Living Hope Fellowship

What makes something worth sacrifice? Most people will say that when you love something or someone enough, any sacrifice is worth the cost. In this fourth message of a series through the book of Nehemiah, Pastor Derek Holmes looks at the way Nehemiah and the builders of Jerusalem's wall persisted through the opposition which arose to their project. As it became clear that the opposition would require the Jews to defend one another, they were forced into a context of looking out for more than just themselves, but for those around them. In chapter 5, we see that there was an opposition inside the walls which was even more insidious. The Jewish nobles were exploiting their own countrymen for personal gain. As the church of Jesus Christ, we must remember the the call to share the Gospel is a call which cannot be carried out by willpower and human organization and motivation. It must be motivated by love for God and a Godly love for the people who need Him so much..

In the third message of our series on the book of Nehemiah, Pastor Derek Holmes looks at how Nehemiah's burden moves to a calling which he then shares as a vision with the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of God's city. We see several principles within the narrative about a Godly vision that works. As the church called to take the Gospel to the nations, we must realize that the Vision of God requires the people of God moved with the heart of God to accomplish the will of God.

In the second message from Nehemiah, we see how the burden which Nehemiah caught after hearing of the broken state of Jerusalem moved him to prayer. In that time of praying, God was preparing Nehemiah's heart for action. Nehemiah then confronts the King and makes himself available to go to rebuild God's city. As the church, our burden for the broken world around us should lead us to willingness to answer the call of the Great Commission.

In the opening sermon of a series through the book of Nehemiah, Pastor Derek Holmes looks at the burden Nehemiah felt when hearing about the broken state of God's people and the walls of Jerusalem. As a man living his whole life in exile, Nehemiah could have distanced himself from the pain, but Nehemiah had eyes to see the brokenness, a burden for the people, a passionate prayer and a willingness to go.