By Dennis Messimer When Nehemiah went to Jerusalem, he prayed and fasted (Nehemiah 1:4) and then accepted a military escort (2:9). When Ezra went to Jerusalem, he prayed and fasted but did not ask for an escort (Ezra 8:22, 23). During our 21-year ministry in South Africa, there were many times that we were […]
Negotiating with God?–Luke 9:57-62
By David Faust Do you ever try to negotiate with God? The Lord invites us to talk with him about all kinds of things. We can thank him for our blessings, confess our shortcomings, ask him for help, and—as numerous Old Testament passages indicate—even debate with him. But in case you haven’t noticed, God […]
Fasting and Prayer–The Uniform Lesson for July 21, 2013
By Sam E. Stone The book of Ezra is composed of two sections: chapters 1–6 record how the Jews returned from captivity to rebuild the temple; chapters 7–10 describe how Ezra came back to Jerusalem and led reforms. A period of some 57 years passed between the end of Ezra 6 (515 BC) and […]
Where You Live — for July 21, 2013
By Dan Lentz 1. Select one group member at a time and have the rest of the group guess answers to the following questions. Once the group has guessed the answers that apply to that person, have the individual reveal the correct answers to the questions. Then move to the next group member and […]
Where You Live — for July 14, 2013
By Dan Lentz 1. Name a past project that seemed nearly impossible to complete but that you managed to complete because you persevered. Read Ezra 6:13-22. 2. In the midst of numerous threats the Israelites faced, what are some of the things you see that made their completion of the temple building […]