Start of a series entitled – Open to God through serving.

Based on the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 1: 1-11.

Sometimes it’s a big challenge to serve the Lord right where we are and/ or in the place we come from. Yet a vital part of our witness means identifying ourselves with those to whom we belong and seeking what is best for them. This includes an emphasis on the local – i.e. what does service/ mission mean here in our particular context? (Whether or not we were born there. Nehemiah presumably wasn’t born in Jerusalem but longed for the city to be restored.) Cf. Jesus’ mission to the ‘lost sheep of Israel’ and identification with his people.