Sermon for April 30, 2023 -- 'How do we know that it's true: Fulfillment of Prophecies'

Nehemiah 10:38-39

Nehemiah 10:38-39

English Standard Version 

  What's your idea of a sacred space?  I am trying to think... what are the truly sacred spaces in our culture?  Starbucks?  Seriously... it used to be cathedrals, built over the centuries to be magnificent buildings, the offering of our very best to God.  I think most people revered those spaces.  For a time in America, maybe libraries stood alongside them.  I don't know what else.  Sports stadiums would fall into that category, although it's only a subset of American culture that views these as sacred.  For as big of a sports fan as I am, I still marvel that the billionaries who own sports teams convince cities to build new stadiums when those dollars could build schools or roads, but that's another topic for another day.

  In the days of Nehemiah, the people did not want to neglect the house of God.  It wasn't just about the physical building... but it was about the practice of making an offering to God, of fully honoring God.  The building was part of it, but it was a whole life effort.

  Do we make the effort with our whole life to honor God?  It's easy to carve out bits and pieces of life.  But what about the whole thing, from sunup to sundown, and everything in between?  What's it look like for you to offer all of that to God?

  May we have the same spirit, the same devotion, to bring the whole tithe in, to not neglect the house of God.  May we be so dedicated to the worship of God!

Nehemiah 10:35-37

Nehemiah 10:35-37 

English Standard Version 

  What do you give if you don't know how much you have?

  In our society, we likely give what leaves us comfortable, and maybe we wait until everything is in so that we know how much to give.  That's the safe thing to do.

  But the Israelites gave of the firstfruits, which was terribly risky... because what if something happened and the rest of the harvest didn't come in as anticipated?  Giving out of the firstfruits requires a tremendous amount of trust, because things don't always go as expected, and if you give out of what comes in first, you may be in need if the rest doesn't come in as you thought or hoped.  Fortunately, there was likely a community there, but no one likes to be in need.

  But they trusted God completely to provide, so they gave out of the firstfruits.  They gave God the first, the best, and they lived off the rest.

  What's that look like to do today?  How can you give God your first, your best, and trust that God will care for you and provide?  How can you do that today?  This week?  This year?

Nehemiah 10:28-31

Nehemiah 10:28-31

English Standard Version 

  Everything today feels personalized.  Social media feeds are curated.  We pick the news that best fits our outlook on the world.  It's interesting to hear people talk about 'my truth' and 'your truth' -- even the truth is personalized!  

  So it's quite something to read this tale of people who are making a communal pledge -- it's not individual at all.  They join together to commit to walking in God's law.  It's startling to the modern ear, and yet I find it refreshing.  They hold themselves accountable, and they acknowledge that the depend on one another.  It's about we and us.

  Who do you have in your life to help you keep the promises you've made to God and to one another?  What kind of community are you planted in?  If not, how can you start to build a community, so that you're not trying to do this on your own?

Nehemiah 9:35-37

Nehemiah 9:35-37

English Standard Version 

  Nehemiah 9 is mostly a recounting of the Israelite history, and it's tragic... every time they seem to be close to getting something right, they mess it up again.  Over and over and over again -- it's heartbreaking, and you want to sit them down, look them in the eye, and ask them to stop making the same mistakes, to think forward for a bit and maybe avoid making the same mistake again.

  Of course, we often need someone to do the same for us!  We don't think forward very well... we make the same mistakes over and over again.  We act impulsively.  We don't think about the consequences of our actions, who it might hurt and how it might hurt them.  What if we did that -- when faced with a decision, think about how it might hurt someone we love, about the selfish elements of it.  It's easy to rationalize things under pressure, so how do we create space and relieve some of that pressure, thinking things all the way through.  The Israelites failed to do this and, as a result, they suffered devastating consequences from repeating failure, time and time again.  May we learn from their mistakes!  May we recognize the blessings that surround us, and may we enjoy the rich yield without giving it over to someone else who rules over us due to shortsighted decisions we make that allow sin to rule over our lives.

Nehemiah 9:5-8

Nehemiah 9:5-8 

English Standard Version 

  What have you done for me lately?

  That's how the world so often works, and it's easy to treat God like that, too.  We hit a rough patch, and we wonder where God is, often forgetting many blessings that came before. 

  When the Levites start this prayer, they go all the way back -- this gives them perspective.  They see themselves as part of a long continuation of God's work.  They see how God has been keeping God's promises for centuries, and they're rooted in a tradition.  There are rough patches throughout the ages, but when you step back, it puts things in perspective, which is invaluable.  We remember that God is righteous, and that we belong to God.  

  So let us take a big step back and breathe in the tradition in which we are a part.  May we give thanks for God's many years of faithfulness, and rejoice that God is faithful still!

Nehemiah 9:1-3

Nehemiah 9:1-3 

English Standard Version 

  Often, when you hear people apologize in modern times, they're apologizing if they've offended anyone, which isn't really an apology... it's sort of blaming the people who were offended for getting offended, because it implies that there wouldn't be anything to apologize for if people didn't choose to get offended.

  But sometimes, we mess up.  Sometimes, often, we do the wrong thing.  Even if it's really hard to figure out who was hurt, it can still be the wrong thing.  And when we do, we're called to apologize, without condition.  Every time we sin, we offend God, and we should own that, taking responsibility for our actions and confessing our sin.  It's not easy...  but it's the path forward.  There are no shortcuts, no easy ways out.  When we're wrong, we confess.  God had demonstrated God's willingness to forgive by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross.  God's love and acceptance are more certain than the rising of the sun.  The question is whether we want to stand in the light of the sun or hide from it out of shame.  One may be easier... but far colder in the long run.

Nehemiah 8:17-18

Nehemiah 8:17-18

English Standard Version 

  How many of you could go for a 7 day party?  That's what the Israelites celebrated, and the entire thing was undergirded by the reading from the Book of the Law.  Many of us today view the Old Testament law as confining, but here, the people saw it as the basis for a celebration -- it grounded everything they did in Christ, and it gave them the opportunity to celebrate as well as to have remorse.  

  Day by day, when we read the Word, we grow in knowledge of God and of God's will for us, and that should lead us away from fear into joy.  One of the marks of faith is growing in joy -- it's not always happiness, because that is often driven by circumstances, but joy can be deeper, because we can be grounded in God even in desperate and challenging times.  

Nehemiah 8:13-16

Nehemiah 8:13-16 

English Standard Version 

  So the people have fallen out of practice of worshiping the Lord, and they're digging back into the Scriptures to figure out what they're supposed to do.  They're reading Leviticus, which none of us expect to be a festive book... and they discover that they're not celebrating an important festival.  The festival of booths is meant to be celebrated to remember the harvest as well as the wandering in the wilderness. It's a time packed with meaning, and they'd been missing out on the party.

  By studying the Scriptures, they learn of joy that they're missing in their lives by not living in accordance with how God calls them to live.  

  The same can be true for us -- the more we align ourselves with God's will, the more joy we'll have when we study God's Word and live in accordance with the way we're made.  

Nehemiah 8:9-12

Nehemiah 8:9-12 

English Standard Version 

  God could've taken this time to reprimand the people -- he could've reminded them of the times and ways they failed God. It's so easy to take a victory lap and remind them of why they were wrong. 

  Instead, however, God commands them to celebrate, to be joyous in the Lord. In the midst of the people mourning, God points to reasons to rejoice. May we be the same. The world is so overfilled with pain and suffering and mourning and anxiety and worry. There is so much grief... wouldn't it be great if the church was so deeply rooted in the joy of Christ that they found a way to celebrate and invite others into a celebration, to rejoice in the joy of the Lord as our strength? Wouldn't that be invitational? 

  We'd be pointing to the joy of the Kingdom of God, and preaching a counter-cultural narrative to the constant anxiety and worry that fills the world. May we truly understand the words that Scripture declares to us, and rejoice at the joy of the Lord!

Nehemiah 8:1-3

Nehemiah 8:1-3 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever cooked a meal that looked fantastic, but tasted terrible?  Or designed something that looked beautiful but didn't work?  I've certainly done both -- it's so frustrating to get a big piece of the project right, but then to completely miss the mark on the really important part.  Sometimes, our focus is wrong.

  When Nehemiah finished re-building the wall, the project was partially done, but restoring Jerusalem was about more than just building a physical wall.  It's important to have a wall, because that granted physical safety, but we know that life requires more than physical safety.  To be physically safe but not mentally safe can be imprisoning in its own way.  In this instance, the city had been physically restored, but the spiritual practices of the people needed repair as well, so Ezra, the priest, comes along to restore the spiritual life of the people.  There was rebuilding work still to be done, and no one wanted to leave the project half-done.  So the people perked up and paid attention as Ezra read the Law.

  May we make sure that we hit both sides as well.  May we spend our time and energy in our relationship with God, and may we invest in our relationships with one another, too.  It's about personal religion and communal religion.  May we also recognize that people with material wealth may be lacking in areas, and may we realize that we are called to share spiritual and material gifts to care for all parts of all people.

Nehemiah 7:5-7

Nehemiah 7:5-7 

English Standard Version 

  Over and over again, throughout the Bible, we find lists of names, reflecting the individuals that were a part of the community, recorded for us to read thousands of years later.  My eyes gloss over as I read this, as the names don't mean anything to me, but isn't it interesting that God inspires Scripture with these names in here -- because they mean something to God.  The names matter, just as your name matters, and it is my solemn hope that we treat one another in this world like each of our names matter to God.  It's so easy to overlook one another, to ignore one another, to act as though other people are disposable or unimportant.  The internet has made that easier, but I think people have been treating one another like that for a long, long time, unfortunately.  Each one matters enough to God to include in these lists, and so we ought, therefore, to treat one another like each one matters, and we need to treat ourselves like that, too.  

Nehemiah 7:1-4

Nehemiah 7:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  Sorry for the delay -- I've been out and about, between Denver and New Orleans, but have returned and am back at it.  Nehemiah has finished the walls, but now there was still work to be done.

  It feels like there is always work to be done, and sometimes that can be exhausting -- but part of being a Christian is always having a next step in faith.  We complete our baptisms on the day we die, and until then, we're always growing, always hungry and looking for what God has in store for us next.  Someone who is 8 and someone who is 88 has a next step that the Holy Spirit is leading them towards -- so may we never get too comfortable and think that we've made it as far as we need to go.  The 1,000th time we read a Scripture passage, there is still more treasure in there for us to mine, still more wisdom to glean, more truth to unfold.  The beauty of faith is it grows richer and deeper the older and more mature we get, as we dive deeper into an infinite ocean of love and grace.