Reach This City: Is It Worth It?

Please share these quick announcements with the group members before you get started!

1.  The Big Serve!  Sign up NOW (seriously, right now) at www.thebigserve.net.  There is a list of every ministry site, the day, the time, a description, and everything you need to know.  Sign up as a group together, or ask individuals if they've signed up yet.  Serving this city Hard is a crucial part of us Reaching This City!

2.  Baptism!  October 27th is the next REVO United Service.  We'll have a baptism celebration at REVO North.  Do you need to get baptized?  Sign up online at www.discoverREVO.com

3.  Coats4Kids started this week.  Set a goal for your group.  How many coats do you want to get?  Bring them to the office or to REVO on Sunday to drop them off.  With a few hundred coats, we can totally eradicate the problem of kids coming to school cold in 2 low-income schools that are strategic ministry partners of ours.

Questions for tonight!

Nehemiah 4:1-14

1. Why did Nehemiah face opposition?  I thought as long as you did what God told you to do and followed him that you wouldn't face opposition or hardship?  It may sound simple, but just verbalizing and agreeing in a group setting that Christians face opposition regardless of obedience level may be comforting and encouraging for someone in your group that is going through a hard time and doesn't know why!

2.   What is some of the "fine print" of being a follower of Jesus?  Have you ever faced opposition as a Christian?  In what ways?  What did you learn from it?  How can you help others that may be going through it now?

3.  What are the usual ways that we respond to opposition?  (Angry, get argumentative, shut down, cower away, get discouraged, avoid talking about it, get defensive, etc).  How did Nehemiah respond to the opposition?  How can Nehemiah's response play out in your daily life?

4.   In vs. 6, Nehemiah says that the people had a "mind" to work.  What do you have a "mind" to do in life?  What are you really trying to accomplish?

5.  In many areas of our lives, we have to ask the question, "Is it worth it?"  (Going in debt to get a college education, spending money on big ticket items, changing professions, the decision to have kids and start a family, etc.)  What is the process that you go through to answer the question, "is it worth it?"  How can we take that same process and answer the question, "Is is really worth it to follow Jesus?"  How would you respond if someone asked you, "Is it worth it to follow Jesus?"

6.  How can opposition be an ADVANTAGE to you, your family, and your church?  (being ready and prepared for it).  So how can you prepare for spiritual opposition in your life?

Reach this City: We Need You!

Nehemiah 3:1-32

1. In verses 1-32 we saw an array of different kinds of people all working together to reach their city. We saw white collar people working next to blue collar people. The socioeconomic identifiers that typically drive societal association were broken down for sake of the God's mission in the city. Why is this important and how can our church break away from the inclination to surround ourselves with those who look and act like us?

2. We talked about the 20/80 rule of involvement that is at work in our church. How did this strike you and what do you think keeps people from participating?

3. We saw in verse 14 that some of the city leaders repaired by the Dung Gate (sewage and trash dump). What does this verse reveal about the attitude we should have when serving our city?

4. Verse 5 says that some of the nobles refused to stoop to serve their Lord. None of us wants to be remembered like these guys, but stooping to serve doesn't come naturally to us. What kind of steps can we take in our personal lives to cultivate humility that allows us to "stoop" in the way that we serve?

Shut it down:

-What did this text teach you about God?

-What did this text teach you about yourself?

-What are you going to do about it?

Summary:

*Head- It's going to take more than support of Jesus' mission to reach this city. It will require participation in Gospel activity.

*Heart-Evaluate whether or not your participation in Gospel activity has been 1. Stellar 2. In need of improvement 3. Non-existent

*Hands- Get involved in an rGroup, sign up for Big Serve, and participate in Gospel activity (involvement in neutral spaces cultivating relationships with those far from Jesus for the sake of making disciples).

Reach This City: Strategy

1.  Nehemiah prayed and cried out to God for what burdened him and mattered to him.  According to 2:1, he prayed for 3-4 months!  Have you ever prayed for something (with regularity and urgency) for an extended period of time?  What makes it so hard to pray for so long?

2.  What have you been praying for or burdened by that has been a "thought" in your head and heart for long time, but needs to be paired with action?  What areas of your life do you need to formulate a strategy or a plan in order to Move Forward?

3.  What are the broken walls and burned gates in our lives that need to be addressed?  (relationship with Jesus, involvement in church, marriage, friends, parenting, work, apathy towards problems, etc.)  Why is it so easy to turn away, ignore it, and tell ourselves it's really not that bad?

4.  Nehemiah influenced people to get on board and rebuild the wall.  What influence do you have (as a friend, spouse, boss, supervisor, parent, leader, church member) and how can you leverage and utilize that to impact the city?


Twitter worthy things to remember (#ReachThisCity)
-Vision without a strategy is a daydream.  It'll never come to fruition!  Have a goal AND a plan for how you'll achieve it.
-Don't over-spiritualize your life!  Yes, God has called you to pray, but He's also called you to ACTION!
-God's calling HAS to be viewed through the scope of God's TIMING!
-Opposition in your pursuit of God is inevitable.  You can either get discouraged, or get to work.
-God's calling on your life is a marathon, not a sprint.  Pace yourself.  Work hard, sabbath hard.
-Good ideas fail all the time. God ideas are unstoppable.

Reach This City: A New Perspective

Nehemiah 1:1-11

-Jerusalem had been in shambles for 150 years. People were used to it. It had become normal. Why is it that seemingly out of the blue, Nehemiah becomes broken and distraught over the condition of his city?

-We've grown up with spiritual need all around us, we've never known anything different, perhaps 88% of 18-35 year olds involved in Jesus' Church is a normative and acceptable statistic in our estimation. Have you become indifferent toward the needs in our city? What might it look like for you to pursue God's perspective regarding these needs?

-Do you make a point to offer supplication for the city? In verses 4-11 Nehemiah passionately intercedes on behalf of his city. When was the last time we did that unprompted by a sermon series or stirring call by some religious leader? When was the last time we cared about lost people in our city without someone else telling us that we should feel that way?

-The end of verse 11 states Nehemiah's occupation. He was the cup bearer to the king. He was not a paid religious professional. He was just a regular, plain, replaceable guy. His position is one in which a high turn over rate is anticipated...one cup bearer dies...oh well bring out the next guy. Nehemiah was of no extreme importance, but because of the intensity with which he adopted God's perspective, he was used mightily. Do you legitimately believe that God will use you to spark a revolution of life change? 

Make it Personal:

-What did you learn about God in this text?

-What did you learn about yourself?

-What are you going to do about it?