{"id":203,"date":"2020-03-21T18:51:46","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T18:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifepointgiles.org\/?p=203"},"modified":"2020-03-21T19:00:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T19:00:34","slug":"nehemiah0322","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifepointgiles.org\/index.php\/2020\/03\/21\/nehemiah0322\/","title":{"rendered":"Nehemiah – The Walls Rebuilt"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Walls Rebuilt <\/strong>
\nNehemiah 1\u20136<\/strong>
\nLong ago, a man named Nehemiah lived in\u00a0Persia. Persia was the place where many of God\u2019s people stayed after\u00a0they were freed from Babylon. Some of God\u2019s people went home to\u00a0their country called Judah. Nehemiah was one of God\u2019s\u00a0people. He had an important job in Persia\u00a0serving the king.<\/div>\n
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One day, some men came from\u00a0Judah. Nehemiah asked them, \u201cHow are God\u2019s people doing?\u201d\u00a0\u201cThe people are in\u00a0trouble,\u201d they said. \u201cThe walls around the city are\u00a0broken down, and the gates\u00a0have been burned down.\u201d\u00a0Nehemiah cried and\u00a0prayed to God when he heard\u00a0this bad news. The king saw\u00a0that Nehemiah was sad.\u00a0\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Nehemiah?\u201d the\u00a0king asked. Nehemiah said, \u201cThe city where\u00a0my family is from is in trouble. The walls around the city are broken, and\u00a0the gates have been burned down.\u201d So the\u00a0king sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild\u00a0the city.<\/div>\n
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In Jerusalem, Nehemiah led the people to rebuild Jerusalem\u2019s wall and fix the gates in the wall. Everyone in the city worked together on\u00a0the walls. Before long, the wall was halfway rebuilt!<\/div>\n
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Some men who lived nearby did not like God’s people. and made a plan to attack them.\u00a0Nehemiah did not want the people to be afraid. \u201cGod\u00a0is great and powerful!\u201d Nehemiah said. \u201cIf our enemies\u00a0attack us, God will fight for us.\u201d So God\u2019s people kept\u00a0working. Some of the men stood guard with weapons,\u00a0and others worked on the wall. The people were always\u00a0ready to fight, just in case.<\/div>\n
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Nehemiah was a good leader for God\u2019s people. He\u00a0helped them when they had problems, and he told them to\u00a0trust God. Before long, the wall was finished! The gates\u00a0and the walls were fixed, and God\u2019s people were safe. The\u00a0people\u2019s enemies were afraid because they knew that God\u00a0was with His people.<\/div>\n
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Here is an activity parents can do:<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Pray short prayers together<\/em>
    \n– Invite preschoolers to tell something they are thankful for or worried about, one at a time.
    \n– Make a list on paper or a whiteboard.
    \n– After each preschooler shares,\u00a0say a very short prayer either thanking God or asking God
    \nfor help.<\/li>\n
  2. SAY<\/em>
    \n– Thank you for sharing and for praying with me! God\u00a0hears all our prayers, even short ones like the ones we\u00a0just prayed! Before Nehemiah led God\u2019s people to\u00a0rebuild the walls, he prayed to God and asked for help. And God heard and answered his prayer!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n