THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE Nehemiah 2–3
To explore how we might release and encourage people into doing big things for God.
BACKGROUND PREPARATION developing a relationship with God. You will need Post-it notes, pens and a wall or flip-chart to stick them on. You will also need giant Jenga (though the normal table-top version will do) and, depending on the size of your group, you may wish to have several games available.
Post-it note dream s (part 1)
5 mins
As the young people arrive, give them a Post-it note and a pen and ask them to write something that they dream about doing for God. Encourage them to think big – not to be confined by limitations they may put on themselves. Stick these on a wall or flip chart and encourage the leaders to take part in the activity too. Explain that we will return to this activity later.
Building (& rebuilding) Jenga
15 mins
Prepare to play a game of Jenga (if you have it or can get hold of it then use the giant version). Build the starting tower in advance and then before you begin ask the young people to take a look at the structure and to consider how strong and secure it is. Make sure everyone is aware of the rules and then play until the structure begins to look vulnerable (before it collapses if possible). Take some time to reflect on how, by working independently, we have created a structure that is about to fall down. Then add a twist to the game by asking the young people to reassemble the blocks, one at a time, working together until you have a strong and secure structure similar to the one you began with. Ask the young people the following questions:
• What is it that gives the tower its strength and structure?
• What was it like to try and rebuild the tower from its vulnerable state? What kind of skills did you need?
• How did it feel to be trying to rebuild the tower? What were the challenges? Would it have been easier to have worked on your own?
Read the passage
15 mins
Provide the young people with Bibles and ask them to find Nehemiah 2. Read Nehemiah 2:17- 18 and Nehemiah 3:1-12 together. Ask the young people the following questions:
What is Nehemiah doing at the end of chapter 2?
• What themes or ideas seem to be emerging at the start of this chapter?
• This feels like a long list of names and jobs. What do you think the writer is trying to communicate?
• How might we apply this message to our lives today?
Give a brief summary of the rest of the chapter (which continues in a similar manner) before moving on.
Post-it note dream s (part 2)
5 mins
Return to the Post-it note wall and give the young people another Postit note. Ask them to think about what they dream about doing for God and then think about how they might share this like Nehemiah did at the end of chapter 2.
Give the group a few minutes to come up with a sentence or two and then give any who wish the opportunity to share their thoughts with the rest of the group. Encourage them that even if their vision feels beyond their capabilities it is helpful to summarise it and to remember that with God the impossible becomes possible.
Taking it to the life of Jesus
15 mins
Explain to the young people that all Nehemiah needed to do was listen closely to God and offer encouragement to the people to help them understand that a task that they felt was impossible was in fact, possible. All the gifting and ability was there in the people to accomplish the task but they weren’t doing it. Sometimes a task can seem so large and overwhelming that we don’t know where to begin and so we simply do nothing. We need to be people who are prepared to see the bigger picture and encourage others to come with us. Jesus was very good at encouraging his disciples and leading them towards the vision of the kingdom. Split the young people into four groups and give each group one of the following passages from the Gospels:
• Mark 1:14-15 – Jesus announces the good news – the kingdom of God is near – casting a vision of a different world.
• John 2:18-22 – Jesus says when challenged on his authority that he will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, challenging the previous understanding of how God’s people relate to him.
• Luke 10:1-24 – Jesus sends out the 72 to do what they have seen him doing, to perform miracles and to play their part in the bringing about of the kingdom of God.
• John 14:11-14 – Jesus promises his disciples that they will do greater things than he has accomplished when they ask him.
Ask the young people to consider the following questions in their groups as they think about the passages:
• What aspects of vision, encouragement and action are seen in these examples from Jesus’ life?
• Are there any connections between these passages and our passage from Nehemiah?
• What do you think Jesus would say to Nehemiah? What would he say to you about your dream? Gather the thoughts together as a group.
Post-it note dream s (part 3)
5 mins
Ask the young people to go and retrieve their Post-it notes from the wall or flipchart. Light a candle in the centre of the room, play some gentle music in the background and ask the young people to spend some time quietly in prayer offering their dreams to Jesus. Close this moment by blowing out the candle or concluding with a short prayer. Be around afterwards to talk about how you might help them to begin to put their call into action.
KEY POINT #1
It often seems ‘easier’ to work on our own but when we work together with others we usually find that we can achieve much more than we can individually.
KEY POINT #2
Through Jesus and our relationship with him we are equipped to overcome those things that seem impossible to us. After all, he defeated death - so nothing is impossible to him.
