By Dan Lentz

1. Show the group a unique form of ID that you routinely carry with you. 

2. Also, share with the group three different identities you’ve had in your life that the group may not be aware of (example: fast food worker, notary public, bird-watching club member).

Read Nehemiah 9:2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 30-36.

3. Form small groups of three to four people. Ask each group to come up with as many descriptions of the Lord as it can that are mentioned in these verses. Have the smaller groups share their results with the larger group.

4. What do these verses tell us about the appropriate way to approach the Lord when we have a need or petition?

5. We know that confession of sin is an important spiritual practice. However, we tend to think about it at the individual level and not at the group or cultural level. Like the Israelites, what sins do we need to confess for our culture today and ask the Lord to forgive and transform? 

6. Have the smaller groups reassemble. Tear articles from a newspaper or news magazine and give one article to each smaller group. Ask group members to spend time in their smaller groups reading over the article and praying for the situation mentioned.

Dan Lentz works for the Small Group Network in Whitestown, Indiana.

For more small group ministry resources, visit www.smallgroups.com.