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Q4. (Ezra 10:2-4) Q. Do you think Shecaniah's solution to the people's sin of intermarriage was from God? A. He could have heard from God and may be not. There were cases where God Himself told some prophets that they claimed and said "thus said the Lord..." when He did not send them. Q. Can you think of any other examples in the Bible of prophetic "words of wisdom" directing God's people at crisis points? A. Cannot think of any for now. Q. How do the people respond to Schecaniah's radical solution? A. They agreed with the suggestion by Schecaniah Q. How does Ezra implement it? A. He called the Spiritual leaders to take an oath that the decision would be Implemented.

Q3. (Ezra 9:3-4) Q. How does Ezra react when he hears of the sin of intermarriage? A. He was horrified and shocked so much so that he grieved about the great abomination that was taking place- idolatry, breaking of God's laws with impunity etc . Q. Does he react for show? A. Not at all. He was very upset and angry at the level of clear disobedience/ and breaking of the Lord's clear commandments. Q. Does he over-react? A. NO. The sin committed was that grievous to attract such a reaction Q. Why does he grieve over the sins of the people? A. See b part of the second answer above. Q. What is wrong with us if we don't grieve over the sins of God's people? A. We have lost the sensitivity to the true feeling of guilt and remorse over sins. We have become hardened and have no sense feelings and have become like animals (permit me for this strong word-animals; but there was a time God lamented about the state of indifference of his children over what is wrong and wondered how an animal knows its owner..." Oxen and donkeys know who owns and feeds them, but my people won't ever learn." Israel, you are a sinful nation loaded down with guilt. You are wicked and corrupt and have turned from the LORD, the holy God of Israel. (Isa 1:3-4 CEV) ")

Q2. (Ezra 8:24-30, 33-34) Q. Why does Ezra weigh out the gold and silver vessels when he entrusts them to individuals, and weigh them again when they are delivered to the temple? A. To ensure accountability he weighed the treasure at the take off point to ensure that nothing would be pilfered on the way, he thus re-weighed the treasure again at their destination. Q. Is this an act of distrust? A. Not really. This is to avoid the temptation that may arise from the those in charge of carrying the treasure. Q. If not, why are steps to prevent embezzlement good for Christian organizations? A. Please see the b part of the above.

Q1. (Ezra 8:21-23) Q. Why does Ezra call the people to fast? A. To seek the face of the Lord God Almighty to grand the protection- of themselves and the treasure worth millions that has been given to them for the work of rebuilding the temple of God in Jerusalem Q. Does fasting compel God to answer our prayers? A. NO Q. What does fasting accomplish in us? A. It enable us to humble ourselves before God showing our dependency on Him for that which we are seeking for.

Q4. (Zechariah 12-13) Q. Paul was broken-hearted for his countrymen the Jews, who had rejected the Messiah. We should be too. When do you think the prophecy will be fulfilled that says, "They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn...?" (Zechariah 12:10). A. I think it is as Wesley said in his commentary on this verse "This was fulfilled on Christ's exaltation, when he sent the Comforter to his disciples, it is daily performed to the children of God, and will be continually, 'till we are brought to be with Christ for ever..." Q. Concerning the fountain that cleanses from sin and impurity (Zechariah 13:1), has that been fulfilled, or will it be future? A. It has been fulfilled by the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood that washed (and still does) my sin and that of all that believe in Him. Q Why will it please God so much when all the Jews finally believe in Jesus? A. It is His pleasure that all will be saved ( ie none should be lost) thus He will be pleased to see every one come to believe in the Lord our Lord and my Lord Jesus Christ

Q3. (Zechariah 11:4-17) Q. Why is God so condemnatory towards shepherds or leaders who take advantage of their office and exploit the people? A. Because they have failed in the task given to them to care for the sheep Q. What is Jesus' standard for leaders (Mark 10:42-45). A. Do lord it over the shepherded, rather be a servant who takes care of the sheep. Q. What would it look like in government if we followed Jesus' standard? A. There would be progress and development as the governed would work better and be productive Q. What would it look like in your workplace? In your church? In your home? A. In all these- the work place, church and home, there would stability, harmony mutual trust for one another especially trust and respect of the leadership

Q2. (Zechariah 7:9-10; 8:16-17) Q. What does it look like to operate from a policy of mercy and compassion? A. It is Godly as those are the attributes of the Lord God Almighty. Though a just God, He is merciful and compassionate. Q. God commands justice for the poor and oppressed in our culture. How can we be sure that the poor are treated justly in our courts? A. By setting the requirement in our legal system and also preaching same on our pulpits. Q. How do you treat aliens in your country, sojourners from another land? A. They are wholly welcome in our country Nigeria. They mingle freely and engage in various jobs. Q. Why is speaking truthfully with others so important to God? A. Because Truth is God's nature and we as His children should be truthful

Q1. (Zechariah 7:4-6) Q. In what ways have we Christians tended to make worship about us, rather than about God? A. We focus on our selves- our pleasure or to impress others in our worship or just a show off of what we are doing. I am sometimes guilty in this so help Lord God Almighty to only center my worship on pleasing you Q. How should we evaluate our churches and our worship patterns? A. More of entertainment only Q. What can we do to make our personal worship a matter of the heart, and not just rote readings and prayer? A. Prayerfully ask the Lord God to grant us the power to worship in Spirit and in truth only

Q4. (Zechariah 4:1-10) Q. Why do we so easily fall into the trap of trying to do God's work with our own strength? A. We wrongly think we can achieve the desired end this not true. We can only do so with the power of the Lord God Almighty. Q. What does it mean, "Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit"? A. It means that success depends on the enablement God provides through His Spirit. Q. How might you apply this truth to your life? A. By asking God to be my partner in every project and to help me on what needs to be done and how/ when it should be done

Q3. (Zechariah 3:1-7) Q. What do Joshua's filthy clothes represent? A. Sin Q. How does God deal with this? A. God forgave him his sin and clothed him with the garment of righteousness Q. What message is this prophecy intended to convey to Joshua the High Priest? A. I have forgiven you and restored you to full service to me and the people by grace alone but go and sin no more Q. How might this message apply to Christian leaders who have sinned? A. Same as it applied to Joshua. But the sinner needs to confess and repents of his sins

Q2. (Zechariah 2:13) Q. Why, in this passage, do you think the prophet calls all mankind to be still before him? A. To remind them to trust in His ability to deliver them and thereby remain in peace without agitation or fear of defeat or failure to complete their project- the rebuilding of the temple. Q. In the context of God aroused to protect his people from attack, why is silence appropriate? A. Because our fear or grumbling will not resolve the challenge. Only in quietness and trust can people experience the salvation of the Faithful Lord Almighty God. Q. For the enemy of God, what does silence represent? A. May be confusion as they (the enemy) would not know the next surprise God and His people are about to spring up with. Q. For the believer, what does silence before God represent? A. It means absolute faith in God's ability to deliver/ perform

Q1. (Zechariah 1:3) Q. Why is a message of repentance from sin such an important part of the Gospel? A. It gives the sinner another chance to change and avert the punishment for the sin in question Q. What happens when we remove repentance from the core message of Jesus? A. We miss the opportunity to remind people of the danger ahead and hence the opportunity to wrestle the offenders out of sin wages- death. Q. Why do you think God wants you to repent of all known sin? A. Because His word- warning and subsequent sentence for sin will always find us out.

Q5. (Haggai 2:20-23) Q. In what way is Haggai's image of Zerubbabel being God's signet intended to encourage Zerubbabel? A. He would be bolder to go about the task God had given him knowing that God who had given him power to execute the task would cause the project to be successful Q. What is the power of a leader's signet? A. It is the authority of the leader transferred to the carrier of the signet ring to act with such authority (of the leader) Q. How does listening to God's Spirit make you effective as his agent? In what ways are you authorized to speak and act for Jesus? A. It makes you know exactly what He wants done and you do what He says you will be successful in the task. Jesus has given us authority and filled us with the Holy Spirit and power to be His witnesses and to spread the great commission.

Q4. (Haggai 2:10-14) Q. What kinds of things defile a disciple today? A. Sin- any act of disobedient to God and His word such as sexual sins, lies etc as in Gal 5:19-21 Q. What is the danger of acting as if doing church work somehow makes us holy by association? A. It is self deceit and will not result into any righteousness. Q. How does a believer deal with spiritual defilement and sin? A. Confess and repent

Q3. (Haggai 2:1-5) Q. Discouragement is a common experience. What command does God give Joshua the high priest? What assurance does he give? A. Be strong, I am with you so get up and work. In other words, he and the people should not be discouraged because He would be there to solve their problems. Q. To deal with your own times of discouragement, what would God's command and assurance be for you? How would you implement them? A. Be strong my son, work for the Lord God Almighty and do not be timid or discouraged because I am with you to help you. I will arise and go to work for the Lord.

Q2. (Haggai 1:6, 9-11) Q. God sometimes disciplines us through hardships and circumstances (Hebrews 12:7-11). Sometimes through us not having all that we need. What is such discipline intended to do in our lives? A. To teach us to be faithful in obedience as our God though loving and merciful, expects us do what is right or else He punishes us to discipline us. Q. Are you experiencing hardship? What is God trying to say to you in the midst of it? A. Yes I do experience some difficulties some times particularly financial. There are times I have been certained that God is telling me that I have been selfish by acting as if I am the owner and user of my resources while in actual fact I am just a steward of the resources.

Q1. (Haggai 1:8) Q. God wishes to "take pleasure" in the temple, but the people have stopped working on the project. When is God displeased with you? A. Whenever I do not obey Him, by failure to do what pleases Him. Q. When does he "take pleasure" in you? A. Whenever I obey Him and do what He wants done. Q. What is keeping you from serving him deliberately and joyfully? A. sloppiness only.

Q5. (Ezra 6:20-21) Q. What do repentance and separation from the sins of our culture look like for a disciple today? How should we prepare ourselves to worship Jesus in the Lord's Supper? A. I will rather say, what should it be? It should be a total denounciation of sin followed by confession and repentance. We prepare ourselves for the Lord Supper by examining ourselves to see where we have fallen short of the Lords glory and confessing it him before we partake in the Holy communion. Q. How should we prepare to serve him with purity day by day? A. By constant checking ourselves by the power of the Holy Spirit to know we are aligned with the Lord and to confess whenever we find that we have fallen short of His expectation.

Q4. (Ezra 6:1-12) Q. When faced with "insurmountable odds," why do we give up so easily? A. Lack of faith in the Lord God Almighty. We often forget the mighty acts done by God for us in the past, otherwise, we would know that He would overcome the odds for us. Q. What are the characteristics of a disciple who retains a robust faith in the God of amazing breakthroughs and impossible solutions? A. He has strong sustainable faith in the Lord God Almighty for deliverance and victory over the enemy.

Q3. Q. (Ezra 4:1-3) Sometimes uncommitted people try to co-opt true worship for their own ends, as did the enemies of the Jews. What is the danger of letting people without a deep heart commitment and close walk with God redesign the church's image in the community? Redesign worship? Redesign the preaching? A. There will be pollution of the true and holy worship that arise from the influence of the idolatrous nation giving rise to the downfall of the Godly nation/ people/ church Q. How can we be innovative and still be faithful to God's heart? A. I believe there should be no compromise to the worship of God. We should no the standard of God and stand firm to the standard.

. (Ezra 3) Q. Rebuilding the temple in order to restore worship is the point of all this work. Is your personal worship what it should be? A. I believe so Q. What foundations do you need to lay again in your personal restoration and revival of faith? A. To offer my body as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God as my reasonable act of service and to good to others.

Q1. (Ezra 1:5-6) Q. Why did only some return to Jerusalem when given the opportunity? What are the likely characteristics of those who return vs. those who stay behind in Babylon? A. Some stayed but contributed resources for the rebuilding of God's house while some did not returned because they had become too comfortable and would not contemplate the stress of going back to rebuild God's house. Q. Why do only some answer Jesus' call to follow him on his journey to a radically different kind of lifestyle and mission? What are the characteristics of true disciples? A. This is line with the divine saying that many are called but few are chosen. Those that would refuse are usually those too preoccupied with the worldly things of life. A true disciple should always be ready to answer the call of the Master

Q4. (5:10-11) Q. Which promises in verses 10 and 11 are most meaningful to you at this point in your life? Why? A. Whatever painful experience I may be going through at the moment is for a while and not forever. This is reassuring to me as I now understand that the Lord God Almighty will restore and strengthen me in faith and bodily strength.

Q3. (5:8-9) Q. What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare? A. We face the devil and not to run away. Instead of running away we should be self-controlled, alert and to resist the devil standing and trusting and using the power of God to overcome him. Q. Extra credit: How are these instructions similar to or different from Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17? Paul acknowledges that our fight is with power ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Q2. (5:8) Q. Why is it important to be aware of Satan's existence? A. Because he is real and dangerous as contained in Bible Q. What does this verse teach us about the devil? A. He is our enemy who goes around like a roaring lion seeking for someone devour Q. Why is this teaching important? A. It is important as it helps us not to take the devil for granted and run into his jaws. But we have the Liuon of the tribe of Judah with/in us as our refuge and shelter +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++