The Convicting Nature of the Word After Nehemiah led the people to build Jerusalem’s walls, they called on Ezra to read the Scriptures to them. To this point in the story, the people’s city had been rebuilt. Now it was time for their hearts to be restored.
When Ezra read, and the Scriptures were explained, the people were struck by what they heard. Apparently, the people realized that they had been failing to live out what they were hearing. They were living in disobedience to God. So they wept.
As we read God’s Word, there are times when we should have the same response. We cannot not at times. So much of the Scripture reveals God’s holiness—His perfection and goodness. When we understand furthermore that we have been called to live in a likewise holy manner, how can we not throw up our hands in despair? We are far from being holy as God is holy.
This may be incredibly uncomfortable for us and we naturally might prefer that all of Scripture just make us feel happy—but that is not the gospel. The gospel starts with our brokenness before God, a brokenness that only He can fix and that only He did fix in Christ Jesus.
But even after we trust in Christ, sin still plagues us. We still find that we live as our old dead selves instead of our new, true selves in Christ. And so, reading the Bible should continue to convict us. But praise be to God that He does not leave us there.
The Encouraging Nature of the Word I love the response to the people’s weeping. This was not a time to weep—it was a time to celebrate. Why? Because God wanted His people to see another aspect of the story of Scripture that they were hearing. God has not left us stuck in our broken condition, estranged from Him. He provided the means by which we can truly be holy as He is holy: through the gospel of Jesus.
The beauty of the gospel is that it all depends on God. What we cannot do, God has done. We cannot be holy, but in Christ we are declared holy because we have been credited with Christ’s righteousness. We cannot live as a holy people, but through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can cast away sinful desires and live pleasing to God.
So in a sense, all of Scripture should make us happy—actually better: joyful. Because all of Scripture points us to Jesus, the answer for our sin. This is so important. We need to get to this point so that our hearts are filled with awe, joy, love, and gratitude. Jesus has gone before us and He has secured victory for us!
The Transformative Nature of the Word We’re not quite ready to walk away from this masterpiece of a painting called the gospel. God is not done with us yet. What we encounter in the Scriptures is designed not to leave us where we are, but to move us to live differently. Basically, every time we read God’s Word, we should live differently afterward as a result.
We see this in the story this week—God’s people acted on what they had encountered. And so should we. Not to earn God’s favor, of course, but from it.
Does this describe how we read the Bible? Gazing intently into what we read to see its angles, much as if reading through a prism? Do we sit in God’s Word so that we can experience the full depth of it? Do we read anticipating to be changed? And is this how we teach? Those are important questions to consider, aren’t they?
Preschool Tip: This is a great session to celebrate the Bible with your little ones. The hope is that you would do this every week, of course, but perhaps this week even more than normal. This is a good reminder of the importance of positioning the Bible physically, not just figuratively, in front of our preschoolers. Be sure to have a Bible open as you teach. Have Bibles that the preschoolers can hold and handle. Keep the physical Word in front of them so that the words within it get into their hearts.
Kids Tip: Consider taking this session’s content as a great time to encourage your kids to be in the Word on their own. It is likely that the only time many of your kids crack open a Bible is when they see you. As we know, personal time in the Bible is the greatest way we grow in Christ, so encourage your kids to spend time on their own and offer tips on how they can do that. The best of those tips will come from your experiences.
*Devo from Pastor Brian, from The Gospel Project.
#JesusJams for today!
---> And here's this week's story!!
Christ Connection: God’s Word is powerful. When Ezra read God’s Word, the people loved God more and changed their ways. The Bible says that Jesus is “the Word.” Jesus is God who came to live with people on earth. Jesus has the power to change our hearts.
If you have a bible at your house, turn to the book of Nehemiah and read chapters 8-13 Read it with your family this week! If you don't have one, that's okay! CLICK HERE.
OPTION 1: Party hats Provide a sheet of construction paper to each kid. Help the kids draw a large circle on their papers. You may choose to use sturdy paper plates as templates for kids to trace around. Allow the kids to decorate their sheets inside the circles they drew. Instruct the kids to cut our their circles, and then cut a slit from the edge of the circle to the center. Form the slitted circles into cone shapes by overlapping the two sides of the circle and tapping them in place. SAY •Today we will hear about a time God’s people had a big party. What do you think they might have been celebrating? We’ll hear more in our Bible story.
OPTION 2: How would you respond? Read different scenarios. Kids will draw a face on a small dry erase board to represent how they would feel. They may hold up their pictures for everyone to see. Invite kids explain why they picked that emotion. Suggested scenarios: getting a cool gift for your birthday; getting sick during a day off from school, finding out your pet is sick; your best friend coming over to spend the night; finding a five dollar bill in your pocket; waking up from a nightmare; and so forth. SAY • In our story, the Israelites heard the Word of God read. It made them cry because they realized that they had sinned against God. God’s people repented and promised to be faithful, and Ezra told them that it was a happy day. They could celebrate because of how faithful God had been to them.
OPTION 3: Expected outcomes Provide painting smocks to protect clothing. Set out jars of paint. Give each of the kids a large piece of paper and a paintbrush. Allow them to experiment mixing colors to make new colors. SAY • Were you pretty confident that you knew which color you would get when you mixed yellow and blue together? Every time we mix those two colors, we get green. Depending on how much blue or yellow you use you might get a different shade, but it’ll always be green. We can know some things for certain. We can also have confidence that God is going to keep His promises. He has promised to make a way out of sin for us, and He has done that through His Son, Jesus. We know that when we confess and repent of our sin He is faithful to forgive us.
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