Line Upon Line

Drawing from Nehemiah 6:15-16, Pastor Miles teaches that every great work of God begins with a vision, and that God characteristically uses unlikely, untrained, and underprepared people to accomplish what experts could not—if they will simply engage rather than be hindered by obstacles. He challenges believers to maintain an optimistic vision of the future rooted in Christ's coming reign and to ask God to give them a vision and the courage to step into His work.

Through Nehemiah 6, this teaching shows how the enemy schemes to lure believers out of God's will through enticement, defamation, and deception, and how a focused heart, clear priorities, knowledge of God's Word, and prayer build the discernment needed to resist and finish the great work God has given us.

Teaching through Nehemiah 5, David Guzik shows how money problems—rooted in greed, famine, taxes, and crushing debt—created strife among God's people and stopped the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls without a single enemy arrow. Nehemiah's righteous confrontation, his refusal to profit off others, and his sacrificial generosity make him a striking picture of Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve.

Teaching from Nehemiah 4, Pastor Mark examines how God's sovereignty and man's responsibility work together when God's people face the enemy's threats and discouragement. He encourages believers—especially fathers on Father's Day—to pray rather than retaliate, to remember why they fight, and to commit to long obedience while trusting a Heavenly Father who fights for them.

Teaching from Nehemiah 2:11-20, Pastor Mark explains that the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls is the restoration of God's covenant with Israel, and draws from it three calls for believers: to assess our broken world with a sober mind, to be a testimony of God's good work rather than reproach, and to be doers and not merely hearers—players on the field, not fans.

Continuing through the book of Nehemiah, Pastor Miles examines how Nehemiah prayed for four months before speaking one decisive sentence to the king, teaching that persistent prayer prepares us, attunes us to heaven, and moves God to act on behalf of His people. He shows that when God moves us to pray, He often moves us to act—and that such God-ordained action will always meet opposition.

A contextual introduction to the book of Nehemiah that traces Israel's history through the Deuteronomic principle of conditional blessing—obedience leading to blessing, disobedience to exile—and arrives at Nehemiah's grief-stricken, prayerful response to the ruin of Jerusalem as a model for God's people in distressing times.

Pastor Miles introduces a summer study in the book of Nehemiah by tracing the "deuteronomic principle"—God's conditional framework of blessing and cursing—through Israel's history of faithfulness, idolatry, exile, and return. He shows how Nehemiah's distress over ruined Jerusalem and his response of weeping, fasting, prayer, and confession model how God's people should respond to chaotic and distressing times today.

In the final section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7), Pastor Miles examines Jesus's series of contrasts—two paths, two trees, two builders—to show that true, kingdom-worthy righteousness is not superficial religious performance but humble faith in and faithfulness to Christ alone. The teaching warns of false prophets and false disciples who say "Lord, Lord" yet are unknown by Jesus, urging hearers to build their lives on the rock of obedience to His word.

Drawing on the week's news about the leaked Supreme Court draft on Roe v. Wade, Pastor Miles examines Matthew 7:1-5 to show that Jesus does not forbid all judgment but condemns hypocritical, self-righteous judgment. True righteousness in Christ requires humble self-examination — removing the plank from our own eye before helping others with the speck in theirs.