 5:19).

God’s Restoration Endures Resistance (Nehemiah 6)
1. Three heavy hitters — Tobiah, Sanballat, and Geshem — opposed and resisted God’s restorative work, functioning much as Satan and the Pharisees did in the New Testament.
2. Repeated attempts to lure Nehemiah away (Nehemiah 6:2):
  1. They repeatedly invited Nehemiah to come down to the plain of Ono — a kill box where he would have been ambushed and killed.
  2. If he went, the work would stop and the wall would not be completed.
3. Nehemiah’s steadfast reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3–4).
4. This foreshadows Jesus on the cross: In Matthew 27, the people taunted Jesus to come down from the cross. For Nehemiah, coming down meant ending his life; for Jesus, coming down would have prevented Him from saving ours.

Nehemiah as a Foreshadow of Jesus Christ
1. Righteous anger — Jesus, like Nehemiah, has a righteous anger toward sin; not a reactive or destructive anger, but a holy, understandable wrath (John 2:13–17).
2. Righteous accusation — Jesus makes a right accusation against every person. John 3:16–18 reveals that whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
3. A repented life — Jesus lived a perfect, repented life on our behalf.
  1. We cannot truly and fully repent on our own — this is why we need a new heart.
  2. Many scholars believe Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist was an act of repenting for our inability to repent authentically (Matthew 3:13–15).
  3. This is part of Jesus’ “active obedience” — the perfect life for which we receive credit.
4. Denied His privileges — Nehemiah denied his governor’s privileges for approximately 12 years; Jesus denied His privileges and rights as God for approximately 33 years (Philippians 2:5–9).
  1. Jesus, though God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
  2. He made Himself nothing, took on the nature of a servant, and was humiliated on our behalf.
5. Identified with God’s people — Jesus, the Word made flesh, dwelt among us (John 1:14).
  1. He touched lepers, ate with sinners, and experienced everything humans experience.
  2. He perfectly identified with us and perfectly lived out a righteous life.
6. Refused to come down — Nehemiah refused to come down from the wall; Jesus refused to come down from the cross.
  1. Nehemiah’s refusal preserved the work of rebuilding.
  2. Jesus’ refusal to save Himself is what saves us.
7. Intercession — Nehemiah’s prayer, “Remember me with favor for all I have done for these people” (Nehemiah 5:19), points to Jesus’ role as our intercessor.
  1. Jesus intercedes before the Father: “When you look at those who place their faith in me, look at my life, not their lives.”
  2. The life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11); Jesus’ shed blood — His perfect life — covers us so that when God looks down, He sees the blood of Jesus, not our sin.
8. Generous provision — Nehemiah laid out a generous spread for God’s people; Jesus provides a feast in heaven and a robe of His righteousness.
  1. Nehemiah shook out his robe in judgment; Jesus gives us His robe of righteousness to cover us.
  2. Jesus provides eternal resources and pleasures at His right hand.

Key Truths
1. God’s restoration requires more than rescue. Deliverance is good and necessary, but insufficient on its own.
2. Sin is self-inflicted. Even after deliverance, God’s people harmed themselves — and so do we. This is why we need more than rescue; we need a new heart.
3. God’s restorative work goes deeper than freeing us from hardship or sin — it forges a new heart within us.
4. God’s restoration is based on dependence on Jesus, not our own resolve to do better and try harder. Jesus replaces our resolve with His heart.
5. God’s restorative work endures resistance — both external opposition and our own internal resistance.
6. Nehemiah foreshadows Christ in remarkable ways: righteous anger, righteous accusation, a repented life, denial of privileges, identification with God’s people, refusal to come down, intercession, and generous provision.
7. Jesus’ shed blood — His perfect life — is the covering that allows God to look upon us with favor.

Application and Reflection
1. Where in your life are you settling for deliverance alone rather than pursuing the deeper, ongoing work of heart transformation that God intends?
2. Are there areas where, like the Israelites in Nehemiah 5, you are doing harm to yourself or others even after God has brought you through a season of rescue?
3. Nehemiah denied his own privileges for the good of God’s people. In what ways is God calling you to set aside your rights or comfort for the sake of others?
4. How does understanding Jesus’ “active obedience” — His perfect life lived on your behalf — change the way you think about your own failures to repent fully?
5. God’s restorative work endures resistance. Where are you experiencing resistance — external or internal — and how can chronic dependence and reliance on Jesus sustain you through it?
6. The lesson emphasizes that God’s restoration is attained by reliance, not resolve. Consider: are you relying on your own effort to change, or are you resting in Jesus’ finished work while depending on Him daily?

Lesson 20 – Teaching Video

Nehemiah 5 and 6 – Brett Cushing

God’s Restorative Work Requires More Than Rescue (Nehemiah 5–6)
1. The central thesis: God’s restoration is more than deliverance; it forges a new heart.
2. Deliverance from hardship or sin is good but insufficient without ongoing dependence on God.
3. True restoration:
  1. Is based on dependence upon Jesus.
  2. Endures resistance.
  3. Is attained by reliance on God rather than human resolve.
Deliverance Without Heart Change: Internal Discord (Nehemiah 5:1–5)
1. Though delivered from Babylon (cf. Ezra 1), the people cry out again in distress (Nehemiah 5:1; cf. Exodus 3:7).
2. Economic hardship:
  1. Shortage of grain threatening survival (Nehemiah 5:2; cf. Genesis 41).
  2. Mortgaging fields and vineyards (Nehemiah 5:3).
  3. Borrowing to pay Persian taxes (Nehemiah 5:4).
3. Exploitation within the covenant community:
  1. Charging interest forbidden by the Mosaic Law (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35–37; Deuteronomy 23:19).
  2. Enslaving fellow Israelites.
4. Key truth: Deliverance from exile did not remove sinful hearts. Restoration requires inner transformation.
Nehemiah’s Righteous Response (Nehemiah 5:6–13)
1. Righteous anger at covenant violation (Nehemiah 5:6).
2. Right accusation:
  1. Public rebuke for charging interest (Nehemiah 5:7–8).
  2. Call to fear God and protect His reputation among the nations (Nehemiah 5:9).
  3. Implicit connection to loving one’s brother (cf. 1 John 3:17).
3. Call to repentance:
  1. Return fields, vineyards, houses, and interest (Nehemiah 5:10–11).
  2. Repentance as total reorientation of values and ambitions.
  3. Not mere emotional change but sustained transformation.
4. Public covenant and oath confirming repentance (Nehemiah 5:12–13).
5. Key truth: Repentance involves restitution and visible obedience, yet still requires a new heart.
Nehemiah’s Righteous Example (Nehemiah 5:14–19)
1. Denied his rightful privileges as governor for twelve years (Nehemiah 5:14–15).
2. Identified fully with the people.
3. Devoted himself to the work of rebuilding.
4. Generously provided daily food for approximately 150 people at his own expense (Nehemiah 5:17–18).
5. Prayer of dependence:
  1. “Remember me with favor, my God” (Nehemiah 5:19).
  2. Living for an audience of One.
  3. Possibly functioning as intercessor on behalf of the people.
6. Key truth: Restoration is sustained through dependence on God’s gracious favor.
Foreshadowing Christ in Nehemiah
1. Righteous anger toward sin (cf. John 2:13–17).
2. Righteous accusation:
  1. Humanity stands condemned apart from belief (John 3:17–18).
3. Perfect repentance and active obedience on our behalf.
4. Denial of divine privileges:
  1. Christ emptied Himself (Philippians 2:5–8).
  2. Took on human flesh (John 1:14).
5. Intercessory role:
  1. Christ represents believers before the Father.
  2. His blood covers sin once for all (cf. Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9–10).
6. Generous provision:
  1. Future feast in the kingdom.
  2. Robe of righteousness.
Resistance to God’s Work (Nehemiah 6)
1. External opposition from Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem (Nehemiah 6:1–2).
2. Repeated call to “come down” as a trap (Nehemiah 6:2–4).
3. Nehemiah’s refusal:
  1. “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down” (Nehemiah 6:3).
4. Parallel with Christ:
  1. Mocked to “come down” from the cross (Matthew 27:40).
  2. Christ refused in order to accomplish salvation.
5. Key truth: God’s restorative work will always meet resistance, yet it advances through steadfast reliance.
Application and Reflection
1. Would you rather have deliverance from a besetting sin without dependence, or ongoing struggle with deep dependence upon Christ?
2. In what areas has competence reduced your dependence on Jesus?
3. Do you approach God with reverent fear or casual familiarity?
4. Where might internal sin threaten the testimony of God before watching unbelievers?
5. Final exhortation:
  1. We are saints and sinners simultaneously.
  2. We never outgrow dependence on Christ (Colossians 1:16–17).
  3. God’s restoration is ongoing until Christ returns.

Lesson 19 – Women’s Bible Study Video

Susan Larson – Teacher

Introduction — The Team Sports Analogy
1. A football team is made up of individuals with great skills — blockers, runners, kickers, throwers — but a single player cannot play the game alone.
2. Individuals must come together as a team with a common goal, a shared jersey, and a strategy to work hard, be vigilant, and persevere despite opposition.
3. Vince Lombardi said that individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, and a civilization work.
4. In the same way, the people of God in Nehemiah’s day came together as one team with one vision — to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem for God’s glory.
Historical and Biblical Context — Setting the Scene for Nehemiah 3–4
1. The wall of Jerusalem had been in ruins for roughly Christ’s day Christ’s day Christ’s day Christ’s day 140 years since Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 586 BC.
2. Nehemiah received permission from King Artaxerxes to return and rebuild; he arrived, inspected the wall by night, and rallied the people (Nehemiah 2).
3. Chapters 3 and 4 record the actual rebuilding work and the opposition that arose against it.
4. The opposition came from four enemies surrounding Jerusalem: Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, the Arabs, and the Ashdodites (Nehemiah 4:7–8).
Nehemiah 3 — Rebuilding the Wall: The Gates, the Materials, and the People
1. The Gates of Jerusalem
  1. Ten gates are listed in Nehemiah 3, each with its own purpose and significance.
  2. The Sheep Gate — where lambs for temple sacrifice were brought in and where justice was administered; built by the high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests (Nehemiah 3:1).
  3. Other gates mentioned include the Fish Gate, the Old Gate (Jeshanah Gate), the Valley Gate, the Dung Gate, the Fountain Gate, the Water Gate, the Horse Gate, the East Gate, and the Muster (Inspection) Gate (Nehemiah 3:1–32).
2. The Building Materials
  1. The wall was constructed of large quarried stones, sometimes pre-cut to size, held together with mortar.
  2. The gates were made of wood — likely oak, cypress, or cedar — strong, durable timber able to withstand attack.
  3. Gates were secured with bolts and bars for protection.
3. The People Who Participated
  1. Spiritual leaders led by example — the high priest Eliashib and his brothers started the work (Nehemiah 3:1).
  2. Civic leaders — rulers of districts and half-districts organized sections of the wall (Nehemiah 3:9–18).
  3. Families and ordinary people — men and women, fathers and daughters worked side by side (Nehemiah 3:12).
  4. Tradespeople — goldsmiths, perfume-makers, and merchants repaired sections near their own homes or shops (Nehemiah 3:8, 31–32).
  5. Some individuals went above and beyond, repairing a second section of wall (Nehemiah 3:4–5, 21, 27, 30).
  6. One notable exception: the nobles of Tekoa refused to put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors (Nehemiah 3:5).
4. The work was organized strategically — many people built the section of wall nearest their own homes, giving them personal motivation to build it strong (Nehemiah 3:10, 23, 28–30).
Key Truth — Building for the Glory of God Is a Team Effort, and Everyone Has Something to Offer
1. A project of this magnitude could never have been accomplished without the mobilization of the entire community, empowered by God.
2. Nehemiah beautifully illustrates the power of unity — all different kinds of people, each assigned to their own area, working shoulder to shoulder with one vision: that God would be glorified.
3. Application to the Body of Christ
  1. Before Christ, we were like the ruined wall — a disgrace, without purpose; only the Lord can rebuild our lives and give us a new identity and purpose.
  2. Every Christian is called by God to be part of His family and part of His family business — building His kingdom (Romans 12:4–8).
  3. We may not be equally gifted, but we all have something to offer regardless of age, gender, education, finances, or vocation.
  4. There should be no “one-man band” in the church; the statistic that 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work is a challenge to the body.
  5. The analogy of the book-printing company: salespeople, project managers, schedulers, pre-press workers, plate-makers, press operators, bindery workers, shipping crews — each person essential, each equally valuable.
4. Reflection: What has God called you to do? Are you using what He has given you to build His kingdom?
Nehemiah 4 — Opposition Arises Against the Work
1. First Wave: Ridicule and Mockery
  1. Sanballat was furious and mocked the Jews before his associates and the army of Samaria (Nehemiah 4:1–3).
  2. Tobiah the Ammonite joined in, saying that even a fox climbing on the wall would break it down (Nehemiah 4:3).
  3. Their tactic: belittling, shaming, and demoralizing the workers to get them to stop.
2. Second Wave: Conspiracy and Threat of Military Attack
  1. When the wall reached half its height, all four enemy groups — Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, and the Ashdodites — plotted together to attack Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:7–8).
  2. Jews living outside the city overheard the enemies’ plans and reported back to Nehemiah roughly ten times, urging the workers to abandon the project (Nehemiah 4:12).
3. Third Wave: Internal Fatigue and Discouragement
  1. The people of Judah said the strength of the laborers was giving out and there was too much rubble; they could not rebuild the wall (Nehemiah 4:10).
  2. Fatigue, discouragement, and fear from within compounded the external threats.
Nehemiah’s Response — Prayer, Vigilance, Perseverance, and Trust in God
1. Prayer — The First Response to Every Threat
  1. When ridiculed, Nehemiah prayed: “Hear us, our God, for we are despised” (Nehemiah 4:4–5).
  2. When threatened with attack, they prayed and posted a guard (Nehemiah 4:9).
  3. Prayer did not replace action; prayer made their actions effective for God’s work.
2. Vigilance — Alertly Watchful to Avoid Danger
  1. Nehemiah stationed armed people at the lowest, most exposed points of the wall where the enemy would likely attack (Nehemiah 4:13).
  2. He posted them by families with swords, spears, and bows.
  3. From that day on, half the workers carried construction tools and half held weapons; every builder wore a sword at his side while working (Nehemiah 4:16–18).
3. Perseverance — Continuing the Work Despite Opposition
  1. Nehemiah told the nobles, officials, and people: “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your families” (Nehemiah 4:14).
  2. When the enemies heard that their plot was known and God had frustrated their plans, all the people returned to the wall, each to his own work (Nehemiah 4:15).
  3. They worked from dawn till the stars came out; no one changed clothes except to wash (Nehemiah 4:21–23).
4. Trust in God — The Foundation of It All
  1. Nehemiah declared: “Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20).
  2. Seeing the wall completed would be a far greater benefit than fleeing to safety in Judea.
  3. God frustrated the enemies’ plans and empowered His people to finish the work.
Key Truths and Application
1. Key Truths
  1. Building for the glory of God is a team effort, and everyone has something to offer.
  2. The enemy’s strategy has not changed — he uses ridicule, fear, discouragement, and division to stop the work of God’s people.
  3. Our response must mirror Nehemiah’s: pray first, stay vigilant, persevere, and trust that God will fight for us.
  4. God uses the opposition and the messiness in our lives for our ultimate good and His glory.
2. Application and Reflection
  1. Where is your wall the lowest? Satan will attack at your area of greatest weakness and vulnerability — know what those areas are and set a guard.
  2. Are you trying to persevere in your own strength? It is hard work to persevere all the time, especially without relying on the Lord.
  3. Do not take a break from vigilance; the enemy does not take a break.
  4. Remember: God is great and awesome, He will fight for you, and He will accomplish His will (Nehemiah 4:14, 20).
  5. Like Nehemiah’s workers, hold a tool in one hand and a sword in the other — build the kingdom while staying armed with the Word of God.
3. Closing Prayer — “Lord, stir in us a desire to get in the game with you. Give us a mind to do what you’ve called us to do. Prepare us for opposition. Help us persevere while holding the sword of the Spirit, because you fight for us. Raise up in us a fresh passion and boldness to pray while we build your kingdom for your glory.”

Lesson 19 – Teaching Outline

Introduction and Recap from Nehemiah 2
1. Nehemiah receives King’s support and building materials before facing opposition (Neh 2:18-20).
2. Opponents (Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem) jeer and accuse rebellion; Nehemiah affirms God’s prosperity (Neh 2:20).
3. Pre-lesson guidance: Read chapters, watch Bible Project video on Ezra-Nehemiah, visit grace.church/secondexodus resources.
All Hands: Chapter 3 – Everyone Participates in Rebuilding
1. Urgent project requires “All Hands on Deck” – every family/group, no individuals; diverse professions (merchants, goldsmiths, perfumers, priests) [Neh 3 entire].
2. Massive scale: ~2.5 miles, 20-30 ft high, 6-15 ft thick; realistic with ~1500 people placing ~90 stones/day (~75 lbs each) over ~45 days.
3. Key observations:
  1. No individual efforts; diverse groups cooperate with trust (“next to him/after him” repeated).
  2. Every role matters (rubble removal to gate-building); humility and diligence essential.
  3. Church application: Believers as “living stones” built into spiritual house (1 Pet 2:4-5).
Hold On & Just Do It: Chapter 4 – Opposition and Response
1. Terrorism/intimidation: Sanballat/Tobiah mock “feeble Jews” (Neh 4:1-3); plot attacks to cause confusion (Neh 4:7-8); Nehemiah prays (Neh 4:4,9).
2. Progress despite threats: Wall halfway to height; people “had a mind to work” (Neh 4:6).
3. Organized defense/action (“Just Do It”):
  1. Guard day/night at weak spots; protect people first.
  2. Family-based defense (fathers fight for families); familiarity with sections aids battle.
  3. Communication system (trumpet for rapid response); adjusted schedules balance work/defense.
  4. Leaders participate fully (Neh 4:23); combat discouragement (“too much mass”).
4. Satan’s tactics mirror: Doubt, division, gossip (cf. 1-2 Tim); world hates church (John 15:18-19).
Key Truths and Church Application
1. Remember our calling: Respond “Let us rise up and build”; united body serving under Holy Spirit/Word (2 Tim 1:8-9).
2. God prepares for opposition: Armor of faith extinguishes darts (Eph 6:16); keep from evil one (John 17:15; Matt 6:13).
3. Godly discernment via renewed mind/Word (Rom 12:2); encourage one another in groups.
4. Big idea: Church = people of God doing God’s work; persist in prayer, plan, action against opposition.

New Morning Mercies

My Quiet Time Journal

LectureOutline

Lesson 25 – Teaching Outline

Mark Jensen – Teacher

Lesson 24 – Teaching Outline

Brett Cushing – Teacher

Lesson 23 – Teaching Outline

Scott Neubauer – Teacher

Lesson 22 – Teaching Outline

Nehemiah 9-10

Mark Jensen – Teacher

Rooted – Lesson 21

Bob Coughlin – teaching

Rooted – Week 21: Freedom through the Cross

Lesson 21 – Teaching Video

Jeremy Thomas – Teacher

Lesson 20 – Teaching Outline

“But Wait, There’s More”:
God’s Restoration Requires More Than Rescue

Nehemiah 5–6

Lesson 20 – Teaching Video

Nehemiah 5 and 6 – Brett Cushing

Lesson 19 – Women’s Bible Study Video

Susan Larson – Teacher

Lesson 19 – Teaching Outline

Mark Jensen – Teacher

Brett Cushing – Teacher

Scott Neubauer – Teacher

Nehemiah 9-10

Mark Jensen – Teacher

Bob Coughlin – teaching

Rooted – Week 21: Freedom through the Cross

Jeremy Thomas – Teacher

“But Wait, There’s More”: God’s Restoration Requires More Than Rescue

Nehemiah 5–6

Nehemiah 5 and 6 – Brett Cushing

Susan Larson – Teacher

“But Wait, There’s More”:
God’s Restoration Requires More Than Rescue