Nehemiah 9 the record of a special worship service during which the people of God repented and renewed their commitment to God. Their ancestors had sinned and rebelled against God, resulting in the destruction of the nation by the Babylonians and much of the population being taken to Babylon as slaves. The land had been devastated and the people discouraged. Eventually God brought a remnant back to Jerusalem and they set about the task of rebuilding the city and the temple During this time of construction, they held this important worship service. Most of this chapter is the sermon delivered by the Levites during the service. Take a minute and focus on Nehemiah 9:30, which is one verse in this long sermon.

Read Nehemiah 9:30

Having read this story, what is God saying to you?

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Answer these questions:

• In this verse, the preacher tells the people that God had put up with their ancestors for many years while they sinned and rebelled. But God had not ignored them. In fact God had “admonished” them by His “Spirit” (the Holy Spirit). According to this verse, what did the Holy Spirit use to admonish their ancestors?
• If the Holy Spirit used the preaching of the prophets to admonish God’s people, what does that tell us about the role of preaching today?
• Did their ancestors heed the admonishment they were given? Is there a warning for us today in their reaction?
• Do you heed God’s admonishment when the Holy Spirit speaks to you through preaching?

After answering these questions, write or verbalize a personal prayer to God.

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Praying for our church:
We are seeking God’s wisdom for dealing with five specific challenges our church is facing.
Today please pray for God’s wisdom in dealing with the following challenge:

• How can we provide space for growth in our elementary Sunday School?

Pray that the Holy Spirit uses our Pastor’s preaching to admonish God’s people and that each of us obeys what God tells us.