Fall Study of Nehemiah - Notes Week 1

Intro./theme verse/the joy of the Lord is My Strength Nehemiah 10:11 Read Nehemiah chapter 1. Nehemiah means comfort of the Lord His fathers name means "whom Jehovah enlightens", Month of Kislev The Name of the Month – Trust and Hope/ month of greatest darkness, cold but also celebration Kislev is the ninth month of the year, counting from Nissan. In the Torah we find that the root of the word Kislev means ‘trust’ and ‘hope Something great has to come out of this book with names that powerful. As I have studied I can see that the Holy Spirit directed these two in ways that have monumental lessons for our life. Today you were asked to read Nehemiah and write down what you saw about is character. Character important! In the church today we have a lot of people that know how to speak the language but it not deep in their heart. Let's take a few minutes and talk about Nehemiah's character: 1. Cupbearer to the king= faithful honorable and trusted 2. He understood his heritage=history Born to tribe of Judah in exile 3. He was a loyal son/broken heart for his people 4 . He was a defender of the weak "How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:2-4 NIV) 5. Most importantly He was a man of prayer and had a heart that turned to God to strength and wisdom You see all of who he was in his prayer. His prayer shows his heart but it also tells us how to pray. All kinds of prayers Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. (Ephesians 6:18 NIV) Prayer that stems from a deep relationship with God. Someone that knew God to be a redeemer, forgiver and healer if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV) Prayer that took on the needs of others Prayer that yielded to God to work this out for his people Ask yourself these questions: Are you faithful and honorable? Are you loyal as a friend? Do you have a heart that defends the weak? Lastly do you know God in such a way that when you turn to him in prayer you know age hears you? Glenda

Work in Progress

Circus Cupcakes with Pink Lemonade Icing! Preparing for Saturday's big race and sale!

Getting Excited!

5K & Cupcakes~On your mark, get set, GO!!!

Girls, the 5K and Cupcake Sale is going to be here in the blink of an eye! It's still not too late to register for the race and we need YOUR help getting the word out to the participants to make sure they bring some $ and come celebrate their finish with a CUPCAKE!!! If you have a blog, facebook, twitter, you name it...PLEASE spread the word about all the information below which was originally posted here! GET EXCITED!!!!

Calling alllllllll of our fav Charlotte peeps, their families and even out of towners!!!!!!!! Doesn't Springtime just make you want to get out for a nice run, walk, wog (walk/jog) while enjoying one another's company?!?! What better way to kick off all the freshness of Spring with a 5K?!..and have we got just the one for you!
<> <>

It's not too late to register for Central's Pure Religion 5K. Even better, ALL of the proceeds from this family activity/morning exercise will go to stamp out Human Trafficking. You may ask, "what in the world is Human Trafficking" and "how does it apply to me?" Good question! In short, human trafficking is today's slavery. According to the US Polaris Project:

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under U.S. federal law, victims of human trafficking include children involved in the sex trade, adults age 18 or over who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into different forms of "labor or services," such as domestic workers held in a home, or farm-workers forced to labor against their will. The factors that each of these situations have in common are elements of force, fraud, or coercion that are used to control people. Then, that control is tied to inducing someone into commercial sex acts, or labor or services. Numerous people in the field have summed up the concept of human trafficking as "compelled service." Every year, human traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people around the world, and here in the United States. Human trafficking is considered to be one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world.

In summary, examples of human trafficking include but are not limited to child labor, pornography, prostitution...anything that exploits someone for another person's pleasure. It holds people in bondage, ruins lives and destroys families. The destruction is endless, and sadly, its rampantly growing. So, get involved and come run or walk the 5K for a cause that counts! The fun doesn't stop there...

If the definition of "Human Trafficking" isn't enough to get your bottom off the couch, maybe a cupcake would be some incentive for you? The Women of Central Mom's Heart to Heart Bible Study and their children are hosting a Cupcake Kids sale at the finish line of the Pure Religion 5K!

All of the proceeds of the Cupcake Kids sale will go towards the ministry, SixtyFeet which helps African children who have been victims of human trafficking resulting in imprisonment.

Soooo, don't delay! Sign up NOW for the Pure Religion 5K  and bring some money to celebrate with a CUPCAKE at the finish!!!! Spread the word....on your mark, get set, go!

Making a difference: Human Trafficking

Last week, the director of our women's ministry, Brenda, came to share the heart behind the Pure Religion 5K on March 24 where we will have our Cupcake Kids sale.

She shared what human trafficking IS--the use of someone against their will for someone else's pleasure--modern day slavery. It's rampant. It's not just in other countries. Unfortunately, it's in our back yards. The industry it feeds destroys lives and homes.

Here is an article about some startling truths of human trafficking right here in America--at an all American tradition--the Super Bowl, of all things.

Does this give you incentive to:

• PRAY about this plague
• sign up for the 5K
• PRAY about the ministries the 5K is supporting
• invite all your peeps to sign up for the 5K
• PRAY about how you can create awareness
• start baking those cupcakes
• PRAY about the cupcake sale?!?!

Get busy! We CAN make a difference.

Pass it on...

SAVE THE DATE for some FUN!

We have not one but TWO fun things planned that we are REALLY excited about and want YOU to be involved!!!! More details to follow but SAVE THE DATE and start getting excited!

• What:     Girls Night Out (includes dinner and a FUN craft!)
• Date:      Thursday night, March 1
• Where:    Central Church
• Tickets:    We will begin selling tickets at Bible Study soon! You can invite friends so spread the word to them, too.

• What:    We will be hosting a Cupcake Kids booth at Central's Pure Religion 5K.
• When:    Saturday, March 24
• Where:  Central Church of God Pure Religion 5K
• Details:  Cupcake Kids is a ministry of SixtyFeet and a fun way for little people to get involved in raising awareness and helping the imprisoned children of Africa. Basically, you and your little ones bake as many cupcakes your heart's desire and we will sell them at our booth at the end of the 5K. 100% of the money raised will go towards these imprisoned children. Don't you worry--we will collect all of the cupcakes prior to the race so you can STILL do the race!!!! :) Get to Pinteresting and googling some clever, cute, creative cupcake ideas and start practicing. Shoot...if you have a freezer, get to baking and freeze those puppies. The more we have, the better! We may even have some prizes. :)

Philippians!

While last semeter's timely study of James focused on trials and perseverance, this semester's 10 week study on the book of Philippians will focus on JOY!!!! 


Did you know that the word "JOY" means "calm delight?" There is great freedom in knowing that JOY does not equal always having a smile on your face or a bubbly demeanor 24/7. This calm delight can only exist when "the joy of the LORD is your strength."


Our KEY VERSE for these 10 weeks will be:
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13


The 1st time we met together, we talked about the negative ways we receive joy and the 3 things that can rob us of our joy. In summary, we must remember that the secret to real joy is to set your mind on, think about and remember who GOD is and what He has brought you through.


We have some exciting things planned and we would love for you to join us! Please let us hear from you in the comments.


Click here for the introduction homework.