• Read Nehemiah 8.1-18

For the first time, Ezra appears on the scene and there is a real movement toward spiritual revival among the people.

1. The Preaching of the Word — Nehemiah 8.1-8
   1. What kept the people listening for so long a time?
   2. Why, do you suppose, would that not happen in today's church?
2. The Prescription for Grief — Nehemiah 8.9-12
   1. What brought on this grief?
   2. What is the joy of the Lord?
   3. How does this joy bring Strength?
3. The Practices that Remind — Nehemiah 8.13-18
   1. What was the Feast of Booths (“Tabernacles”)? cf Leviticus 23:33-36,42,43¹⁾
   2. What were the lessons the people were to remember in this feast?
   3. Talk about the Festival Days in the Old Testament and how they all had very specific “remembrance” purposes… and parallel them with what has happened to our “remembrance festivals” (Communion, Christmas, Easter).