Nehemiah was a butler turned leader, an old testament character who, although in exile, had a deep concern for his own people, the Jews. When the opportunity came to make a difference he took his courage in both hands and embarked on a roller-coaster project to rebuild the walls of the city he loved – Jerusalem. His structured thinking and good management of people meant the wall was built in record time in spite of dire obstacles. In these morning talks we extract the principles that can apply to us in the twenty-first century and see what this ancient event has to say to leaders, managers, Christians disciples, the nation and the world at large.

1 Prayer changes things

Nehemiah's consistent praying paved the way for God to begin the work using the most unlikely people – including a secular King to whim Nehemiah was the butler.

Nehemiah 1

download the powerpoint slides from here

download the listeners' hand-out and small group notes from here

download the sermon itself

download the text of the sermon (from Ian Whites web site).

2 The difference God makes in your life

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29/01/12

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Here we will see Nehemiah’s bravery and boldness as he makes the big ask of a king and sees God working behind the royal decrees.

download the powerpoint slides from here

download the listeners' hand-out and small group notes from here

download the text of the sermon (from Ian Whites web site).

3 When you're ridiculed for doing the right thing

05/02/12

Nehemiah 2:11-20

After a good start Nehemiah's workforce are derided. Here we see how to handle ridicule.

4 Managing teams for God

12/02/12

Nehemiah 3

Today we will see the spiritual impact of a structure as the workers are divided into teams. We see how Nehemiah used people's gifts and how everyone took part, even in they weren't particularly suited to the task because there was a bigger vision to be aspired to.

5 When the going gets tough

4/11/08

Nehemiah 4

Opposition is sometimes God's way of refining us. This building project was opposed by the locals. Here you will see how a Godly leader needs to be resilient and focused in his own life in order to be able to lead others.

6 Helping the poor

26/02/12

Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah became was keenly aware of the risk of exploitation and acted to eliminate it. How should we do the same?

7 Completing the wall

11/03/12 (Reflective)

Nehemiah 6:15 – 7:3

Finishing the job was not just a practical achievement, it was a spiritual triumph.

8 Revival

18/03/12

Nehemiah 8

Rediscovering God's word provided the trigger for a spiritual renewal in the city once the walls were almost complete. Without this spiritual impetus the project would not have been completed. See how important knowing and living God's word is.

9 Confession

25/03/12

Nehemiah 9

Confessing our wrong-doing has a powerful cleansing effect as soon as God's word takes root in our lives.

10 Celebration!

01/04/12

Nehemiah 12:27 – 13:31

How to craft the festivities when it's God we're celebrating.