Theme: Nehemiah, Part 1

Sunday 18th May 2025

Over the next three weeks, we’re going to explore the story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was part of the exiled people of God, living in what was then the Persian Empire. He had risen to be cupbearer to the king, Artaxerxes. However, during the time when the people were in exile, Jerusalem, the holy city of God, had fallen into disrepair. Its walls had been destroyed and its gates burnt. Nehemiah prays for God to rescue and restore the city and its people, then bravely goes to the king to ask permission to return to Judah and lead the rebuilding.

The adults are using the story of Nehemiah to explore God’s vision for our community, including the purchase of our old building in New Bradwell. As this is the first time children will probably have encountered Nehemiah’s story, let them explore it freely and be guided by the Spirit to discover more about God and their relationship with him. However, if the opportunity comes up, talk about how we can still do this kind of work for God, referring to the vision and rebuilding a community at the New Bradwell building.

Note: the video we’re watching is the whole of Nehemiah’s story, but we’ll be concentrating on the start. We’ll watch this same video over the next three weeks, concentrating on different parts each week.

Sunday Kids Work Video

Storytelling Video

Things You May Need

  • Large Paper

  • Art Materials - Pens/Crayons/Paints etc.

  • Pebbles

  • Washable or non-permenant pens

  • Bowl of Water, Towel

Questions & Thoughts

Share out some refreshments and enjoy eating and drinking together. Start to talk about the Bible story using these questions:

  • Which part of this story do you like best?

  • What is the most important thing about this story?

  • Why do you think Nehemiah was sad about Jerusalem?

  • Why do you think Nehemiah prayed to God and went without eating for days?

  • What do you think Nehemiah is going to do when he gets back to Jerusalem?

  • Have you done anything scary like Nehemiah asking the king for help?

Chat & create

Take some paper and create a picture of or write about something from the story. You could draw or write something that shows your response to it. Or you could draw or write something that is all about what God is talking to you about through the story. Give free rein to decide what you will draw – we’re not looking for ‘right’ answers or interpretations here, rather we want to explore the story, listen to God and discover God’s truth for themselves.

As you work, if you can, continue chatting about the story and some the questions above. At the end of this time, ask if anyone would like to share what they have drawn or written.

Worship

These are the worship songs being played in our kids groups this morning, if you wish to listen to the same

Under 5s

  • Peace like a river

  • Praise

  • Shine

Over 5s

  • Shine

  • Praise

Encounter

Explain that everyone gets things wrong sometimes, but God wants to forgive us and build us up to be better people. Nehemiah said sorry for all the things his people had done wrong. We are going to say sorry to God today.

Take turns to take a pebble and write or draw on it something you want to say sorry for: it could be something you have said, done or not done.

Then say ‘Sorry’ to God and place the pebbles in the water to wash off the ink. Dry off the clean pebbles and build a cairn together. End by saying together: God, may you forgive us all and build us up. Amen.”

Explain that Nehemiah knew that God would forgive the people and rescue them when they turned back to him. Remind each other that God is the same today – he loves us and forgives us.

Growing faith at home

Today, we have explored the first part of Nehemiah’s story (Nehemiah 1:1 – 2:8). We discovered that Nehemiah prayed to God, said sorry for the things he and the people had done, and asked for God’s help when he went to talk to the king about going home to restore the city of Jerusalem.

For All Children

  • Rewatch the story of Nehemiah. This is the video that older children have watched in their session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgJJD-imOMs. If your child is younger, then read the story from a Bible storybook. For example, The Big Bible Storybook retells the whole of Nehemiah’s story, but you just need the first part (if you have The Big Bible Storybook, the first part is called ‘Nehemiah goes home’, page 110).

  • Keep exploring the Bible passage by using this creative way of retelling and exploring the story: https://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/search/label/Nehemiah.

  • Set out some construction toys for your child(ren) to play with. As they play, challenge them to build a city with a big wall around it. Talk about why a city might have walls (to keep the people safe). Read the Bible story (Nehemiah 1:1 – 2:8) and wonder why Nehemiah was so upset to discover that Jerusalem and its people were in such a bad way.

  • When you’re out and about this week, and you see some old buildings, think together about what those buildings were/are used for and why they were built. If possible, talk about how we as a church community are going to buy our old building back. Ask the children what they think we can do with it when we get it.

Other resources