Dennis R. Wiles 

First Baptist Arlington 

September 1, 2024 

FALL 2024 

Together . . . for the Future 

September 1 – November 2, 2024 

Preaching Voice: Shepherd 

Anchored and Aimed! 

Ezra 7:1-7; Nehemiah 1:1-3 

CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER 

Theme for 2024: Together 

Theme for Fall 2024: Together . . . for the Future 

the New Devotional Guide for the Fall 

CONTEXT: Come, let us rebuild! The stories of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah are told in Ezra-Nehemiah. 

The checquered story of the Kings, a matter of nearly five centuries, had ended disastrously in 587 BC with the sack of Jerusalem, the fall of the monarchy and the removal to Babylonia of all that made Judah politically viable . . . It was a death to make way for a rebirth. A millennium before this, Israel had been transplanted to Egypt to emerge no longer a family but a nation. Now her long night in Babylon was to mark another turning-point, so that she emerged no longer a kingdom but a little flock with the makings of a church. This is the point at which the book of Ezra begins. 

-Derek Kidner 

ANCHORED IN THE FAITH: For God’s people, the journey of rebuilding begins with an acknowledgement of our heritage of faith. 

AIMED TOWARDS THE FUTURE: You cannot stay where you are and follow God’s leadership! God invites us on a journey towards His future!