Lessons from Nehemiah | Week 11 – Praise Him 

 

Like all Spiritual Disciplines, worship is intended to put us in a place where God can transform us. In worship and praise and celebration, we are deliberately setting ourselves aside and declaring God as He truly is. In this process, God allows us to get a glimpse of His Shekinah Glory. Worship requires humility on our part. Without it, we cannot fully give God what He alone deserves. Richard Foster writes that, “worship is the human response to the divine initiative” and “to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.” When we worship, we need to get out of our own way and let the love of Jesus overwhelm us.

 

READ Psalm 33:1

 

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

 

READ the passage again and consider these related questions.

 

Discuss the connection between joyfulness and praise.

 

Who are considered the righteous?

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

 

Read Nehemiah 12:27-47

 

1. Why did Nehemiah lead the people to celebrate and worship God at the completion of the wall?

 

2. What were the various ways that the people praised and worshiped God?

 

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15-16

 

3. In what ways should our lives be an act of worship?

 

4. As followers of Jesus, what is it that compels us to praise?

 

5. What does it mean to praise and give thanks to God in all circumstances?

 

Read Hebrews 12:28; Philippians 4:4-9; 2 Corinthians 9:14-15

 

6. How does a lifestyle of praise alter your present perspective and outlook for the future?

 

7. What do the successes of Nehemiah remind us about the importance of praise and worship?

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