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Our Present Sermon Series. July-October 2013. Building God’s Community. Nehemiah 7:4-73a. Introduction and Review:. Through many dangers, difficulties, and discouragements, God has been utterly faithful to empower the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
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Our Present Sermon Series July-October 2013
Building God’s Community Nehemiah 7:4-73a
Introduction and Review: • Through many dangers, difficulties, and discouragements, God has been utterly faithful to empower the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. • The wall has been rebuilt in just 52 days!
What was Nehemiah’s real goal? • To have a vacation from work? • To rebuild the wall? • To build the community of God!
Building God’s community requires your presence (4-5, 73a). • The city is still empty
Building God’s community requires your presence (4-5, 73a). • Ninety years had passed since their return. • They had returned but they had not yet established a unified community of God’s people.
Building God’s community requires your presence (4-5, 73a). • The Gift of Your Time
Missionary Martyr Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”
Some Food for Thought: • Do you really believe that it’s God’s will to be a part of this community of faith? • If so, how can you be more actively engaged in the life of this community?
Building God’s community requires your presents (6-72). • The Gift of Your Talents (6-69): • Leaders: 7 • Families: 8-25 • Villagers: 26-38 • Priests: 39-42 • Levites: 43 • Singers: 44 • Gatekeepers: 45 • Temple Staff: 46-56 • Solomon’s Servants: 57-60 • People with Unproven Genealogy: 61-65
Building God’s community requires your presents (6-72). • The Gift of Your Talents (6-69): Everyone matters (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)!
Some Food for Thought: • Are you robbing God’s community by not contributing your talents to the life of the church? • Are you willing to spend some of your talents for the greater well being of this church?
Building God’s community requires your presents (6-72). • The Gift of Your Treasures (70-72): • The governor set the example. • The leaders set the example. • The people generously followed.
Building God’s community requires your presents (6-72). • We are called by God to give to His community with joyful generosity (2 Corinthians 9:7). • God Himself is an extravagant and joyful giver! • Not by Manipulation • Not by Force • Not without Cost
Some Food for Thought: • Are you robbing God’s community by not contributing your treasures to the life of the church? • Are you willing to joyfully and generously give for the greater well being of this church?
Conclusion and Application • You can have funds and no people, but with only funds you won’t be able to build a community, only a building. • You can have a group of people where only a few contribute, where only a few people matter, but that is not an authentic community. It’s more like an exclusive social club. • You can have a group of people with all the resources they need and no spirit of giving, and you will not have a community.
Main Idea: God’s community is built when His people freely give of their time, talents, and treasures.
Personal Application: • Are you giving faithfully your time, talents, and treasures, trusting God to use you to help build and strengthen this community of believers? • If so, how? • If not, why not, and how can you begin making changes so that God can more powerfully use you to help this community grow?
