Reach This City: Better Worship

Nehemiah 12

Recap:

The walls of Jerusalem have been rebuilt, the city has been repopulated, and the church is beginning to grow. Things are going exceedingly well for the people of God and they decide to have worship/dedication service to honor and praise God for the success they've experienced.

Questions for Consideration:

-In verse 27 we see that the people had a worship service during which they gave credit and glory to God for the success of their efforts to rebuild the wall. Even though they worked hard they still ascribed credit to God for success. Do you find that you are legitimately thankful to God for what you have or is their a sense of entitlement lingering in your mind that whispers I deserve this, I worked hard for this, I accomplished this?

-In verse 30 we're told that the Levites and the priests "purified," themselves before worship. As believers in Jesus' death and resurrection we live in the reality that Jesus' has purified us such that we no longer need to make attempts to do so ourselves, but there is an important principle here. These people took time to prepare themselves before worship. Do you prepare your heart and mind for worship before the service begins or do you rush in late and flustered unprepared to hear and receive God's Word? What might it look like to prepare yourself for corporate worship?

-In verse 31 Nehemiah sends out two "great choirs" to sing and give thanks to God, yet he mentions nothing about what kind of music or songs they sang. It seems that if the kind of music employed to praise God  were important, Nehemiah would have included those details. Is the genre of music used in worship important, irrelevant, or neutral?

-Verse 43 tells us that the people made "great sacrifices," to God. Sacrifice and worship are always tethered. For what do you sacrifice, and what does it reveal about the object of you worship?

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