Lead Pastor
Sermons by Wade Allen (Page 12)
This is the final episode that we will study from the Book of Nehemiah this year. Nehemiah’s story is not finished, but as we see here in this study, the rebuilding of the wall is complete. It was evident to all that the wall’s completion was a work of God. The same can be true of our lives as well–God wants to rebuild the broken aspects of our lives! And when we allow Him to do that, people all around us will be aware that our transformation is being accomplished by the power of God!
This sermon was delivered as the Annual Message at the Baptist Missionary Association of Arkansas meeting on November 4, 2021, at Central Baptist College in Conway, Arkansas.
As we continue our study in Nehemiah 6, we once again find Nehemiah contending with those who have opposed him from the beginning—only now their tactics have changed. Does that mean that they have changed? Are they now trying to make peace with their neighbors? Nehemiah will have to depend on discernment from God to know what he should do and how he should do it.
By definition, the word compassion means “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” Love and compassion go hand-in-hand. “The opposite of compassion is often thought to be indifference or cold-heartedness. So as we continue to explore the story of Nehemiah, let’s see how he is confronted with an issue and moved to compassion as a result.
As we jump around considering the circumstances and situations of some of these groups listed in chapter three of Nehemiah, we discover four biblical principles of teamwork and leadership: 1) God chooses to work through people, 2) God empowers leaders on all levels, 3) God wants all people to participate, and 4) God wants our work to be meaningful. We’ll unpack each one of these principles as we study this passage.
In the previous study, I introduced you to five principles for restoring the broken. We looked at how Nehemiah started this process with his God-given purpose in mind; and then he seized the opportunity that God set before him. This morning, we’re going to focus on the next two principles on this list—analyze the situation you find yourself in and then motivate your team to join you in the effort. Nehemiah accomplishes this by taking five specific steps.
After spending months fasting, praying and seeking God’s will, Nehemiah knew what the God-given purpose was for his life–he was to do whatever it took to rebuild the wall around the holy city of Jerusalem. Assured in his calling, he began waiting for God to show him when. In the meantime, Nehemiah spent a great deal of time planning for every contingency so that he would be ready when God opened the door. In this study, we will consider some of the steps in the process of preparing to fulfill our God-given purpose in life!
We live in a world filled with terribly immoral things. We are surrounded by wickedness everywhere we turn. It is this wickedness that has broken down the various aspects of our lives. How in the world will we be able to combat all this evil? How will we be able to rebuild what is broken? In our message today, we will see that rebuilding begins with realignment. We must change the way we think. We must adjust our priorities. We must alter our daily routines to reflect a desire to put God first in our lives!
With all that is happening in the world today, is it any wonder that people are dealing with extreme levels of anxiety and depression? Our lives… our country… our world is broken! We yearn for restoration and renewal in every aspect of life. We need spiritual, emotional and relational renewal! But how do we move forward with so much working against us? We rebuild. We restore what is broken. That’s what the Book of Nehemiah is all about. God’s chosen people were broken and their capital city lay in ruins, but God had a plan to restore the broken and He still has a plan for us as well today!
In our message today, we’re going to be thinking about “Connecting People to God through Worship.” We’re going to look at some of Jesus’ teaching in John 12, and then we’ll consider the implications of this teaching for our church, as well as, our personal lives. We’re going to talk about worship: what it is, why it’s important, and how it impacts others. And so rather than having a time for worship—followed by a message about how we are to worship—I want us to hear from God’s Word about the “how to” and then spend time together as a church family worshiping!