Second City Sermons

Sandwiched between two chapters that highlight the external opposition that Nehemiah and the people who were rebuilding Jerusalem faced, chapter 5 shows us that often the greatest hindrance to the work of the church is not those on the outside, but those within. Usury, the charging of interest, plagued these people and it ate them alive to the extend that they “were forcing their sons and daughter...

Nehemiah 4 is a history of opposition. One might think that with the blessing of a powerful king and a commission from the King of Kings that all would go easy for Nehemiah. But, no, mockery and opposition wait for Nehemiah in Jerusalem, even as the people band together to repair the walls. Nehemiah 4 provides a guide for dealing with opposition.

Nehemiah 3 the work of rebuilding the wall that was placed on Nehemiah's heart in chapter 1 and whose risks were overcome by God in chapter 2. Though Nehemiah may be the great leader, what is clear is that everybody is to lend their time, their treasures, their talents. Everyone is called to be "All In!" since there is no bench-warming in the Kingdom of God.

Nehemiah has a mission, a calling. Like our own callings, it’s fraught with opportunity and challenge. But when God calls someone to do something, he always provides, even sometimes through the most unlikely means.

The book of Nehemiah begins with a broken situation and a heart that breaks for the world to be right. Nehemiah sits in the mess, in the trouble, the shame and the sadness of it all, but he isn’t alone. God meets him there and from there we get the glimpse of what God might do through him.