BOTTOM LINE: God has given me a fixed point to know exactly where I am.

START TALKING

When have you been lost or needed to find some place or something and knowing a fixed point helped you know how close or how far away you were? How did that fixed point, which never moved, help guide you in the right direction?

START THINKING

Read Nehemiah 7:1-2. What leadership principles do you see Nehemiah is using in how he sets up the leadership structure of Jerusalem? (Hint: does he try to do everything himself?) What implications does this have for us in our micro church? What does it mean for our larger church family, too?

Read Nehemiah 7:4. How did Nehemiah using the covenant relationship with God as his fixed point, including all of the four major covenants that were in place at that time, help him to see exactly where he and the Israelites were in this verse? If he didn't have the covenant as his fixed point, how might he have interpreted this differently?

Read Nehemiah 7:5. Where did Nehemiah's solution and plan come from? What does this teach you and us about where our plan should come from when we determine where we are in relation to the covenant?

START SHARING

Read Nehemiah 8:1-12. Why do you think they were weeping? When have you experienced that kind of reaction when you understood something about God's word?

Now read John 3:17. How do you think this lines up with the Israelites being told to not weep but rejoice? When do you feel condemned by what you read in God's word, when the reality is God wants you to see forgiveness and grace as the result rather than the condemnation you feel?

Read Nehemiah 8:13-14. What is something that you discovered when you've read the Scriptures that surprised you or that you had never noticed before? What did you do? How did it change you as it brought you closer to the covenantal relationship with Jesus?

Read Nehemiah 8:16-17. When they understood God's word, they did what it said to do. This brought them closer to the fixed point! When have you experienced that obedience, even when it didn't make sense, brought you joy and an experience with God you hadn't had before? When have you disobeyed and experienced the pain and consequence of doing it your way and on your own?

START DOING

What will you do this week to not only read, but discover and understand God's word in a way that will take you closer to Him? What is a plan that helps you have a system or pattern for reading and understanding His word?

What do you sense the Holy Spirit is telling you to do, and what will you do about it?

How can we help each other move closer to the fixed point of covenant relationship with Jesus through following His word as our GPS and being obedient to get there?

START PRAYING

Pray for each person in the micro church to following the plan that God has for them by being diligent to study His word and to do what it says. Pray that we will do this in community and together just like the Israelites did in these chapters. Pray that we will all be the "2%" who are willing to take risks to trust Jesus and follow Him no matter what the cost!