Mind the Gaps

Read Nehemiah 6:1-15

• How were Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem scheming to harm Nehemiah in verses 1-4? How did they try to distract him in verses 5-7?
• How did Nehemiah respond to these attacks? What do his responses reveal about him?
• In verse 9, Nehemiah says that his enemies were trying to use fear to dissuade him from the mission. How might fear be used today to dissuade us from God’s mission? What practices help you not to fall prey to this fear mongering, and instead walk in the fear of the LORD?
• What was the trap that Nehemiah’s enemies laid for him in verse 10? How was Nehemiah able to discern that Shemaiah’s words were not from the LORD (vs. 11-13)?
• How do we discern false narratives (like in v. 6-7) or false prophets (like in v. 10) today? Where might you be spiritually deceived? Where might the Church be spiritually deceived?
• Nehemiah knew the mission God had for him, and it is part of what fueled his Courageous Faith. What is the mission God has for you? Your family? Your Church?