Skip to main content

Nehemiah: a heart that can break by Kelly Minter – Week Three


The first two weeks of this study have been life changing for me.  I pray that you’re having the same experience.  Week three promises more of the same.  The chapter opens with a challenge to the student by asking the question:  “Do you know the name of a poor person?”  People are valuable.  People are treasured by God and should be treasured by His people.  Our investment in people is the work that will survive God’s test of fire at the end of time.  How are you investing?

I may be getting ahead of myself, but this was an incredible week of study.  Kelly’s video teaching puts a significant emphasis on the term “disgrace” and what it means to live in disgrace.  Who do you know that lives in disgrace?  The point is that the poor matter.  How do I treat the poor?

The study for the week was almost like an in-depth interview with each day’s considerations bringing me to my knees.  Here are the questions I asked myself this week as a result of my study time.  Use them to interview yourself.  What distracts me from doing what God put in my heart to do?  Do I even have a really good grasp of what He put in my heart to do?  Am I properly (prayerfully) discerning what opportunities I should say “yes” to and which ones I should say “no” to?  What lies do I believe about God?  What lies do I believe about myself?  As I learn what they are, I need to confess these things because they are destructive.

In what areas am I close to completion and in danger of faltering under temptation?  May God fill me with faith, strength and courage to finish well.  Have I been dreaming too small?  Chasing too little?  Am I content to settle for what I can accomplish with my own two hands rather than letting God’s power do through me?  What would it look like for me to fear God more than “most people”?

How did you fare with my “interview”?  What questions would you add to the interview from this week’s study?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Homiletics Training: Content

Homiletics .   By definition, “homiletic” is the art of preaching or writing sermons.   I think we would all agree that our pastors study the Bible thoroughly to deliver sermons every Sunday to their congregations.   The beautiful news is that every child of God can use this discipline to study the Bible for themselves. As a member of Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) Leadership, part of my required preparation each week is to prepare homiletics for the passage we are studying.   BSF offers an engaging seminar on how to use this method to study the Scriptures.   I’ve taken the seminar several times under two different leaders and I’ve learned something new every time I’ve attended.   I’ve also been doing the process of homiletics for over ten years and I can say that there is no better teacher than the Holy Spirit in this process!   So keep practicing.   Keep sharing and discussing.   I’ve been posting my homiletics on this blog for quite a...

Homiletics: John 12

Contents ( not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture, fit on one line ): 1 1-3 6d b4 Pass J2Beth dinr Marth servd, Laz@tbl; Mary $$$$ perf J ft, wipe w/hair, hs filld frag 2 4-6 Judas, l8r betray obj: why wasn’t perf sold, wrth 1y wages, didn’t care abt poor, thief 3 7-9 Lv alone, she sv perf 4my burial, u alwys hv poor; MW lg crwd came bec of J & 2C Laz 4 10-13 CP md plans kill Laz-on acct o hm mny bel; Nxt dy grt crwd: Hos! Blest=He cm in nom o L 5 14-16 J fnd dnky, sat, as writn: Dtr Zion, c ur king cming seatd on dnky colt; @ 1 st Disc undrstd 6 17-19 crwd w/Him whn Laz raisd spread wd; Mny went 2 Him; Phar: lk how wrld gone aftr Him 7 20-23 Som Gks to Phil: we like 2CJ; Phil 2 Andrw, Phil&Andrw told J: hr cm 4 SoM be glrfd 8 24 VTITY unle...

Homiletics: John 10

Contents ( not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture ): 1 1-2 VT ITY Phar, any1 enter shp pn by gate=thief/robbr; 1 enters by gate=shepherd 2 3-4 Gatekpr opns gate 4 hm/shp listn/he calls shp by name/leads out/shp follo bec kno voce 3 5-6 They nvr follo stranger, run away bec recog voce; J used fig o spch, Phar understd 4 7-8 Thrfr J: VT ITY I gate 4 shp; all who cm b4 me=thievs/robbrs, shp listn them 5 9-10a I gate, whoevr entr thru me savd/they cm/go/find pasture; thief cm only steal/kill/destry 6 10b-12 I gd shepd, lay dn life 4 shp; Hird hd shepd/own shp, see wolf/abandn shp/wlf attck/scattr 7 13-15a Man run bec care nthg 4 sheep; I gd shep; kno sheep/sheep kno me as Fr kno me/I kno Fr 8 15b-16 I lay dn life 4 sheep; have othr sheep of this pen...