Today’s Reading:
Read Nehemiah 1-4
Grab some Lincoln Logs or your favorite set of blocks and work together as a family to build a walled city. After you build it, choose someone to destroy it. Work together to build back the wall that was destroyed. Remember, work together as a family to create and then to repair the wall.
Jerusalem was a city that was protected by a wall. When the city was captured, the wall was destroyed. Nehemiah was an Israelite official who worked for the Persian government. He was someone who had lived in Jerusalem and knew the importance of the wall. When Nehemiah heard that the wall had been destroyed and needed to be repaired, he asked the Persian King for permission to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild the wall. The King not only granted Nehemiah permission, but he also sent a letter with Nehemiah that would guarantee he had safe passage on his trip back to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah wanted to restore the wall because he believed that was what God would want him to do. Unfortunately, some of the people in Jerusalem did not want the wall to be rebuilt and they tried to stop Nehemiah. Even though Nehemiah faced conflict, he gathered a group of people together to work on rebuilding the wall. He asked for God’s blessing, made a plan, and followed through with his plan.
Application/Prayer:
When your family built your walled city, was it more fun to build it the first time OR to rebuild it? Rebuilding can be frustrating, especially when you face challenges like Nehemiah faced. Working together makes rebuilding easier. Ask God to put people in your life to help you work together to do what you know God has called you to do. Thank him for your family who can help you, but also for friends He puts in your life who help you rebuild things when they fall apart!
September Memory Verse:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him,and he will make your paths straight.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
September memory verse coloring sheet