Memory Verse

Colossians 3:2

“Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth”

Main Point

I Can Put God First

Key Point

1st Point – If God is first in our lives, do we give Him the best part of our day as well?

You can start your day with God! Spend time with Him to start out your day!

2nd Point – We are supposed to fix our attention on Jesus and we need to make

spending time with God a priority in our lives.

3rd Point – God wants to spend time with you and help you each and every day, He

wants to have a relationship with you!

Overview

After rebuilding the temple, the Israelites seemed to have given their attention to settling

down. Jerusalem was neglected. Without adequate Bible teaching, the faith of the people

languished. The temple was improperly used. It seemed worship and devotion to the LORD

became superficial.

Nehemiah stepped onto the scene of history. He was originally a cupbearer for King

Artaxerxes of Persia. One day his brother told him that the Israelites were neglecting

Jerusalem. They were disgraced and in trouble. God moved Nehemiah to ask Artaxerxes for

permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and gates. The king granted him

permission, gave him supplies, and protection and appointed him as the new governor.

Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem to find that there was opposition to rebuilding the wall from

powerful Gentiles and some Jews. But God helped him and the families to persevere. They

fully armed themselves with weapons as they worked on the wall. Finally, almost one

hundred years after the Israelites first returned to Judea, they rebuilt the entire Jerusalem

city wall in just fifty-two days. The wall’s completion was a miracle from God. This doesn’t

mean life became perfect. Hostile enemies continued to threaten and intimidate Nehemiah

and the people. A long, uncertain road lay ahead to restore the rest of the city. But God had

given his people this collective, monumental victory. It was a time of thanksgiving to God. It

was now time to celebrate!

At the core of their praise and worship is listening to, understanding, and receiving what God

was saying to them as revealed in God’s book. They know that the best way to celebrate the

completion of the wall is to worship God with thanksgiving and to listen to God with humble

hearts altogether. They know that more than anything, they need the word of God.