NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curriculum and additional resources for all age groups.

This week's Bible study is adapted from the MasterWork curriculum.

Bible Passages: Ezra 9:1-6; Nehemiah 2:11-20

Discussion Questions:

-- What kind of clutter builds up in our lives?

-- What results when God's people clear away the clutter in their minds and hearts?

Food for Thought:

Clutter is a problem. It bogs down not just homes and families but also churches. If you walk through the average church, you may find old Sunday School quarterlies, old hymnals stacked on the pianos and used coffee cups under the chairs.

What about the clutter we often overlook? The clutter of busyness, for example. We clog our schedules with so many activities we have little time for God. How about the clutter in our minds? There are so many voices shouting for our attention, it's hard to hear God speaking.

God longs for us to clear out the clutter, to throw away the junk and eliminate the nonessentials so we might see more clearly and know Him better. Ezra had a heart uncluttered when it came to wanting God's desire for His people. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he found that the people had rebuilt the temple, but he also recognized they had embraced pagan practices. We need an Ezra to remind us that we can build all the temples we want, but if don't deal with sin, those temples will just be houses for sinning. Until we see sin the way God sees it, we're just having religious meetings without experiencing revival. Continued...