September 16, 2016
“The Journey Matters”
When a person responds to God’s offer of salvation, they become a child of God who is called to become a follower of God. Followers of God are invited to embark on a spiritual journey intended to mature and deepen their faith. This journey, like any other, will have its ups and downs and its twists and turns. This journey is designed by God to help His children grow in their knowledge of Who He is and of His redemptive story carried out through His Son, Jesus Christ. Over the coming eight weeks, we’ll be working through the third chapter of the book of Nehemiah. The book of Nehemiah is often connected to sermons about leadership development, delegation principles, and conflict resolution. Such sermons are appropriate and helpful; however, the Book of Nehemiah, like every other book in the Bible, is, more importantly, a part of one over-arching narrative – God’s redemptive plan for humanity. As we read the book of Nehemiah we learn about a Jewish leader who lived in the 5th Century BC. But the book of Nehemiah is more than a history of the Hebrews, it’s a book that introduces us to the Greater Nehemiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. For instance, Nehemiah left Susa to save Jerusalem and to rebuild the walls and gates that had been destroyed by enemy forces while Jesus, the Greater Nehemiah, left heaven to save, restore and rebuild human beings whose lives had been destroyed by sin. Nehemiah was willing to risk his life for the sake of his mission but Jesus, the Greater Nehemiah, was willing to lose His life for the sake of His mission. Nehemiah restored the walls of Jerusalem in order to protect his people from their local enemies but Jesus, the Greater Nehemiah, restored the walls of salvation in order to protect His people from their enemies of sin and death. Nehemiah restored the walls of Jerusalem in order to provide the Jews with a capital city but Jesus, the Greater Nehemiah, restored the walls of salvation in order to provide every repentant sinner with an eternal city. In the third chapter of Nehemiah we read about 10 gates. As we journey to each of those gates in the coming weeks, I hope it will help each of us better understand God’s redemptive story and cause all of us grow and mature in our faith. Because the journey matters, pastor jamie